“Great God, Your Vast Creation”
This month we continue our Hymn of the Month series in which one or more hymns drawn from collections published by The Leupold Foundation will be posted on the website for consideration by pastors and musicians who may wish to introduce the hymn to their congregations the following month, perhaps by having the choir introduce the hymn on the first Sunday of the month or season and then inviting the congregation to join with the choir in singing the hymn on each subsequent Sunday. Additional hymns will occasionally be suggested for a particular Sunday or festival in the church year; such hymns may only be appropriate on the designated day, or they might be used as a Hymn of the Month in anticipation of or in response to the particular day on the church calendar.
Hymn of the Month for August 2025:Text: “Great God, Your Vast Creation,” Edith Sinclair Downing, For Us, God’s People Now, p. 24.Suggested Familiar Tune: THAXTED
With all the outdoor activities that come with warmer weather, it would seem appropriate during the final month of summer for congregations to consider our calling as Christians to be stewards of creation. The Hymn of the Month for August 2025 provides a hymnic resource for doing so with the Edith Sinclair Downing (1922–2016) text, Great God, Your Vast Creation, the first stanza of which offers a joyous account of the song of creation we hear as the “creatures with elation their eager voices raise.” However, the second stanza becomes a prayer of confession as we sing, “Yet God, there is pollution in waters which were pure,” and the final stanza becomes a plea for God to “help us as we envisage the sacredness of earth,” as “we pray for strength to dare to live as if each sparrow depends upon our care.” Paired with the familiar and beloved tune, THAXTED, the text will be readily accessible to most every congregation during a month when many choirs are continuing their summer break.
Edith Sinclair Downing was a remarkable woman, holding degrees in cello performance, religious education, and theological studies with a concentration on worship. She began writing hymns in her late sixties and ultimately completed four collections of hymn texts, all of which are in the catalog of The Leupold Foundation.
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