Claudia Frances Hernaman

Hymnwriter Claudia Frances Hernaman was born on this day in 1838, in the English village of Addlestone, the daughter of the Reverend W. H. Ibotson, an Anglican priest. She wrote for a number of church publications at a fairly young ago, turning her attention to religious poetry and hymn texts, primarily for children. She also translated several hymns from Latin. and published several collections of her work.

Her most familiar text (perhaps the only one still regularly in use), sung across many denominations, is the Lenten hymn Lord, who throughout these forty days.  Today's hymn for children was written to mark any saints' day in the church calendar.  While we have seen many hymns written for particular saints, there are others such as this that can be sung for any saint's day. October 19, for example, does not mark any well-known saints, but there are still people on the calendar.

All thy saints adore thee, Lord,
Sing thy praise with one accord;
Magnify thy holy Name,
And thy boundless love proclaim.

Saints in paradise at rest,
Saints, by earthly trials pressed,
One in thee, with one glad voice,
Evermore in thee rejoice.

Now, O God, thy praise we tell,
In this saint who served thee well,
Who was strong in Jesus' might,
Conquering evil in the fight.

Grant us, God, with equal faith,
Thee to follow until death,
And, through all eternity,
With the saints to worship thee.

Claudia Frances Hernaman, 19th cent.; alt.
Tune: ST. BEES (7.7.7.7.)
John Bacchus Dykes, 1862

This simple tune by the prolific Victorian composer John Bacchus Dykes, was apparently named for the village of St. Bees in northern England.