72. A King on high is reigning

Author: Timothy Dudley-Smith

A king on high is reigning
whom endless ages bless,
from sea to sea sustaining
his rule of righteousness.
Beneath his strong defending
his people stand secure,
whose justice knows no ending
while sun and moon endure.

2. As rains that gently nourish
and bring the seed to birth,
his righteousness shall flourish,
his peace possess the earth;
her sceptred kings acclaim him,
before his feet they fall,
the nations kneel to name him
the sovereign Lord of all.

3. The poor are in his keeping,
he hears their bitter cry,
his watchfulness unsleeping
to answer every sigh;
the lonely and neglected,
the outcast and in need,
forsaken and rejected,
to him are dear indeed.

4. His name endures for ever
who formed the fertile land;
the fruits of our endeavour
shall prosper in his hand.
With prayer and song and story
his praises sound again,
in all the earth his glory:
so be it, Lord! Amen!