The apostle Paul gave Caroline Maria Noel the gem thought for this hymn, in his letter to the Philippians 2:9, 10: “ God also hath… given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.” Although the King James Version reads “at”, she reluctantly agreed to change to “in”, as it is in the Revised Standard Version, to avoid the criticism that she might have meant genuflection (bending the knee upon entering the pew). Since then, nearly all hymns have restored the original as she wrote it.

Caroline Marie Noel, born in Teston, Kent, April 10, 1817, was the daughter of Anglican clergyman Gerard Thomas Noel, a writer of hymns. Her first attempt at poetry was at the age of 17, but the inspiration seemed to dry up between the ages of 20 and 40. Protracted illness and much pain brought her back to writing, and for the final 20 years of her life she penned verses with the purpose of bringing help and comfort to those who suffered sickness. She died December 7, 1877.

This Ascension Day processional hymn was first printed in her book The Name Of Jesus and Other Verses for the Sick and Lonely, 1861, but was written in the previous year. Her family gave 1870 as the year in which the hymn was completed. Many hymns by invalids tend to be self-centered and introspective. But this one is strong and out-ward looking, one stanza giving solid agreement with the Genesis account of Creation, and others naming Jesus as Captain, Savior, and coming King. The original poem has eight stanzas.

The tunes KING’S WESTON was named after a country house on the river Avon near Bristol, England, which was famous for it’s beautiful park. Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 – 1958; see Biographies) composed it for this text especially for the hymnbook Songs of Praise, Oxfoed, 1931, of which he was a musical editor. This hymnbook is recognized for its innovative use of new and creative musical ideas and Vaughan Williams’ saturation with the folksong idiom of Britain certainly contributed to this new wave of hymn tune writing. And it is one of those rare occasions when a nationally accepted master composer lent his talents to editing a hymnbook.

The companion to the hymnal Songs of Praise Discussed states: “ It is a solid tune, in triple time, with a strongly stressed rhythm, and a characteristic exchange of accent in the last two lines; it is  a dignified but not a solemn tune, and must not be sung too slowly. “

KING’S WESTON, in a slightly different harmony setting, is also used for SDAH 581, “When The Church of Jesus.”

 Reference: Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal by Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988.