This paraphrase from the German language original is a reflection of Psalm 147:7 and Nehemiah 12:46. It was prepared by Edith Lovell Thomas for her book The Whole World Singing, 1950, which was an assembly of songs from more than 40 countries of the world. This canon, or round, comes from the Alsatian part of Germany, which lies between the Rhine River and the Vosges Mountains.

Edith Lovell Thomas was born September 11, 1878, in Eastford, Connecticut, into a Methodist minister’s family of nine. Both father and mother had beautiful voices, and the great hymns were sung and memorized in regular family worship. She began the study of piano at age 12, and then received a scholarship to the Friends (Quaker) School in Providence, Rhode Island. Her first church music job was in her father’s church, playing the organ and directing a “choir” of four. She received her master’s degree and then was a music teacher at Boston University from 1918 to 1931. She also served as minister of music and director of children’s choirs for various churches in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Her book, Singing Worship for Boys and Girls, has sold more than 250,000 copies. Her other books include Martin and Judy Songs; Sing, Children Sing; and Music in Christian Education. For a time she studied organ with Clarence Dickinson while he was organist-choirmaster at Brick Presbyterian Church in New York. Always intensely interested in hymns and good hymn singing, she served as a judge for several of the Hymn Society of America contests. In retirement at Pilgrim Place, Claremont, California, she continued to work with juniors in preparing music for worship. She died March 16, 1969 at Claremont.

This canon in three parts can be sung a cappella, or use the accompaniment by Melvin West (1930-; see Biographies), repeating any four-bar phrase for the duration of the canon.

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