400 All Creatures of Our God and King

This inspiring expression of praise was written in 1225 and appears in nearly every modern hymnal.  The author of this text, Giovanni Bernardone,  is one of the most interesting figures in all church history. Better known as St. Francis of Assisi, he was a mystic, medieval monk who spent his lifetime as an itinerant evangelist, helping and preaching to the poor people of Italy.  In our lifetime, this humble monk has become the model and namesake for today's Pope Francis.

There are many strange incidents and legends associated with St. Francis. There were encounters with the Lord including an occasion when Francis was fasting for 40 days.  The legend has it the Francis was left with a reminder of the Lords suffering with marks on his hands, feet, and body, commonly called stigmata. Another account concerned the time after his death when his soul was being committed to the creator, a flock of larks gather about his little hut and flew into the sky singing a beautiful song in the still evening air.

This text is from a book of his writings, "Canticles of the Sun" which was written the year before his death, when his eyesight had failed him.. Saint Francis made much use of singing and believed strongly in the importance of church music.  He wrote more than 60 hymns for use in the monastery.  This beautiful expression of praise is one that has survived the passing of almost 800 years. Saint Francis is also well known as a great lover of nature and saw the hand of God in all creation.He was widely credited with writing the famous prayer, "Lord make me an instrument of Thy peace."  As wonderful as that legend is, we can't really confirm that the words came from earlier than 1912.

William Draper did the English translation for a children's choir festival sometime between 1899-1919.  The tune Lasst uns erfreun first appeared in a Romand Catholic hymnal im Cologne, Germany in 1623.  After being forgotten for a time, the tune was revived and combined with this text and first appeared in the English Hymnal published in London, England in 1906.. This YouTube version is a feast for the eyes as well as the ears and is sung by the Brigham Young University men's chours.