Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might.
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all, life Thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all.
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish, but naught changeth Thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight.
All praise we would render: O help us to see
’Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee.
THE GREAT BRITISH hymnologist Erik Routley calls this hymn “full of plump polysyllables.” The hymn was inspired by the apostle Paul’s words to young Timothy: “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever” (1 Timothy 1:17, KJV). The writer of this hymn, Walter Chalmers Smith, was a pastor in the Free Church of Scotland for forty-four years (1850–1894). Smith wrote many hymns, but this is the only one still in use today. In our day of casual Christianity and almost flippant prayer, we desperately need to catch glimpses of God’s unspeakable character. In these wonderful stanzas, we who “wither and perish” come face-to-face with our immortal, invisible, unchanging God. And amazingly, this great God, whom even polysyllables cannot describe, loves us dearly.
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. . . . All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God.
1 Timothy 1:15-17
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