Many and Great
Many and great, O God, are thy things,
Theologically, 'Many and Great' functions as a creation doxology rooted in the tradition of the creation psalms, particularly Psalms 8, 19, 33, and 104. The first stanza proclaims the majesty and creative power of God with imagery drawn from both the Genesis creation narratives and the Psalter: God's hands setting the heavens with stars, God's fingers spreading mountains and plains, and the obedient response of the deep seas to the divine voice. This language of divine creative sovereignty resonates deeply with Lutheran theology's affirmation that God is the creator of all things visible and invisible, and that creation itself bears witness to the power and wisdom of its Maker—though without exhausting the knowledge of God that comes only through revelation in Christ. The second stanza makes a striking theological turn from creation to communion, from cosmic praise to intimate petition. The singer asks for 'communion with thee,' invoking the God who is 'star-abiding'—omnipresent and transcendent—but also the God who 'comes to dwell with us.' This movement from creation to incarnation is theologically significant: the God who made the cosmos is also the God who draws near. For Lutheran worship this resonates with the theology of the Incarnation and, more particularly, with sacramental theology—the real presence of the God of creation in Word and Sacrament. The petition 'bless us with life that has no end, eternal life with thee' grounds the hymn's eschatological hope in the same God whose creative word brought forth the world. For Lutheran ecumenical use, this text also carries an important missiological and cultural witness dimension. As an indigenous North American Christian text, it testifies to the universality of the Gospel and the capacity of every human culture to offer authentic praise to the Creator. Its Dakota origins invite Lutheran congregations to reflect on the church's often fraught relationship with indigenous peoples, while receiving from that community a genuine gift: a theology of creation and communion expressed in a distinctly Native American voice. The text aligns with Lutheran confessional affirmations regarding the First Article of the Creed (creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life) while reaching toward the Third Article's hope of eternal life.
History & Background
"Many and Great" is an English paraphrase of a Dakota hymn whose origins lie in the early nineteenth-century missionary encounter between Presbyterian missionaries and the Dakota (Sioux) people of the upper Mississippi and Minnesota River valleys. The original Dakota text, 'Wakantanka taku nitawa,' was composed around 1846 by Joseph R. Renville Jr. (son of the fur trader and Dakota interpreter Joseph Renville Sr.), drawing on indigenous poetic sensibilities and the Psalms. The text was written in the Dakota language for the newly formed Christian community gathering at Lac qui Parle (French: 'the lake that speaks'), a mission station in present-day Minnesota. The tune LACQUIPARLE is a traditional melody associated with this Dakota Christian community, shaped by the oral musical traditions of the Dakota people. The English paraphrase most widely used today was made by Philip Frazier (1892–1964), himself of Dakota Sioux heritage and an ordained Presbyterian minister, in 1916. Frazier's translation preserves the cosmic scope of the original while rendering it singable in English. The text gained significant ecumenical traction through its inclusion in mainline Protestant hymnals in the mid-to-late twentieth century, particularly following the liturgical renewal movements that sought to incorporate indigenous North American voices into Christian worship. It appears in numerous American hymnals across Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopal, and Reformed traditions. The hymn's spread was accelerated by the ecumenical hymnal projects of the 1970s through 1990s, and it has become a touchstone text for Creation-themed worship, Thanksgiving, and general praise in North American congregations. Its inclusion in Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW 837) and its predecessor volumes, as well as in Reformed and Presbyterian hymnals, marks its status as a genuinely cross-traditional indigenous Christian contribution to the broader North American hymnody.
Hymnal Appearances
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 837
- Glory to God — 21
- The Hymnal 1982 — 385
- Lift Up Your Hearts — 19
- United Methodist Hymnal — 148
- Voices Together — 100
- With One Voice — 794
Bulletin Note
Text: Dakota hymn 'Wakantanka taku nitawa,' c. 1846, attr. Joseph Renville Jr.; English paraphrase by Philip Frazier, 1916. Tune: LACQUIPARLE, Dakota melody. One of the earliest extant indigenous North American Christian hymns.
Preaching Connection
The God who set the stars in place is the same God who hears the prayer 'come unto us and dwell with us'—a movement from cosmic creation to intimate communion that lies at the heart of the Gospel itself. This text opens a window on the theology of the First Article of the Creed as prologue to the Second: the Maker of earth and sky is the One who comes to bless us with life that has no end.
Catechism & Confessional Connections
- Of Lord’s Supper Augsburg Confession
Themes
Creation Creator God Praise Communion with God Incarnation Eternal life Indigenous hymnody Wonder Cosmic doxology Petition