Maltbie Davenport Babcock (1858-1901) was a Presbyterian minister who was active in the late 1800s. In his early ministry, he pastored in upstate New York, and enjoyed frequent walks on the shore of Lake Ontario. He would often tell his wife, “I am going out to see my Father’s world.” These walks were the inspiration for many of Babcock’s hymn texts, poems, sermons, and devotional thoughts.
Babcock went on to pastor in Baltimore, Maryland and New York City. While serving at the Brick Presbyterian Church, New York City, the congregation gifted the Babcocks with a trip to the Holy Land. It was on this trip in 1901 that Maltbie Babcock caught an infection and died at the age of 43.
After his death, Babcock’s widow collected his writings and published them in a book entitled, Thoughts for Everyday Living. The words for the hymn This Is My Father’s World appeared in this collection as a sixteen-stanza poem. It captured the attention of Franklin Sheppard who later selected three verses and adapted them to the traditional English melody, TERRA BEATA (Beautiful World.)
We live in a changing world! Each day the news cycle brings us more information than our minds can process. When that news makes it even more challenging to simply be still and trust in our loving Father, Babcock’s words are a wonderful admonition for our times:
This is my Father’s world, O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the Ruler yet!

The author of this hymn text, Katharina Amalia Dorothea von Schlegel, was born in 1697. Although little is known about her life and the circumstances surrounding the writing of this comforting text, we know that she was a leading female writer during the German pietist movement. This movement inspired a revival in German hymnody that produced hymns characterized by theologically rich, biblically sound lyrics.

​This particular hymn text was first published in 1752, and through the faithful translation work of Jane Borthwick (1813-1897), English speakers have come to love this beautiful German hymn. Sometime after 1900, it was paired with a beautiful tune by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The tune was part of a larger work entitled Finlandia. The closing section features what has become known as the Finlandia Hymn.
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“Be still, and know that I am God. . . The God of Jacob is our refuge” (Psalm 46:10, 11) is the timeless promise on which this hymn is based. When we sing this hymn, we join our voices with generations of saints who have sung these comforting words. We preach truth to ourselves when we sing “Be still my soul, the Lord is on thy side!”