O Strength and Stay upholding all creation

O Strength and Stay upholding all creation. John Ellerton* (1826-1893). Of the three stanzas of this hymn, the first two are a translation by Ellerton and his friend F.J.A. Hort* from the Latin hymn ‘Rerum Deus tenax vigor’*. This has been attributed to Ambrose of Milan* (339/340-397) although it is not one of the 14 reckoned authentic by Fontaine. Although it consists of two strophes rather than the eight strophes characteristic of Ambrose’s authentic hymns, ‘Rerum Deus tenax vigor’ has an Ambrosian character. Two stanzas appeared in Church Hymns (1871; Church Hymns with Tunes, 1874). The third stanza was written by Ellerton and the hymn was cast in its present form when it appeared...