Around the throne of God a band

Around the throne of God a band. John Mason Neale* (1818-1866). First published in Neale’s Hymns for Children, Second Series (1842) as a hymn for Michaelmas Day, in nine verses, the last of which was Thomas Ken*’s doxology (‘Praise God, from whom all blessings flow’). Hymnbooks which have used it (A&M Second Edition, 1875, EH, SofP) have shortened to four verses. The hymn was always in competition with ‘Around the throne of God in heaven’* by Anne Shepherd*, and in more recent times the portrayal of angels with crowns of gold on their heads and harps in their hands has probably seemed too sentimental for modern books: Around the throne of God a bandOf glorious Angels ever stand;Bright...

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