King of glory, King of peace

King of glory, King of peace. George Herbert* (1593-1633). Published after Herbert’s death as a poem in the collection The Temple (Cambridge, 1633) under the title ‘Praise (II)’, it was first used as a hymn by Robert Bridges* in the Yattendon Hymnal*. It derives inspiration from the psalms of praise, especially Psalm 116. It was originally in four-line stanzas. One of the seven stanzas of the original poem has been omitted and the remaining six conflated to form three stanzas in modern hymnbooks. The omitted stanza does not follow the ‘thee/thee’ and ‘me/me’ rhyme scheme of the other stanzas which gives such a clear indication of the familiar nature of the relationship between Herbert and...