Walter Chalmers Smith

Walter Chalmers Smith was a Scottish Presbyterian minister, preacher, poet, and hymn writer born in Aberdeen in 1824. He entered Marischal College at thirteen and graduated M.A. in 1841. Although he initially considered law, the influence of Thomas Chalmers led him toward ministry, and he studied theology at New College, Edinburgh, after the formation of the Free Church of Scotland. Smith was ordained in 1850 to a Free Church congregation in Pentonville, London, and later served at Milnathort, Roxburgh Free Church in Edinburgh, the Free Tron Church in Glasgow, and the Free High Church in Edinburgh.

Smith was also a substantial literary figure. He published poetry under his own name and sometimes under the pseudonyms Orwell and Hermann Kunst. His works included The Bishop's Walk, Olrig Grange, Hilda among the Broken Gods, and other long poems. In 1893 he was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland during its jubilee year.

Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise first appeared in his Hymns of Christ and the Christian Life in 1867. The original was a six-stanza poem and was subsequently revised for congregational use. Although Smith wrote many hymns and poems, this text became his most enduring contribution to hymnody.