Back to posting about church music….
This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world: I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.
This is my Father’s world, the birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white, declare their Maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world: He shines in all that’s fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass;
He speaks to me everywhere.
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.
This is my Father’s world: why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad!
(Or, as I see more common in hymnals today…
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.
This is my Father’s world:
The battle is not done;
Jesus who died shall be satisfied,
And earth and heav’n be one. )
This is my Father’s world, dreaming, I see His face.
I ope my eyes, and in glad surprise cry, “The Lord is in this place.”
This is my Father’s world, from the shining courts above,
The Beloved One, His Only Son,
Came—a pledge of deathless love.
This is my Father’s world, should my heart be ever sad?
The lord is King—let the heavens ring. God reigns—let the earth be glad.
This is my Father’s world. Now closer to Heaven bound,
For dear to God is the earth Christ trod.
No place but is holy ground.
This is my Father’s world. I walk a desert lone.
In a bush ablaze to my wondering gaze God makes His glory known.
This is my Father’s world, a wanderer I may roam
Whate’er my lot, it matters not,
My heart is still at home.
This is my favorite song in our songbook today. I’ve lead it for multiple lady’s days and beg Craig to lead it every time he is picking out songs for Sunday mornings. The verses that I’ve highlighted are the ones that are found in the hymnal we use at church; I am assuming this is much like Sacred Head and has lost several of its verses over the years through editing and the like.
I think a lot of the appeal to me has to do with my love for the idea of knowing that God is ever present. It’s hard to remember that sometimes. In her diary Anne Frank writes, “I still believe through all of this that people are good at heart.” Seeing God in others is hard, but we’re created in His image and beauty can and should be found in us all. It’s a reminder of Him.
Also, God in nature. In I Kings you’ll find the account of Elijah on the mountain where God is going to present Himself to Elijah. It says that first a great wind came, but God was not in the wind; then an earthquake, but God was not in the earthquake; then a fire, but God was not in the fire; God was in the whisper. And the part in the song about “In the rustling grass I hear Him pass” evokes similar emotions for me that I experience when I read the account of Elijah. Although at times God does present Himself in the bigger things, much of our lives God’s presence is in those small whispers. And nature reminds us of this as we experience the warm sun smiling on us or the beauty of a calm ocean wave.
And finally, the part of the song that almost always leaves me a little teary eyed is this: “The battle is not done, Jesus who died shall be satisfied and heaven and earth be one.”
Every time I sing this it reminds me that “my food is to do the will of Him who sent me.” It brings imagery to my mind of a perfect and whole Kingdom, of the complete and perfect worship of God and the deliverance of the oppressed, hungry, and impoverished souls from a world of hatred and sinfulness. Perfection in the most wonderful sense of the word is brought to mind, and that appeals to my Type A heart. The absence of sin and darkness and the complete presence and embrace of God.
So, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my reactions to my favorite song. The end.
