When I’m thinking, as I have been lately, about the world being too much with me, that war talk is abhorrent, that cruelty and evil invade my living room through the TV’s “entertainment,” that the prayer list of illness and suffering grows longer each day, and that I feel impotent to solve the problems and challenges of those near and dear to me, now I look for joy and comfort.
I turn to the Psalmist who reminds me that God is indeed in charge. I revisit the trials heroes of the faith endured and conquered, and I turn to the hymns I remember fondly and love.
Here’s my theme for today. Will you join me in recognizing that our ever-present Lord and Savior makes this a rich, bountiful, and triumphant life indeed, and that we are to continuously sing forth his praise and adore his Holy Name. Let us enter in, worship, then go to serve. I am convinced that through His strength, I find mine. There is nothing more blessed than His presence. Let this then be power for today.
“Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty”, by Benjamin Scholck. These words were written in 1732. The tune, Neander, is even older, 1680. It is my privilege to repeat them as today’s theme for whatever comes.
“Open now thy gates of beauty, Zion, let me enter there,
Where my soul in joyful duty Waits for Him who answers prayer;
O how blessed is this place, Filled with solace, light, and grace!
Gracious God, I come before Thee, Come Thou also down to me:
Where we find Thee and adore Thee, There a heaven on earth must be:
To my heart O enter Thou, Let it be Thy temple now.
Speak, O Lord, and I will hear Thee, Let Thy will be done indeed;
May I undisturbed draw near Thee While Thou dost Thy people feed.
Here of life the founntain flows, Here is balm for all our woes. Amen.”
May his church universal worship at His feet, all over the world, making Zion wherever we are. Whatever our circumstances–even for the kidnapped Baptist pastor in Syria; the Coptic Christians of Egypt who have lost their businesses, homes, churches, and their very lives; the persecuted church in Nigeria; those with intense financial pressures and lives of despair; struggling churches sharing everything they have with those who need the Gospel first and services next; those who watch loved ones suffer and die from illnesses; those returning from war with injuries seen and unseen; those with jobs who can’t meet their bills; those who long to work but face yet another day of searching–the concerns are many– let this hymn bring us into the very presence of God who loves us, who cares for us, and indeed is the “balm for all our woes.” Amen.
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