The search for wisdom and courage is something we all should be pursuing, especially during these troubled times. This hymn is a prayer for guidance to help us as we face the rancor and mistrust that has come to characterize our national politics.
Harry Emerson Fosdick, author of our subject hymn, was born in Buffalo, New York in 1878. He attended and graduated from Colgate University in 1900 and received the Bachelor in Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in 1904. He also received a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University in 1908. During his high school years and into his years at the university, he became known as a maverick. He was dubbed as “the Jesse James” of the theological world. He supported U.S. involvement in WW I and served as a chaplain in France in 1917. He later renounced his support and described himself as a “gullible fool.”
Fosdick was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1903 at the Madison Avenue Baptist Church in Manhattan. After his service in France, he was called to the First Presbyterian Church in New York in 1918 and served there until 1925. In 1922, he preached his famous sermon, “Shall the Fundamentalists Win?” John D. Rockefeller loved the sermon and paid for some 130,000 copies to be printed and distributed to every Protestant preacher in the United States. This created a firestorm within that community.
Fosdick’s career spanned two world wars, a great depression and reached into the Vietnam War. He produced 50 books, thousands of sermons, articles, and lectures. He was in the mainstream of liberal Christianity from 1900 until the 1960s. One of his many contributions has been the words to the great hymn, “God of Grace and God of Glory.”
Consider these inspiring and timely words.
God of grace and God of glory,
on thy people pour thy pow’r.
Crown thine ancient church’s story,
bring its bud to glorious flow’r.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
for the facing of this hour,
for the facing of this hour.
Lo! the hosts of evil round us
scorn thy Christ, assail his ways!
From the fears that long have bound us,
free our hearts to faith and praise.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
for the living of these days,
for the living of these days.
Cure thy children’s warring madness;
bend our pride to thy control;
shame our wanton, selfish gladness,
rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
lest we miss thy kingdom’s goal,
lest we miss thy kingdom’s goal.
Save us from weak resignation
to the evils we deplore.
Let the search for thy salvation
be our glory evermore.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
serving thee whom we adore,
serving thee whom we adore.
These words were written in 1930. They are a powerful prayer for each of us, for our church and for our country. However, they have never been more appropriate than now. This meditation was written and posted in late January 2021. During this time, there has been an ugly demonstration at the Capitol and the articles of impeachment against President Trump have been presented to the Senate for the second time. The inauguration of President Biden occurred on January 20, 2021.
Guidance for today from the lyrics
This is an extremely difficult time for our country regardless of one’s political persuasion. And, we have experienced months of the devastating impact of the COVID 19 virus in the U.S. The words to this hymn seem to be written specifically for this time in our history. So, this meditation will focus on the words to this great hymn, the biblical passages which support the theology of the lyrics, and a critical application.
Let’s begin with verse two. There is a host of evil around us which scorn Christ and assail His ways. In other words, there are many who treat Christ as unworthy. They make fun of Him . . . they treat Him with contempt. And, they attack His ways. Some of His ways that were attacked during His day and are still attacked will be discussed below.
- When He was reviled, He did not revile in return as indicated in 1 Peter 2:23a: “when they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate.”
- He ate with tax collectors and sinners as indicated in Mark 2:16. The religious leaders wanted to know why He ate with tax collectors and sinners. He was associating with the outcasts of society. He was supposed to be a king. Kings don’t associate with such “low life.”
- He laid down His life for His enemies. In Romans 5, Paul writes, “While we were still sinners (enemies), Christ died for us.”
- He forgave those who were crucifying Him. In Luke 23, Jesus cried out, “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”
This is not the way “normal” worldly people behave. This is not the way their king was supposed to behave. The world values strength, power, vast holdings, and having authority over great numbers of people. So, they “assailed” His ways then and many still do today . . . the “host of evil around us.”
Did their reaction surprise Him then . . . does it today?
No!
There is an underlying principle, a basic theme that has been there from the beginning . . . the love of God.
John wrote in his first letter in chapter 4 verse 16, “God is love.” In the beginning of chapter 3 we find the following: “ How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God!.”
Paul and Peter expressed this love in their writings as we see below.
Ephesians – But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2: 4-7
1 Peter – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Peter 1:3-5
These are incredible statements about the love God has for us. He (and Jesus) love with a love that is foreign to the world.
Let’s complete our meditation by looking at one of Jesus’ primary teachings about this kind of love and then move to an application.
Jesus’ first and perhaps most significant sermon is the Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew. We find portions of this teaching in Luke as well. Specifically, in Luke 6, Jesus teaches about “kingdom love.”
But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
Luke 6: 27-36
Let’s go back to the lyrics one more time to see if we are on the right track. Verse one of Fosdick’s words includes the phrase “crown thine ancient church’s story, bring her bud to glorious flower.” In Acts 2:42 – 47, we find this description of the early church. Notice how their actions depict the kind of love Jesus teaches.
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Acts 2: 42-47
Pursuing “kingdom” love
Jesus calls us to this “kingdom” type of love . . . not as the world loves. We see from His teaching as recorded in Luke, how the world works. We love those who love us. We do good to those who treat us the same way. We lend to those from whom we expect to be repaid. We lend so that we can go back to them later and “call in the chit.”
But here Jesus calls us to a different kind of love . . . a love with no expected return. Even more drastic, this love is shown to those who mistreat us. He calls us to be merciful . . . with the same kind of great mercy Peter wrote about in 1 Peter 1. He also promises a reward . . . you will be seen by others as “sons of the Most High.” In other words, they (our enemies) will see us differently.
In this same sermon, Matthew 5:17, Jesus says, “In the same way , let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” In summary, Jesus is calling us to a kind of love that is God glorifying and soul winning.
Earlier we made mention of how appropriate these lyrics are for this time. Consider Fosdick’s request . . . he asks God to grant us wisdom and courage. Notice how he frames the need for such wisdom and courage. We have four different critical needs.
- We are facing a difficult hour!!
- We are living through trying days!!
- We can miss His kingdom’s goal (eternal life with God)!!
- We need wisdom and courage to serve the God we love!!
At the risk of being misread as being political during a very divisive political time, I want to suggest an application. The application is directed toward President Biden and Former President Trump. Both individuals rightfully called for unity.
Now that President Biden is in charge with a majority in the House and Senate, he has a unique opportunity to add deeds to his call for unity. In a recent speech he asked us to imagine several possibilities for the country. I can imagine a country that could actually move toward unity, if he would model the kind of kingdom love we have seen in this meditation by taking the following three actions. So, these are my three suggestions for moving forward with deeds directed toward healing and not just rhetoric.
What President Biden could do
- In addition to correctly recognizing the importance of the scientists, researchers, medical personnel and others who have delivered COVID-19 vaccines in unprecedented time, he could acknowledge the support of the previous administration including former President Trump in this historic accomplishment.
- As he correctly focuses on American jobs and American products, he could acknowledge the progress made in that area by the previous administration including the leadership of former President Trump.
These first two actions are important in recognizing that the previous administration did accomplish some good things for this country . . . rather than continuing to indicate that nothing good happened during the past four years. - The most critical single thing President Biden could do to promote unity and to set an example of “kingdom love” is to call for the Congress to abandon attempts to impeach former President Trump. This single action would do more to bring our nation together than anything imaginable. In addition, it would establish President Biden as a true statesman . . . perhaps viewed differently than just another Washington politician.
What Former President Trump could do
- As the now former President of the United States, Trump should act in a manner becoming of that status (kingdom love) by acknowledging that Biden is the duly elected President.
- He should congratulate President Biden and wish him good health and success for the sake of our country and offer his blessing to Biden’s family. (He reportedly left a letter to the new president that Biden described as “generous.”)
- To further promote unity, former President Trump should encourage all Americans to seek peaceful discourse and to make choices based on what is good for the country without regard to partisan loyalties.
Looking ahead as new issues arise, former President Trump has an opportunity just like President Biden to display the “out-of-this-world” kingdom love Jesus teaches all of us!
Observation for Both
Both of these men have a unique opportunity to change significantly the current tone in America by displaying “kingdom love.”
It is interesting to note that at this writing the approval rating of Washington politicians (Congress) is below 15% and their disapproval rating is above 80%. That is an abysmally failing grade in any human performance domain! This is one of many indications that the American people are weary of the rancor and divisiveness we see at the national level among many politicians and news media. Both of these men could lead in helping resolve the discord in America by applying “kingdom love.” I pray that they won’t miss this critical opportunity.
I must restate my sincerest desire that this application of kingdom love not be seen as politically biased in any way. If former President Trump had been re-elected, I would be proposing that he use his position of being “in charge” to bless his opponent in a similar way to bring real healing to our land.
Let us move forth with courage and wisdom
Finally, in verse three of our hymn, Fosdick calls on God to “cure our warring madness and bend our pride to thy control.” Certainly, the hatred we see within our country today is an example of this “warring madness.” It seems to exist more at the national level as portrayed by the media. However, we must also acknowledge and thank God for the innumerable acts of sacrificial “kingdom love” which take place every day within our local communities that go largely unnoticed by the media. God is working within the hearts of many of His people!
In the words of this great hymn, may He grant us wisdom and courage for the living of these days. And, may the Holy Spirit grow in us the capacity to love as Jesus taught us how to love. Amen.
Hymns for Him 