This hymn, a reminder of the blessings God has bestowed upon this country, speaks vividly about our need to seek God’s Guidance to ease the strife and disagreements that dominate so many conversations.
An Episcopal priest who fought in the Civil War wrote the words to the hymn for this hymn meditation. Daniel C. Roberts was born in Long Island, NY in 1841 and died in Concord, NH in 1907. He served in the Union Army, 84th Ohio Infantry, during the Civil War. He was educated at Kenyon College in Ohio and was ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church in 1866.
Roberts was serving as the rector of St. Thomas and Grace Episcopal churches in Vermont in 1876 when the General Convention of the Episcopal Church commissioned a group to revise their hymnal. They were looking for a hymn for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the writing/adoption of the United States Constitution. Roberts sent in his words anonymously with the understanding that if they were chosen, he would reveal authorship. The commission chose Roberts’ lyrics.
The words were first sung to the tune “Russian Hymn.” But the hymnal editor and organist, George W. Warren, wrote new music for the lyrics called “National Hymn.” So, this famous and inspiring national hymn was born. The title has undergone revision in some hymnals and is now often cited as “God of the Ages.”
The words penned by Roberts 145 years ago have never been more relevant for America than today. Please read and think about these words and then we will look at some biblical principles and passage that undergird the thoughts and prayers contained in these lyrics.
The Lyrics And Their Application
God of our Fathers, Whose Almighty Hand
Leads forth in beauty all the starry band.
Of Shining worlds in splendor through the skies
Our grateful songs, before thy throne arise.
Thy Love divine hath led us in the past.
In this free land by thee our lot is cast.
Be thou our ruler, guardian, guide, and stay.
Thy Word Our Law, thy Paths our chosen ways.
From wars alarms, from deadly pestilence,
Be thy Strong arm our ever sure defense;
Thy true religion in our hearts increase,
Thy Bounteous goodness, nourish us in peace.
Refresh thy people on their toilsome way;
Lead us from night, to never ending day;
Fill all our lives, with love and grace divine,
And glory, laud, and praise be ever thine.
The major, most currently relevant thoughts from the lyrics that stand out to me are as follows:
- God is the Father of our nation.
- We should give thanks to Him for creating and blessing our nation.
- His love sustains us.
- We enjoy freedom by His grace.
- His Word is our law.
- His path is our way.
- He keeps us from harm.
- He leads us from the darkness into His light.
- He fills us with love and grace.
- All glory should be given to Him for these blessings.
How do you think we are doing as a nation in these 10 areas? As we consider that overall issue, we can turn these 10 areas into 10 questions.
- Do we acknowledge God as the Father of our nation?
- Do we regularly give Him thanks for creating and blessing America?
- Do we depend on His love to sustain us?
- Do we acknowledge that we are free by His grace?
- Is His Word our law?
- Are we following His path?
- Do we petition Him for deliverance from wars and pestilence?
- Are we led by Him into His marvelous light or are we in the dark?
- Are we filled with His spirit of love and grace?
- Do we give Him the glory that He is due?
As an exercise, using the traditional educational grading scale of A, B, C, D, F, give our country a grade for how well you think we are doing on each of these questions.
Some disturbing data
Having completed that exercise, let’s look at some national data as indicators on some of these issues. The Pew Research Center provides the following data which may be relevant to our 10 questions.
The percentage of U.S. adults who look to the following for guidance regarding what is right verses wrong is as follows.
- Religion. . . . . . . . 33%
- Common Sense. . . . . . . . 45%
- Philosophy/reason. . . . . . . . 11%
- Science. . . . . . . . 9%
- Don’t know. . . . . . . . 3%
So, only 33% of U.S. adults depend on religion . . . any religion . . . for guidance regarding what is right or wrong! And, only 33% believe that there are clear standards for what is right and wrong!
While 53% of U.S. adults say that religion is very important, only 36% attend religious service at least once per week!
Finally, 31% believe the Bible is the Word of God and should be taken literally!
So much for current statistics.
Guidance from the Bible
For our meditation, let’s look at a biblical example of questions 5 and 6. In the Old Testament, we find a great example of a nation that departed from God’s law and His way . . . the nation of Israel. When Moses went to meet God on Mount Sinai and receive His commandments, the people became impatient. After they saw that Moses was taking so long in coming back, they decided to make for themselves another God. So they gathered around Aaron and took their gold jewelry and made a golden calf.
God’s anger burned against them but Moses begged God not to bring disaster on the nation of Israel. God granted Moses’ plea for mercy. But, Israel did not learn from this experience.
Later in their history, God was their king. He selected men and women to be His agents in guiding and judging Israel through the prophets and judges. Samuel was Israel’s last judge. When he grew old, he appointed his sons to be the next judges for the nation. But, these men (Joel and Abijah) did not conduct themselves like Samuel. So, the leaders of the nation came to Samuel and asked him to appoint a king for Israel. All the other nations had kings, so they thought this was the best solution. They did not ask God through Samuel for guidance about this problem. They presented Samuel with the solution they wanted . . . a manmade solution.
They were effectively trading God in as their king for a human king. Samuel was quite concerned about this and sought God’s guidance. God instructed Samuel to warn the people of Israel about all the dangers associated with a human king. Samuel did warn them, but they did not listen. So, God instructed Samuel to give them a king . . . Saul.
Saul did not do well and the Bible records God saying that He regretted appointing Saul as king. This new system of governance did not serve the nation very well. They still did not learn their lesson. Then, God sent His Son to them but they did not receive Him. In fact, they were responsible for putting Him to death. When given a choice by Pilate, the people chose Barabbas, a hardened criminal, over Jesus. Pilate asked them, “Shall I crucify your king?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”
The history of Israel and their relationship with God, specifically regarding His word/law and His way, is very significant. What can we (America) learn from this compelling saga of disobedience? Is there a lesson for us?
People would pose many different answers to that question. Let’s look at what God had to say to Israel through the prophet Hosea in chapter 14.
Return, Israel, to the Lord your God.
Your sins have been your downfall!
Take words with you
and return to the Lord.Say to him:
“Forgive all our sins
and receive us graciously,
that we may offer the fruit of our lips.
3 Assyria cannot save us;
we will not mount warhorses.
We will never again say ‘Our gods’to what our own hands have made,
for in you the fatherless find compassion.”“I will heal their waywardness
and love them freely,
for my anger has turned away from them.
I will be like the dew to Israel;
he will blossom like a lily.
Like a cedar of Lebanon
he will send down his roots;his young shoots will grow.
His splendor will be like an olive tree,
his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.
People will dwell again in his shade;they will flourish like the grain,
Hosea 14: 1-7
they will blossom like the vine—
Israel’s fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.”
God’s answer to Israel was for them to return to Him . . . to His word as their law and His way as their path.
What might all this mean for us today? I want to make two suggestions.
For those who believe Jesus and have it as their aim to follow Him, consider these passages from 2 Timothy, the book of James, and Romans.
Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”
2 Timothy 2: 22-26
“But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”
James 1: 25
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8: 28
For those who are not at the point of believing and trusting Jesus, consider these passages from Romans, Mark and the book of James.
“But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
Romans 3: 21-24
After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Mark 1: 14-15
You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
‘”God opposes the proud
but show favor to the humble.”Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
James 4: 4-8
In summary, there is one truth and one path. Jesus says that clearly in John 14:
“I am the way and the truth and the life.”
John 14: 6
Old Testament guidance
God spoke these words to Solomon when the temple was finished:
When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
2 Chronicles 7: 13-15
May we learn from the history of the nation of Israel and may our prayer be,
Refresh thy people on their toilsome way;
Lead us from night, to never ending day;
Fill all our lives, with love and grace divine,
And glory, laud, and praise be ever thine.
Amen!
Hymns for Him 