The Banner Over Us Is Love

REFLECTIONS
September 13, 2009

Psalm 19 is a hymn to God as creator of the universe and the origin of the Law. Much powerful music has been penned to illustrate this concept. Three which illustrate these ideas are found in our United Methodist Hymnal. The first stanza of How Great Thou Art, (written by Stuart Kine in 1953) reads “O Lord my God: when I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds Thy hands have made, I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed.” There needs to be in the heart of every believer a sense of wonder, a willingness to appreciate the power of creation.

Another popular hymn which illustrates this understanding of the creative spirit is the hymn, Morning Has Broken, (written by Eleanor Farjeon and arranged by Carlton Young). The middle verse finds the words: “Sweet the rain’s new fall sunlit from heaven, like the first dew fall on the first grass. Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden, sprung in completeness where his feet pass.” Here the import of the message seems to be that in God, creation is whole, full and right. The law of life is found not in judgment, but in the creative and enduring movement of God.

The words to Be Thou My Vision, (translated from ancient Irish by Mary E. Byrne in 1905 and arranged by Carlton Young in 1963) have in them the implicit sense of law found in Psalm 19. The opening verse is so powerful and forthright: “Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart, naught be all else to me, save that Thou art. Thou my best thought, by day or by night, waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

We so often see the work of law as a literal event as in the black and white of the printed page. However, Biblically law is bound in relationship. This is the nature of Covenant; at base, a simple form of contract. God says, “I will be your God, if you agree to be my people.” While there are commandments set forth in writing, even in stone, the bonding agent, the signature and seal in the hymns we sing cannot be legalistic tones set in concrete. Rather they must be rooted in love and bound for heaven, for the glory of God must be told indeed.

Dr. Joey K. McDonald
First United Methodist Church
4832 Tujunga Avenue, North Hollywood, CA 91601