This virus of religious extremism is spreading, with Turkey and Bangladesh being among the newer arrivals to our headlines (& let’s not forget those who never receive that focus!). Poverty. It is difficult to see how the global refugee crisis can be resolved. Inequality. The blind spot in the USA over guns is unfathomable. Polarization. Democracy seems to be decaying, less able to produce leaders that can be admired. Big money buys big power – everywhere. Over-consumption. The popularity of Trump in the USA, Brexit in the UK, and Pauline Hanson in Australia all seems so odd. What on earth is going on?
Right now, the mess seems to be accompanied by a peculiar brand of badness, madness and sadness.
In recent months I have found myself singing, repeatedly, a little refrain that I have not sung in public worship for decades:
Grant us wisdom, Grant us courage – for the facing of this hour.
Wisdom. Courage. At an experiential level these qualities became so real to me when I started as the principal of a seminary. It surprised me, after just a few weeks, how much wisdom and courage was needed every day. In more recent years, when interceding for others, it has become commonplace to plead for wisdom and courage. It is like a default setting (along with grace and patience). So many intercessory situations come back to these two. And now, as I look out into our world, seeing and feeling its mess, this couplet is still with me.
So I journeyed back to the original hymn. Written in 1930, in the midst of the Depression and between the two World Wars, by Harry Emerson Fosdick (a theologically liberal leader whose profile, from a base in New York City, was not dissimilar in scope to today’s evangelical New Yorker, Timothy Keller). Notwithstanding Kevin deYoung’s stinging criticism of this as a ‘hymn not worth singing’ because it has a theologically dubious line in it – I think it is worth singing, with a little edit of the words. Let’s take a look and listen:
Together with Kevin de Young, my theological knickers could get in a twist over ‘let the search for thy salvation’ – but why reject an entire hymn when altering a couple of words will suffice? It seems a bit silly. For example, I could live with ‘let the Joy of thy salvation be our glory evermore’.
As with most of the hymns in this series in ‘lyrics for living’, the issue is more about finding a tune that works in a contemporary setting. ‘C’mon musicians, can you do something with this one?’ Here is the best version I could find (one which isn’t drowned out by a blaring organ … not my favourite instrument, it must be said – sorry, Dad and Grandpa, who were both organists):
How I’d love to wake up tomorrow, go to church, be greeted with this hymn in the service – and just ‘let it rip’ from deep within me, singing my little heart out. But it hasn’t happened once in the last 30 years and so it ain’t gonna happen tomorrow.
Paul
PS: Here are some quick ‘n easy links to the other Lyrics for Living posts:
#1 (touched by a loving hand)
#2 (a thrill of hope)
#3 (dews of quietness)
#4 (trace the rainbow)
#5 (wing my words)
#6 (but this I know)
#7 (ever, only, all)
#8 (not what these hands)
About Me
the art of unpacking
After a childhood in India, a theological training in the USA and a pastoral ministry in Southland (New Zealand), I spent twenty years in theological education in New Zealand — first at Laidlaw College and then at Carey Baptist College, where I served as principal. In 2009 I began working with Langham Partnership and since 2013 I have been the Programme Director (Langham Preaching). Through it all I've cherished the experience of the 'gracious hand of God upon me' and I've relished the opportunity to 'unpack', or exegete, all that I encounter in my walk through life with Jesus.
Recent Posts
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Having been born in 1959, I don’t remember much about the 1960s. But I have heard a lot. Hippies. Drugs. Rock ‘n Roll. Assassinations. Moon-walking. A quick trip across to ChatGPT informs me immediately that it was ‘a transformative decade across the world’—marked by the civil rights and feminist movements, Cold War tensions, consumerism and…
Revolution – Hymnmorphosis "God of grace and God of glory" is one ok contemporary version. Great song, have never heard it before!