a Hymn Devotion for 12 November 2024 Anno Domini,
the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.”
(Psalms 33:12)
“ And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, gcoming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God[1]” (Revelations 21:1-3)
This is a hymn whose them is one which appeals to the wore-torn nation as well as those who have known the ravages of war. The author is John W. Norris who composed this hymn in the fateful year at the beginning of World War II in 1939. The tune is Lynchburg by Henry Hallstrom in 1941.
Click here to listen to the tune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFGm0DxURNY
GIVE PEACE, O GOD, THE NATION’S CRY
1 Give peace, O God, the nations cry,
From evil man and deed;
Their voices, rising to the sky,
Proclaim a human need.
2 Yet not thy peace, O God, they ask,
The peace that grace bestows;
The peace which hallows care and task,
That makes us friends, not foes.
3 But peace they ask from war’s alarms,
Surcease from earthly care,
And peace that rests on fighting arms
Of land and sea and air.
4 We need the peace of heart and mind
In men from hate set free,
Who by their love for human kind
Show deeper love for thee.
5 O cleanse all hearts of pride and greed,
Remove all lust and sin,
That man from chains of wrath be freed,
Eternal peace to win.
1 Give peace, O God, the nations cry, From evil man and deed; Their voices, rising to the sky, Proclaim a human need. The terror of war is most often motivated by monied interests or a desire to gain ‘lebensraum,’ or more living space for the belligerent nation. Of course, in every case, covetous is the root of the evil. Evil in the hearts of mankind are manifested in large-scale killing of their perceived enemy and has its roots long ago in the Garden at Eden. There are times that wars are a result of a failure of morality in a nation, and war may be the instrument of God to awaken the people of the nation to remember the Law and nature of God. It is in time of war or national destruction that forces us to remember that our only help comes from the Lord. War makes no distinction between young or old – both suffer or die in its path.
2 Yet not thy peace, O God, they ask, The peace that grace bestows; The peace which hallows care and task, That makes us friends, not foes. Truly the national petitions for peace is often for that manmade peace of a cessation of hostilities across borders, but they fail to pray for that peace that passes all understanding that comes only from God and brings a peace that unites in love and not separate in hate
3 But peace they ask from war’s alarms, Surcease from earthly care, And peace that rests on fighting arms Of land and sea and air. Strangely, the world petitions for peace only in the cessation of earthly wars and woes, yet, omit the greater peace to be had only in Christ. In America today, all claims for peace and social unrest are based on the values of the world. The mention of the name of Christ is offensive to these misguided souls who know not the power of Heaven.
4 We need the peace of heart and mind In men from hate set free, Who by their love for human kind
Show deeper love for thee. How can we ever truly love others if we fail in our first love to God Almighty? Our love for God is expressed in our sharing of that love for others. “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (Gospel of St John 13:34-35)
5 O cleanse all hearts of pride and greed, Remove all lust and sin, That man from chains of wrath be freed, Eternal peace to win. The only means by which this can ever be accomplished is responding to the call of the Holy Spirit and be born anew in Christ. Pride, Greed, lust, and all other sinful desires will fall away in the process of sanctification – but the sins of those who come to Christ will not be accounted to them at the Judgment.
