KIND MAKER OF THE WORLD, a Lenten Hymn Devotion for 25 March 2025 Anno Domini, the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
“For thy Maker is thine husband; The Lord of hosts is his name; And thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.” Isaiah 54:5
This ancient hymn composed by St. Gregory the Great (540-604) is a hymn for Vespers during Lent to the French tune, Jesu Dulcis Memoria, despite its Latin title. It celebrates not only the Sovereignty of God over all Creation, but also over the heart of the believer. It reminds us of our need to repent in light of that magnanimous sacrifice made in redeeming us of our bondage to sin.
KIND MAKER OF THE WORLD
Kind maker of the world, O hear
The fervent prayers with many a tear
Poured forth by all the penitent
Who keep this holy fast of Lent!
Each heart is manifest to thee;
Thou knowest our infirmity;
Now we repent, and seek thy face;
Grant unto us thy pard’ning grace.
Spare us, O Lord, who now confess
Our sins and all our wickedness,
And, for the glory of thy Name,
Our weaken’d souls to health reclaim.
Give us the self-control that springs
From abstinence in outward things;
That from each stain and spot of sin,
Our souls may keep the fast within.
Grant, O thou blessèd Trinity;
Grant, O unchanging Unity;
That this our fast of forty days
May work our profit and thy praise! Amen.
Kind maker of the world, O hear The fervent prayers with many a tear Poured forth by all the penitent Who keep this holy fast of Lent! This hymn is actually a prayer that can be sung to music – one which every believer can sing in heartfelt faith and contrition in light of this season preceding the Passion of Christ. Certainly, the tears of the saints are treasured by God when they are shed in repentance and devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ. Just as Christ fasted for us during the forty days and nights following His baptism, surely the blessed of the Lord could fast forty days and nights prior to the observance of the coming Friday of His Passion at Calvary.
Each heart is manifest to thee; Thou knowest our infirmity; Now we repent, and seek thy face; Grant unto us thy pard’ning grace. There is nothing hidden from the notice of God – even the thoughts of our hearts. “ I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Those sins committed in darkness are revealed in the brightness of the sun to the Father, as well. But God understands our frailty in the flesh and is willing to forgive all who are drawn in repentance to the Throne of Mercy and Grace. He has never turned away any who have been placed in His hand by the Father.
Spare us, O Lord, who now confess Our sins and all our wickedness, And, for the glory of thy Name, Our weaken’d souls to health reclaim. It is to the glory of God that our souls are saved, and nothing of worth that we have done. The Lord is the Great Physician who practices the approach of triage – treating the most serious malady first; therefore, He heals the soul of the deathly disease of sin, and then makes the body whole. When our souls are made whole, we are whole in every whit.
Give us the self-control that springs From abstinence in outward things; That from each stain and spot of sin, Our souls may keep the fast within. Remember, it is the inward spiritual grace that is reflected in the outward man – not the reverse. When we are drawn to Christ, sometimes screaming and resisting, we are first cleansed in the inward man, and then washed in the outward form. That is the meaning of Psalms 51:7 “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” Hyssop is a purgative to cleanse the alimentary canal within, and then we are washed without to be whiter than snow (sinless with the imputed righteousness of Christ). Every snowflake contains an impurity at its center, else ice crystals could not coalesce to form the flake, but the saved of God are regarded as having no spot or blemish.
Grant, O thou blessèd Trinity; Grant, O unchanging Unity; That this our fast of forty days May work our profit and thy praise! Amen. The Triunity of the Godhead invites the believer to not only be a child of God, but also enjoy a oneness therewith. The blessed Trinity of God has offered all to us in our salvation. The Father offered His Only Begotten son; the son offered His very Life Blood; and the Holy Spirit guides and directs our feet in Light and Truth. We fast to demonstrate our deep sorrow for sin – even sin forgiven. But the greater fast is to fats from those sins more than of meats. A young Confederate soldier once asked General Robert E. Lee “How often must a man fast?” Lee responded, “If a man would fast from his sins, he may eat what he pleases.”
