A MEDITATION FROM HYMNS AND SCRIPTURE -7th Sunday after Trinity, 1 August 2025, the Rev. David McMillan, Andulusia, Alabama.
Matthew 24:30-31
“30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
Perhaps many of us have found comfort in singing good hymns. The 1940
Hymnal is a good place to start ( Prot. Episcopal Church). For the 6th Sunday of
Trinity hymns a hymn originally titled, “O Conqueror" with a first line "O North...." is
appointed, no. 541. I have used these hymns in my daily prayers. This one is
quite meaningful.
The hymn was written by W. Cullen Bryant, 1794-1878 . He was a lawyer in
Massachusetts. He wrote over 20 hymns. He wrote for the " New York Post" as
well. The tune to this hymn, " O North..." is catchy and easy to sing.
1. The first verse is much about nature; however, in the second verse he talks
about the coming of the Son of Man, "Lo, in the clouds of heaven appears God's
well-beloved Son; He brings a train of brighter years; His kingdom is begun. He
comes a guilty world to bless, with mercy, truth and righteousness."
Have you ever needed encouragement? Of course! We all need it. It can be
perilous to base our lives on politics, the news or difficult events such as losses.
We live in a time when the abundance of life is lacking in its teaching of the
coming of the Christ in brightness. Too often we are down in our thinking with the
baseless and depressing claims of our society. We thought we had advanced,
but we took too many steps in our thinking to a sad way of living. We hear the
weather and the comment is , " mother nature sent us..." This seems to
accentuate godless commentary on life to me. God the Creator should be
acknowledged even by NBC. Could they say, " God sent?" That does not seem
too religiously offensive.
Acknowledgment of guilt is absent from the culture. We look for ways to blame
everyone except our own sin. His kingdom has begun. At death we are re-united
eternally and presently with Him forever. His kingdom is begun the hymn
reminds us . It is past, present and future. We should not narrow its scope as the
world does. Hebrews 1 :2 says "in these last days , spoken unto us by His Son"
2. "O Father, haste the promised hour, When at His feet shall lie, All Rule, All
Authority, and power beneath the ample sky; When He shall reign from pole to
pole. The Lord of every human soul."
I like these words from the 3rd stanza. What a lovely quiet way to say what is true
and beautiful for all to know. He is the Lord of every human soul.
What will it take for us to acknowledge this ? A disaster in our lives ...It certainly
wakes us up. We need Him every hour. Philippians 2:10 says, " ...at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow...and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord"
3. Lastly the 4th vs brings it home for us who live now in this world, "When all
shall heed the words He said, Amid their daily cares..."
The hard part is not on the Lord's Day Worship to glorify Him. We start there, but
it is the daily list of things that seem to escape our glorifying God alone. Can we
do all things to the glory of God? Whether we are nourishing our bodies with food,
or whatever we do, we can remember and do these things to God's glory.
"And by the loving life He led, Shall seek to pattern theirs; And He who conquered
death shall win the mightier conquest over sin."
Perhaps most of this can be summed up in the wonderful prayer for today from the
1928 Book of Common Prayer, " The Collect:
LORD of all power and might, who art the author and giver of all good things; Graft
in our hearts the love of thy Name, increase in us true religion, nourish us with all
goodness, and of thy great mercy keep us in the same; through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen."
There is a true religion. There is true goodness. The LORD is the author of all
good things. Good and well-written hymns are in that category. The hymn we
have talked about focuses on much that is good---The Lord is come, and His
kingdom is come now. We needs the brightness of His Word, His kingdom and
His pleasure in so much that is drab, dismal and dark in this present age.
He indeed is the Lord of every human soul. May our lives reflect His life in all that
we say and do.
