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LESSED be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. (2 Cor 1:1-4)
I must admit to having some reservation in the writing on this hymn – not because of the hymns beauty of truth and expression – but because of the composer of the lyrics, Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878-1969). But the author did not transmit his erroneous concept of a modernized version of Christianity through this hymn. He did not believe in the infallibility of Scripture, the virgin birth, nor the literal return of the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe God used the finger of an heretic to compose this hymn free of error. He was one of the first among the modern, liberal ministers who was involved in the Fundamentalist-Modernist ministerial controversy of the 1920’s & ‘30’s. The music provided in the 1940 Hymnal is MANNHEIM by the German composer, Friedrich Filitz; but my favorite tune for the hymn for spiritual compatibility is REGENT SQUARE by Henry Thomas Smart in 1866.
God of Grace and God of Glory
God of grace and God of glory,
on thy people pour thy power;
crown the ancient church's story;
bring its bud to glorious flower.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
for the facing of this hour,
for the facing of this hour.
Lo! the hosts of evil round us,
scorn thy Christ, assail his ways!
From the fears that long have bound us,
free our hearts to love and praise.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
for the living of these days,
for the living of these days.
Cure thy children's warring madness,
bend our pride to thy control;
shame our wanton, selfish gladness,
rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
lest we miss thy kingdom's goal,
lest we miss thy kingdom's goal.
Set our feet on lofty places;
gird our lives that they may be
armoured with all Christlike graces,
pledged to set all captives free.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
that we fail not them nor thee,
that we fail not them nor thee!
Save us from weak resignation,
To the evils we deplore.
Let the search for Thy salvation,
Be our glory evermore.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
Serving Thee whom we adore,
1. God of grace and God of glory, on thy people pour thy power; crown the ancient church's story; bring its bud to glorious flower. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, for the facing of this hour, for the facing of this hour. In the ancient days of the Church, especially during the Apostolic Age, the Church seemed as a budding rose whose petals peeled slowly to reveal an ever increasing beauty. That was a time of hard tribulation and persecution when men fled to the catacombs of Rome to worship unseen. The Water of the Word fed the roots of that Flower of the Church and gave life to her beauty and truth. Due to a failure of faith and wisdom, the Flower of the Church has withered in our time. If our people had the courage and wisdom of that early Church, we would once more become the salt and light of our society.
2. Lo! the hosts of evil round us, scorn thy Christ, assail his ways! From the fears that long have bound us, free our hearts to love and praise. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, for the living of these days, for the living of these days. have heard the opinion expressed that evil has always existed in the same measure as it does today, but I am certain of the foolishness of that opinion. The society into which I was born was far more gentle and respectful of womanhood than we witness today. Until I entered the Army, I did not know that such a perversion as homosexuality existed in real life. It is not only my opinion concerning this growing evil, but the inherent evidence of God’s Word: “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Gen 6:5)and “11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matt 24:11-14)
3. Cure thy children's warring madness, bend our pride to thy control; shame our wanton, selfish gladness, rich in things and poor in soul. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, lest we miss thy kingdom's goal, lest we miss thy kingdom's goal. One great failure in the modern Church is failure to subjugate our prideful wills to that Mind of Christ. It seems that the greater comfort we have in possessions the less zeal we have toward the worship and service of the Lord. God has made knowledge and wisdom readily available to all who seek His Face by the power of His Word – His Word is Truth! “6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” (Hosea 4:6) In our modern fixation on immoral conduct of and perverse imaginations, the only meaningful answer to our predicament is a return to the Word of God. Unfortunately, that is the only solution that is rejected out of hand by the greater body of society and even most of the mainline churches.
4. Set our feet on lofty places, Gird our lives that they may be, Armored with all Christ-like graces, In the fight to set men free. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, That we fail not man nor Thee, That we fail not man nor Thee. Once more, we are in bondage for lack of knowledge. We have forgotten that the Truth will set us free. The more of the Word of God we digest, the more like Christ we become in our wills and actions. His Word is a mighty defense against sinful proclivities. We will not fail our fellow men if our first desire is to our Lord and His Law.
5. Save us from weak resignation, To the evils we deplore. Let the search for Thy salvation, Be our glory evermore. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, Serving Thee whom we adore, Serving Thee whom we adore. A soldier on the battlefield has courage bolstered by love of country and dear ones at home for whom he fights. Love and truth imbue us with great courage while the enemy of our faith lacks that quality of love to bolster his courage. The Christian finds wickedness and evil repugnant to moral character. The Love of God is the first Commandment. We cannot love our fellow man in Christian charity without first loving the One who first loved us. (see 1 John 4:19) No soldier can condone resignation or faintheartedness in a fellow soldier. Such a one lacks the courage of conviction – because he LACKS conviction! If we truly believe, it is not a halfway proposition. Believing fully in the mercy, power, and grace of the Lord, we are confident in our instruments of war and our assured victory in Him as the Captain of our souls.
