Saturday, April 13, 2024  

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Today's Hymn
“Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”

All thy works with joy surround thee;
earth and heaven reflect thy rays;
stars and angels sing around thee,
center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain,
flowery meadow, flashing sea,
chanting bird and flowing fountain,
call us to rejoice in thee.

by Henry van Dyke
Hymn 611, Glory to God
verse 2



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Reflection

The second verse of this hymn calls us into action. Henry van Dyke’s lyrics tell us that the stars and the angels sing, circling God with “unbroken praise,” demonstrating what we are called to do. Then van Dyke lists eight of God’s creations — fields, forests, vales, mountains, meadows, seas, birds, and fountains. These miracles are all around us and should remind us of what we are asked to do. They are not just “here.” Their beauty elicits a response from us. These creations “call us to rejoice in thee,” so we should rejoice!

This word rejoice sometimes implies to me that we can just “feel happy.” As I look deeper into the origin of the word, it reveals a different meaning. “To rejoice” comes from the Old French rejoir, from re- (expressing intensive force) + joir (experience joy). So this really is a command, I guess. We need to express joy, not just feel joy. My mom used to say that Psalm 118 (“This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it”) is not a description of how good we feel; it is a command.

Helen Keller, a friend of Dr. van Dyke, quoted him as saying, “I’m not an optimist; there’s too much evil in the world and in me. Nor am I a pessimist; there is too much good in the world and in God. So I am just a meliorist, believing that God’s will is to make the world better. I am trying to do my bit to help and wishing that it were more.” Our “bit” could be to rejoice!

Pastor Are reminded me that I have a job to do. In a recent sermon, he said, “You and I, we know we cannot be who we are supposed to be without God. Remarkably, it seems God refuses to be who God is ... without us.”

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Prayer
Dear God, thank you for the unspeakable joys you lay in my path, whether I am wise enough to see them or not. Teach me to rejoice in you. Amen.

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Written by Katy Sinclair, Associate Director of Music for Children and Youth

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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