Sunday in church we sang a wonderful hymn, "This is My Song," also called "A Hymn of Peace." The uplifting music is by Jean Sibelius, based on his "Finlandia," and the words are by two different writers. Stanzas 1 and 2 are by Lloyd Stone who wrote them during the period between WWI and WWII when he was 22. The other stanzas are by a Methodist theologian, Georgia Harkness.
Here are stanzas one, two, and four.
This is my song, O God of all the nations,
a song of peace for lands afar and mine;
this is my home, the country where my heart is;
here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine:
but other hearts in other lands are beating
with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
My country's skies are bluer than the ocean
and sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine;
but other lands have sunlight too, and clover,
and skies are everywhere as blue as mine:
O hear my song, thou God of all the nations,
a song of peace for their land and for mine.
May truth and freedom come to every nation;
may peace abound where strife has raged so long;
that each may seek to love and build together,
a world united, righting every wrong;
a world united in its love for freedom,
proclaiming peace together in one song.
Consider these words as you listen to or read the news. And as we approach the presidential conventions.
An Invitation
What words are inspiring you these days? I would love to know.
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