WOV #750, "Oh, Praise the Gracious Power"
Devotion
If you don’t know this hymn, take a few minutes to savor its gorgeous words. Scarcely twenty years old, its poetry speaks to every time and place. From “persistent truth that opens fisted minds” to “the tide of grace that laps at every shore,” the verses testify to an expansive love that will not quit until God is satisfied that the peace of Christ reigns.
The refrain repeats “Your cross has made us one!” The things that divide nations, and families, cannot be solved by the exercise of good will. Our troubles go deeper. Luke, Paul and the other biblical witnesses to Jesus Christ believed it was Jesus’ death on the cross that bridged the chasm between heaven and earth, life and death, hope and despair. As you worship this weekend, consider what bridges God has built—or is yet building—in your life. To whom are you being sent? What word will you give them? Amen.
Prayer
“Oh praise the power, the truth, the love, the word, the tide. Yet more than these, oh praise their source, praise Christ the crucified.” (vs. 6) Amen.
Extract from "Oh, Praise the Gracious Power," text by Thomas H. Troeger, printed in "With One Voice Songbook 1995." Copyright Oxford University Press. Permission requested.