O Beautiful for Spacious Skies, ELW 888
1 O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain:
America!
America!
God shed his grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.
2 O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife, who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life:
America!
America!
May God thy gold refine, till all success be nobleness, and ev'ry gain divine.
3 O beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years thine alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears:
America!
America!
God mend thine ev'ry flaw, confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law.
Devotion
“O Beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain…”
When is the last time you noticed the beauty around you, in the shining waters, the beautiful skies, the lush grass, the majestic hills and mountains, the sounds of the birds chirping, the wind blowing through the trees? What about the beauty in the faces around you, in the wrinkled features of a grandfather, the smooth folds of newborn toes, the cracked hands of a grandmother who has shared much love or the twinkle in the eyes of a teenager? It is here in the people around us we find overwhelming beauty and a true connection of brotherhood.
Even though this is not our national anthem, this hymn has become significant in the life of many Americans. As we celebrate our nation’s independence this weekend may we see the beauty that God has created in the people around us, in the plains, in the mountains, in the streets, and in the skies. And may we be united together in the brotherhood of God’s amazing grace!
Prayer
God, may your grace shine through all the darkest places, and may you be glorified through the beauty that you have made. Amen.