Good Morning:
Tomorrow we’ll be singing hymn 577 “God Bless Our Native Land” as the last hymn during the church service. This hymn is based on Romans 13:1-7.The two verses from the hymn are below.
1. God bless our native land!
Firm may she ever stand
Thro’ storm and night!
When the wild tempests rave,
Ruler of wind and wave
Do Thou our country save
By Thy great might.
2. For her our prayer shall rise
To God above the skies;
On Him we wait.
Thou who art ever nigh,
Guarding with watchful eye,
To Thee aloud we cry,
God save the State! Amen.
Yet in this hymn, what are we asking for? We clearly want the Lord to bless our native land, but how so? The original author of this hymn was German. He wanted the Lord to bless Germany during his lifetime, which lasted from 1771 to 1826, but did he wish for earthly blessings or spiritual direction?
We may never know the answer to the previous question, but as we sing this hymn tomorrow, let us dwell on how we will answer this question. As Christians living in the United States of America, which is more important, (to live in a country full of earthly conveniences and that is a leader among first world countries, or to live in a country which values the truths of God’s word.) Both of these desires can exist simultaneously, yet if it comes down to picking one or the other, which do we sing and pray for? I’m certain the answer we all will profess is that the Lord desires godliness in a nation before providing earthly conveniences.
Tomorrow as we sing these verses, let us all pray during the hymn to have our Lord continually lead our country away from the deceptive and enticing lies of this world and instead follow His word, so that our children, grandchildren, and all of our family and friends may live in a peaceable and quiet country where God’s word is more and more a norm of society as opposed to a rule correcting our society.
In Christ, Pastor Naumann
