The God of All the Nations

The God of All the Nations

Genesis 1:31

            There are two hymn texts to the tune Finlandia.  The tune was written by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) as part of a larger work for orchestra by the same title.  The orchestral piece was written to evoke national pride in the Finnish people during a time of Russian domination.

            One set of words begins, “Be still my soul, for God is on your side.”  It’s the other text I want to reference today.  This hymn is by Lloyd Stone, and was written in 1934.  The title is This Is My Song.  It begins:

This is my song, O God of all the nations,

a song of peace for lands afar and mine.

            “And God saw everything he had made, and behold, it was very good.” (italics 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.

            Recently, my wife and I attended the opening concert of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra’s new season.  Traditionally, concerts begin with the orchestra standing as the conductor walks to the podium.  The inaugural concert each year begins with something special.  It is not on the program because it doesn’t need to be.

The conductor bows to the audience, turns to the percussion section, gives a cue, and the snare drummer begins a roll.  The audience doesn’t need a cue.  They know to stand, and as the conductor gives a downbeat, orchestra and audience begin “The Star-Spangled Banner.”  Many events (ball games, other concerts, who knows what-all) begin with the national anthem; but this is special, because the audience sings along—full voice. 

When my wife and I attend ball games we sing our national anthem.  Usually we’re singing by ourselves, but we sing anyway.  At the MSO concert we are joined by every voice in the audience.  I must admit it is one of the moments when I am the proudest to be an American.

I must remember that people in other lands are as proud of their countries as I am of mine.  We are, perhaps, the most successful nation in the history of this planet (to date), and more people still want to move to this country than want to move from it, but too often we wear this as a mantle of superiority instead of as a cloak of humility.  As Psalm 100:3 says, “It is [God] who has made us, and not we ourselves.”  Our ancestors worked to make this nation what it is, but all success in all creation begins with God.

We have entered a time when many in our country have adopted the slogan, “America first!”  Unfortunately, that attitude often leads to isolationism.  “Let the rest of the world fight it out for second place; we’ll raise the drawbridge and congratulate ourselves on our greatness.”  It is worth noting that all nations who have taken this attitude in the past have eventually fallen from greatness.

“And God saw everything he had made, and behold, it was very good.” (italics mine)

That means not just you, not just me, not just this country, but every person, and every country.  God is the God of all the nations, and whether we agree or not, God favors no nation over the others.  In God’s eyes we’re all very good.

When we’re tempted to feel superior, it would be good to remember the last lines of This Is My Song:

O hear my prayer, thou God of all the nations;

a song of peace for their land and for mine.