Children of the heavenly King,
As we journey let us sing;
Sing our Savior's worthy praise,
Glorious in his works and ways.
We are traveling home to God,
In the way our fathers trod;
They are happy now, and we
Soon their happiness shall see.
Fear not, brethren; joyful stand
On the borders of our land;
Jesus Christ, our Father's Son,
Bids us undismayed go on.
Lord, obediently we'll go,
Gladly leaving all below;
Only thou our leader be,
And we still will follow thee.
Lift your eyes, ye sons of light,
Zion's city is in sight;
There our endless home shall be,
There our Lord we soon shall see. Amen.
(Tune: PLEYEL'S HYMN)
The hymn begins by addressing "children of the heavenly King." This makes me think about the joy of being called children of God: "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are" (1 John 3:1). John goes on to write that though now we are God's children, what we will become has not yet been revealed. "What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure" (1 Jn. 3:2-3). God will be fully revealed, and at that time so will we, and we will resemble God. In hoping for this revelation and transfiguration, we purify ourselves, just as God is pure; in hoping to be like God, we become like God.
It may be this journey towards Christlikeness that Cennick's hymn describes. It is a journey that all children of God are summoned to embark on. It begins "below," or in this current state of existence and the world, and continues always "on the borders of our land," behind us being what is familiar and before us being a mystery. Our destination is "home to God." Even now, if we "lift [our] eyes," we may see "Zion's city," "our endless home" where God dwells--or at least a glimpse of it. What do these glimpses of the Holy City look like?
"As we journey let us sing." Several years ago, three friends and I climbed a mountain. It took us half a day, and one of the things I remember most about the hike was that we sang through some of it. Sometimes we took turns singing each line of a song. We began the hike at night, and as the sun was rising, I began singing "Morning has broken. . ." If I had known the lyrics, I would have sung the whole song. Singing was fun and gave me energy to keep walking when I was tired. On our journey toward God, songs give us strength.
"Sing our Savior's worthy praise, / Glorious in his works and ways." Cennick encourages us to sing in joy and worship for all of the wonderful things God has done--and the wonderful ways God has done them. God has created and continues to create us. God has saved us and is restoring us. On a personal level, God has delivered me from snares and given me many beautiful experiences. Singing about these moments feeds me.
"Fear not, brethren; joyful stand / On the borders of our land." The opposite and antidote to fear, Cennick says, is joy. Sometimes standing on a border can invoke fear. A few times as a college student, I joined a group of people at the border between San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, to worship God in song, prayer, speeches, and food, with people from both sides of the border. Here was a glimpse of the Holy City: people of different nations, ages, genders, and economic statuses sharing life together. It reflected the unity in Paul's description of God's children: "As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:27-28).
But not everyone who attended saw things that way. Once, a man interrupted the service by walking up to us and shouting at us through a megaphone. Perhaps he and the other men with him were afraid of crossing a border into hospitality by welcoming people from Mexico and Latin America. How would their attitudes toward foreigners change if they stood on the border not in fear but joy because God calls people from all nations to be children of God and members of God's family, and that such a call is an expression of God's love for us? How would my attitude change toward foreigners of all kinds if I stood on the border in the joy of God?
I have stood on spiritual borders, crossroads where I needed to decide between staying where I was or going into a new land. When I face such decisions, choosing can be terrifying because I do not know the consequences of either choice. What are the dangers? What are the blessings? How will I change? Is God leading me in a certain direction? Cennick's words encourage me to stand at such crossroads with joy. Instead of trembling, I can sing.
Jesus Christ "bids us undismayed go on" into God's realm. We can trust that God desires to lead us into God's will, and that in God's time God will give clarity. When God calls us to some specific path, sometimes it is more difficult than the hymn suggests to obediently go, "gladly leaving all below," but I am encouraged when I realize that I journey to God, who is the source of life and joy, and who gives us what we need.
As we journey and stand on borders of various kinds, may God bless us with songs and give us the strength to obediently go further into the life of God.
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