God The Omnipotent!
God the Omnipotent!
God the omnipotent! King, who ordainest
Thunder Thy clarion, the lightning Thy sword;
Show forth Thy pity on high where Thou reignest;
Give to us peace in our time, O Lord.
God the all-merciful! Earth hath forsaken
Meekness and mercy, and slighted Thy Word;
Let not Thy wrath in its terrors awaken;
Give to us peace in our time, O Lord.
God the all-righteous One! Man hath defied Thee;
Yet to eternity standeth Thy Word;
Falsehood and wrong shall not tarry beside Thee;
Give to us peace in our time, O Lord.
So shall Thy people, with thankful devotion,
Praise Him who saved them from peril and sword,
Singing in chorus from ocean to ocean,
Peace to the nations, and praise to the Lord.
Stanzas 3-4 by John Ellerton (1826–1893)
THERE WAS NO WAR in 1842 when Henry F. Chorley, music critic of the London Athenaeum, wrote this hymn under the title “In Time of War.” Twenty-eight years later, John Ellerton added additional stanzas as the Franco-Prussian War was being waged in Europe.
But the prayer “Give to us peace in our time, O Lord,” has been uttered since the beginning of time. Wars and rumors of wars, civic unrest, riots, looting, and rampant crime have increased as humanity has supposedly become more educated and civilized.
External peace may not come, despite our efforts and our prayers. But internal peace can be a reality because our rest and our trust are in a God who is omnipotent, all-merciful, all-righteous, and all-wise. Our God is greater than the armies and ornaments of nations.
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
Isaiah 26:3
From the book
