Before the Awful Throne

1) Before Jehovah's awful throne,
Ye nations, bow with sacred joy:
Know that the Lord is God alone,
He can create and he destroy.

2) His sovereign pow'r, without our aid,
Made us of dust, and formed us men;
And when like wandering sheep we strayed,
He brought us to his fold again.

3) We are his people, we his care,
Our souls, and all our mortal frame;
What lasting honors shall we rear,
Almighty Maker, to my name?

4) Wide as the world is thy command,
Vast as eternity thy love;
Firm as rock thy truth must stand,
When rolling years shall cease to move.

I'm not sure what drew me to this hymn today (sorry, for the delay between posts, I have some excuses, but none for not doing one yesterday, other than it was Sunday and I was tired and didn't think about doing one.) I think it has to do with the archaic use of "awful." As opposed to "fearful" or "terrifying," the hymn writer is using it to mean "full of awe." I say hymn writer, because John Wesley updated Isaac Watts' poem, so I don't know who wrote what.

This is a good hymn that celebrates God's complete sovereignty over all. It's hard for us to relinquish control of our lives. Especially to an all powerful being that we've never seen face to face. But as we come to know the Lord more and more, as the Spirit indwelling fills the crevices of our soul, we realize that we have never had any control. Without God, we are, at best, slaves to our passions and desires. Passions and desires can be topsy-turvy things, shifting back and forth. Going through life, we are untrained sea captains dropped into the middle of the ocean. How do we find the shore? Our Savior takes care of us. He takes the wheel. He created us, He created life. He is in control, always has, and always will be. So, as we sing "We are his people, we his care," we may take great comfort knowing that the God who Loves Us will lead us and keep us.