CW 571: O God, O Lord of Heaven and Earth
As we near the end of Lent we look forward to the joy of Easter. Lent reminds us of our countless sins and the terrible price that Christ paid on our behalf. By nature, we deserve only God’s wrath and punishment. Because of our sins, we only deserve the torments of hell. But God in his great love and mercy sent his only Son Jesus Christ to suffer and die on our behalf.
O God, Our Lord of Heaven and Earth reminds us of this truth. The verses call to mind the way we abuse our lives and the gifts that God has given to us. They remind us that Jesus left the joy and perfection of heaven to breathe the sin-tainted air of this fallen world. Christ became man so that he could suffer and die to save us. What an amazing miracle! What joy to know that God in his mercy sacrificed his own Son to save us who are by nature his enemies.
Verse 1: O God, O Lord of heav’n and earth, your living finger never wrote that life should be an aimless mote, a deathward drift from futile birth. Your Word meant life triumphant hurled in splendor through your broken world; ere light awoke and life began, you made for us a holy plan.
Death, disease, sin, and evil were never part of God’s plan for us or this world. When God created the heavens and earth, when God created man and all living creatures, he declared that all these things were good. God created a world free from sin and death. We were never to know the horrors of death and disease. We were never to know the eternal pain and suffering of hell. God created us to know the sinless perfection of eternal life with him. But when Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they brought sin and death into this world. They ruined God’s perfect creation and brought the curse of sin, death, disease, and suffering to all of their descendants. God in his holiness cannot leave the guilty unpunished. But he also did not want to leave mankind lost in the darkness of sin. So, God made a plan. He promised that he would send a Savior to rescue this world from the darkness of sin and death.
Verse 2: In blind revolt we would not see that rebel wills wrought death and night. We seized and used in fear and spite your wondrous gift of liberty. We walled us in this house of doom, where death had royal scope and room, until your servant, Prince of Peace, broke down its walls for our release.
Because of Adam and Eve’s sin, all of mankind is born in slavery to sin. Our souls are tainted by original sin. By nature, we are born as enemies of God. The only inclination of our hearts is only evil all the time. By nature, we are lost and condemned creatures. But God in his rich mercy sent Jesus into this world to free us from the bondage of sin. By his death, Christ destroyed the power of sin. On the cross, he became sin in our place. He removed our guilt and made us heirs of God’s eternal kingdom. As children of God, we still have a sinful nature. We still want to use our Christian freedom to sin and rebel against God. Christ has won for us our freedom and each day we cling to the promise of the cross and trust in him for our forgiveness.
Verse 3: You came into our hall of death, O Christ, to breathe our poisoned air, to drink for us the deep despair that strangled our reluctant breath. How beautiful the feet that trod the road to bring good news from God! How beautiful the feet that bring good tidings of our saving King!
Christ became man and made his dwelling among us. What beautiful words! Christ gave up the joy and splendor of heaven to be born as a human. Think of the sacrifice! Think of his pain! Christ came and suffered for you! He came and lived as one of us so he could suffer and die for us. This is the miracle of the Gospel. God loved us, his enemies, so much that he sent his one and only Son to suffer and die to save us. This message is a treasure beyond compare, a pearl of priceless worth. Let us praise and thank God for our Savior.
Verse 4: O Spirit, who did once restore the church that it might yet recall the one who brings good news to all: breathe on your cloven church once more that in these gray and latter days there may be those whose life is praise, each life a high doxology unto the holy Trinity.
While we live in this world of pain, we are members of the church militant. The church is broken by division. We are not perfect, and we will not be perfect on this side of heaven. There will be bitter disputes within the church. We will face suffering, pain, and persecution. We endure all these things because we know there is something greater for us. We know that even though this world lives under the pall of sin, we have the glory of heaven waiting for us. On the cross, Christ broke the power of Satan. By his resurrection, he gave us the certainty of eternal life with him. We struggle on and pray that the Spirit of God will continue to breathe on his church and give us the boldness to proclaim the message of salvation to the world.
O God, O Lord of Heaven and Earth is a stirring song that reminds us of the pain of our sins and the joy of the Gospel. Each day we live is a day of struggle. We truly are simul iustus et peccator. We are at the same time both righteous and sinner. Each day we strive to drown our sinful nature in the waters of our baptism and cling to the promises of the cross. We mourn over our sins and rejoice in our Savior. We give thanks and praise that we have a Father who loves us so much that even in our sin and rebellion he still sent his Son to save us. We praise our Savior who willingly came to this poisoned world to suffer and die to save us. We give thanks to the Spirit who works through the power of the Word to call us back again and again to the promise of the Gospel.
Text of O God, O Lord of Heaven and Earth: © 1967 Lutheran Council in the USA, admin. Augsburg Fortress. Used by permission: OneLicense no. 724012