Hymn: “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” – This stanza by John Rippon (1751-1836)
Tunes: DIADEM, MILES LANE, CORONATION
I know it was politically incorrect, but as a child we sang “Red
and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight.” Even as a
youngster, I learned from a simple song that we are all in this together,
regardless of our race, our kinfolk, or our lineage. I’ve tried to maintain
that attitude… and extending those groupings and moving the stakes out
further until the tent can contain us all.
This hymnline conjures up for me another one of those mental
pictures. In this one, I see a multi-colored throng of all the world’s people
standing together in what in my mind at least looks like a huge city square; I
would say it looks sort of like the plaza in front of St. Peter’s Cathedral,
but I know somebody would be offended that I had a Catholic vision!
Anyway, all those people are singing at the top of their lungs, but their
fortissimo-singing is very much under control. It’s not yelling; the sound is
very, very musical. They are all lifting up their praise to the One who sits on
the throne – although in this glimpse, I don’t see HIM; I just see and hear THEM!
For a brief moment during the singing of this great hymn, I
am transported into that scene where I join the everlasting song… and I realize
what a wonderful place it is… and will be. This is not something we have to
wait for; we can stand shoulder to shoulder with our fellow believers from
every background, race, gender, lifestyle, and denomination to honor the One
who loves us all and equally accepts our ascription of praise. So let’s.
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