The first stanza of the Sunday’s Hymn of the Day,
Son of God, Eternal Savior (LSB #842), proclaims the salvation that
Christ has won for us. It then beseeches the Lord to reign among us that here
on earth, His will be done. Our example is Christ, who lived for others, our
plea, then, is so may we for others live. The hymn beautifully proclaims in
song the theme for the day: that we are humbled and exalted by the cross of
Christ, and our lives reflect His humility.
“Son of God,
Eternal Savior” (Lutheran Service Book, #842)
From the beginning of His ministry, although the
authority and divinity of Christ had been quite clear to some, it was at the
same time been questioned and mocked by others. This of course stands true to
this day. In this regard, it is interesting to note the Gospel stories where
even the evil spirits and demons recognize Christ’s authority and divinity.
Such is the case for the Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
(Mark 1:21-28). In this reading, Jesus exorcises an evil spirit from a man. When
confronted by Christ, the evil spirit cries out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to
destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”
This proclamation makes “Son of God, Eternal Savior” a great choice for this Sunday’s Hymn
of the Day.
In no uncertain terms, Stanza 1 firmly proclaims the
authority and divinity of Christ by recalling Bible passages such as John
1:1-14 and 1 Peter 1:20-21.
Son
of God, eternal Savior,
Source
of life and truth and grace,
Word
made flesh, whose birth among us
Hallows
all our human race,
The next two lines remind us that Christ is our
Intercessor who pleads for us (Romans 8:34 and 1 John 2:1). The final two lines
of this stanza remind us of the compassion of Christ praying that it may become
a part of our lives as well.
Stanza 2 recognizes that when Christ exercised His
authority, He did it in service to others. It furthermore states that nothing
that we have is ours anyway, but rather all that we have has been given to us
by God (Psalm 24:1).
Stanza 3 is a prayer for authority of Christ to dwell
in our lives and mold us to His will.
Stanza 4 begins by repeating the first four lines of
Stanza 1 thereby restating the authority and divinity of Christ. It concludes
by mirroring the Third Petition of the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” To that end it is
good to recall what Martin Luther says about this petition in his Small
Catechism:
“The good and
gracious will of God is done indeed without our prayer; but we pray in this
petition that it may be done among us also. How is this done? When God breaks
and hinders every evil counsel and will which would not let us hallow the name
of God nor let His kingdom come, such as the will of the devil, the world, and
our flesh; but strengthens and keeps us steadfast in His Word and in faith unto
our end. This is His gracious and good will.”
Since first published in 1894, “Son of God, Eternal Savior” has been sung to various tunes
including EBENEZER, which many will know as the tune for “Thy Strong Word,” a text by the sainted Martin Franzmann. In recent
years the text has been paired with the tune IN BABILONE which, at least for
me, seems to be a better fit.
Originally a five stanza poem by the Rev. Somerset
Corry Lowry (1855-1932), the original Stanza 2 has not been included in recent
hymnals. Nonetheless, it provides another heartfelt prayer for a servant’s
heart.
Bind
us all as one together
In
Thy Church’s sacred fold,
Weak
and healthy, poor and wealthy,
Sad
and joyful, young and old.
Is
there want, or pain, or sorrow?
Make
us all the burden share.
Are
there spirits crushed and broken?
Teach
us, Lord, to soothe their care.[2]
A Morning
Collect: Faithful God, whose mercies are new to us every
morning, we humbly pray that you would look upon us in mercy and renew us by
Your Holy Spirit. Keep safe our going out and our coming in, and let Your
blessing remain throughout this day. Preserve us in Your righteousness, and
grant us a portion in that eternal life which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.[3]
Collect for Saturday of the week of Pentecost 11: Prepare our hearts, O God, to receive your Word of truth and salvation. Give us listening ears and hearing minds so that the impulse of your Holy Spirit may make us spiritually steady and morally strong. Through Jesus Christ our Lord – Donald Macleod. [4]
[1]
Lift High the Cross © Copyright Ed Riojas, Higher Things
[2] https://www.cuchicago.edu/globalassets/www-digital-team-media-files/documents-and-images/academics/centers-of-excellence/center-for-church-music/devotions/hymn-of-the-day-devotion-proper-17-series-c.pdf
[3] A
Morning Collect, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St.
Louis
[4]
Collect For Saturday of the week of Pentecost 11, For All the Saints, A Prayer
Book For and By the Church, Vol. II © 1995 The American Lutheran Publicity
Bureau, Delhi, NY
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