From the "Gracevine" newsletter for Grace Lutheran Church in Thornville, Ohio, August 2023
Holy Wings!
For you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
Psalm 63:7 ESV (Monthly Watchword for August 2023)
Whenever I am asked about my least favorite season of the year, I always respond with “summer.” I have accepted that summer is a part of life and enjoy aspects of it, but I have never enjoyed the heat, and my pasty-colored skin burns easily from the sun. From my earliest years, summertime has always found me looking for shade.
The rays of the summer sun are oppressive, and the Bible picks up on this theme. Psalm 63 is one of the “David psalms,” associated with the life of the mighty King David of Israel’s past. But no matter how mighty David was, even he found himself no match for the powerful rays of the sun and the dehydration that can set in when the heat engulfs us.
All creatures great and small need protection from the sun. Sunscreen helps us avoid sunburn, but at least from my point of view, there is nothing better in the summer heat than a large tree and the shade it provides.
The Bible often speaks of the challenges of life. The “saints” of the Bible went through the wilderness of this life facing challenges on the left and the right, from above and below. David’s thirst in the heat of the wilderness of Judah, described in Psalm 63, is only one example. Think of the trials faced by people like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Gideon, Jeremiah, Mary (the mother of our Lord), Paul, and Jesus’ other apostles. As they carried out their work while the heat of life’s rays beat down upon them, they looked for relief.
One way they spoke of such relief was by describing God as a large bird who spread wide wings over them, providing them with shade. And while they took refuge under those wings, it gave them opportunity to return thanks and praise to God for His faithfulness to them: For you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy (Psalm 63:7).
During the season of Lent this year, I spoke on Wednesday evenings about a sampling of the hymns of the Swedish Lutheran hymn writer Carolina Sandell-Berg (known simply as “Lina Sandell”). The daughter of a Lutheran pastor, her hymns are short and sweet expressions of faith, but they are filled with images from the Bible. Her most famous hymn among English speakers is “Children of the Heavenly Father” (Tryggare kan ingen vara). She is also well-known for “Day by Day” (Blott en dag).
Probably her third most famous hymn in the English-speaking world is known as “Thy Holy Wings” (Bred dina vida vingar). The translation we have available is beautiful, but the original Swedish text literally says, “Spread your wide wings over me, O Jesus.” It calls to mind the biblical image of this month’s Watchword: “In the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.”
“Thy Holy Wings” is a popular song in my house. The hymns of Lina Sandell, I have found, work well as lullabies. It warms my heart when I see my own children share in the joy these marvelous expressions of faith provide. Often when I ask my children what song they would like before bedtime, Antonia blurts out, “Holy Wings!”
Thy holy wings, O Savior,
spread gently over me,
and let me rest securely
through good and ill in thee.
Oh, be my strength and portion,
my rock and hiding place,
and let my ev’ry moment
be lived within thy grace.
Oh, wash me in the waters
of Noah’s cleansing flood!
Give me a willing spirit,
a heart both clean and good.
Oh, take into thy keeping
thy children great and small,
and while we sweetly slumber,
enfold us one and all. (Translator: Gracia Grindal, 1943-)
The summer is coming to an end, but the heat of life’s pressures remain. We all need the shade of God’s holy wings. Where do we find it? Perhaps we find ourselves weary from overwhelming responsibility and need new perspective on life. Perhaps we feel defeated and find ourselves in need of encouragement. Perhaps we are plagued with guilt over sin unconfessed and need assurance from God of His faithfulness.
Whatever the case, God has provided means by which we are able to take shelter under the shadow of His wings. In His Church, God has for us the words of Christ that speak to us: “Your sins are forgiven.” God’s Word is spoken to us as we hear the preaching of Jesus Christ crucified and raised for you. God feeds us with that same gift in a concrete way as we hear and receive the heavenly manna in our Lord’s Supper: “The body of Christ, given for you…”
Hear the good news: God has spread his heavenly, holy wings, and calls you there to find the shade you need, a resting place before you continue to serve him and bear witness to Him with your lives.
Pr. Tom Jacobson
Holy Wings!
For you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
Psalm 63:7 ESV (Monthly Watchword for August 2023)
Whenever I am asked about my least favorite season of the year, I always respond with “summer.” I have accepted that summer is a part of life and enjoy aspects of it, but I have never enjoyed the heat, and my pasty-colored skin burns easily from the sun. From my earliest years, summertime has always found me looking for shade.
The rays of the summer sun are oppressive, and the Bible picks up on this theme. Psalm 63 is one of the “David psalms,” associated with the life of the mighty King David of Israel’s past. But no matter how mighty David was, even he found himself no match for the powerful rays of the sun and the dehydration that can set in when the heat engulfs us.
All creatures great and small need protection from the sun. Sunscreen helps us avoid sunburn, but at least from my point of view, there is nothing better in the summer heat than a large tree and the shade it provides.
The Bible often speaks of the challenges of life. The “saints” of the Bible went through the wilderness of this life facing challenges on the left and the right, from above and below. David’s thirst in the heat of the wilderness of Judah, described in Psalm 63, is only one example. Think of the trials faced by people like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Gideon, Jeremiah, Mary (the mother of our Lord), Paul, and Jesus’ other apostles. As they carried out their work while the heat of life’s rays beat down upon them, they looked for relief.
One way they spoke of such relief was by describing God as a large bird who spread wide wings over them, providing them with shade. And while they took refuge under those wings, it gave them opportunity to return thanks and praise to God for His faithfulness to them: For you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy (Psalm 63:7).
During the season of Lent this year, I spoke on Wednesday evenings about a sampling of the hymns of the Swedish Lutheran hymn writer Carolina Sandell-Berg (known simply as “Lina Sandell”). The daughter of a Lutheran pastor, her hymns are short and sweet expressions of faith, but they are filled with images from the Bible. Her most famous hymn among English speakers is “Children of the Heavenly Father” (Tryggare kan ingen vara). She is also well-known for “Day by Day” (Blott en dag).
Probably her third most famous hymn in the English-speaking world is known as “Thy Holy Wings” (Bred dina vida vingar). The translation we have available is beautiful, but the original Swedish text literally says, “Spread your wide wings over me, O Jesus.” It calls to mind the biblical image of this month’s Watchword: “In the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.”
“Thy Holy Wings” is a popular song in my house. The hymns of Lina Sandell, I have found, work well as lullabies. It warms my heart when I see my own children share in the joy these marvelous expressions of faith provide. Often when I ask my children what song they would like before bedtime, Antonia blurts out, “Holy Wings!”
Thy holy wings, O Savior,
spread gently over me,
and let me rest securely
through good and ill in thee.
Oh, be my strength and portion,
my rock and hiding place,
and let my ev’ry moment
be lived within thy grace.
Oh, wash me in the waters
of Noah’s cleansing flood!
Give me a willing spirit,
a heart both clean and good.
Oh, take into thy keeping
thy children great and small,
and while we sweetly slumber,
enfold us one and all. (Translator: Gracia Grindal, 1943-)
The summer is coming to an end, but the heat of life’s pressures remain. We all need the shade of God’s holy wings. Where do we find it? Perhaps we find ourselves weary from overwhelming responsibility and need new perspective on life. Perhaps we feel defeated and find ourselves in need of encouragement. Perhaps we are plagued with guilt over sin unconfessed and need assurance from God of His faithfulness.
Whatever the case, God has provided means by which we are able to take shelter under the shadow of His wings. In His Church, God has for us the words of Christ that speak to us: “Your sins are forgiven.” God’s Word is spoken to us as we hear the preaching of Jesus Christ crucified and raised for you. God feeds us with that same gift in a concrete way as we hear and receive the heavenly manna in our Lord’s Supper: “The body of Christ, given for you…”
Hear the good news: God has spread his heavenly, holy wings, and calls you there to find the shade you need, a resting place before you continue to serve him and bear witness to Him with your lives.
Pr. Tom Jacobson