Peace, Hope, and Safety

With storm Sandy's destruction still reverberating throughout much of the Northeast section of our country, and the tensions of this election day 2012, I am reminded of Felix Mendelssohn's beautiful hymn, Verleih' uns Frieden / Grant Us Thy Peace, a setting of a Martin Luther hymn text.

The text in German:

Verleih' uns Frieden gnädiglich,
Herr Gott zu unsern Zeiten!
Es ist doch ja kein andrer nicht,
Der für uns könnte streiten,
Denn du, unser Gott, alleine.

English translation:

In these our days so perilous,
Lord, peace in mercy send us;
No God but thee can fight for us,
No God but thee defend us;
Thou our only God and Saviour. 

The English text used by many choirs for Mendelssohn's setting is translated this way:

Grant us Thy peace, almighty Lord,
Thou source of every blessing.
Feeble and frail, trust we Thy word.
All things in Thee possessing;
In Thee is hope and safety. 

This second translation is not as faithful to the original, but I have come to love these words. The last line is the one that comes back to me so often when things seem spinning out of control in this world. I pray these words today for those grieving loss from recent storms, for those who have lost loved ones in the service of our country, and for our nation as we make important decisions today at the ballot box:  in Thee is hope and safety.
 
Here is a very lovely rendition (in German) from La Chapelle Royale Collegium Vocale
with the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris:  Verleih' uns Frieden.  
 

The Kiss of Peace and Justice, [PD]

The person who compiled that video uses an interesting painting as the visual, The Kiss of Peace and Justice, by Laurent de la Hyre. This painting from 1654 is on permanent display at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Wikipedia says about this French Baroque painter, "He was an innovative artist who used his superior skills as a storyteller to portray rarely depicted subjects." The theme of a kiss between peace and justice alludes to this verse from Psalm 85 ...

Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
    righteousness and peace kiss each other. 

Centuries ago Augustine reflected on the thought that all desire peace, but not all always desire justice and wrote:

"Mercy and truth have met: justice and peace have kissed each other." Do justice, and you shall have peace; that justice and peace may kiss each other. For if you do not love justice, you shall not have peace; for those two, justice and peace, love one another, and kiss one another so that the one who has done justice may find peace embracing justice. They are two friends: you perhaps desire the one, and not the other: for there is no one who does not desire peace: but all will not work for justice.

Ask everyone, do you desire peace? With one voice the whole human race answers: I wish, I desire, I want, I love peace. Love also justice: for these two, justice and peace are friends; they kiss one another: if you do not love the friend of peace, peace itself will not love you, nor come to you. 

For how extraordinary is it to desire peace? Every bad person longs for peace. For peace is a good thing. But do justice, for justice and peace kiss one another, they do not quarrel among themselves.

Deep thoughts for a dreary Tuesday, but good to think about in light of what is happening in our country and around the world. 

Here is the Mendelssohn anthem sung in English. I find this rendition compelling because it is sung by a fine choir of high school youth:  Grant Us Thy Peace

May this sung prayer be a source of peace of mind for all my friends and family today.