Worshiping God as God

My Step with God
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Hi friends,

On X, the theologian Fred Sanders posted a link to the hymn Most Ancient of all Mysteries, written by Frederick William Faber.

Here are the lyrics (public domain):

1 Most ancient of all mysteries,
Before Thy throne we lie;
Have mercy now, most merciful,
Most holy Trinity.

2 When heav’n and earth were yet unmade,
When time was yet unknown,
Thou in Thy bliss and majesty
Didst live and love alone.

3 Thou wert not born; there was no fount
From which Thy Being flowed;
There is no end which Thou canst reach;
But Thou art simply God.

4 How wonderful creation is,
The work which Thou didst bless,
And O what then must Thou be like,
Eternal loveliness!

5 O listen then, most pitiful,
To Thy poor creature’s heart:
It blesses Thee that Thou art God,
That Thou art what Thou art.

6 Most ancient of all mysteries,
Still at thy throne we lie;
Have mercy now, most merciful,
Most holy Trinity.

What I love about this hymn is how it leads us to worship God for being God.

Everything about American culture pushes me to be relevant, practical, application-oriented, etc. etc.

But what if I really need to do is behold God as God?

Because without a recognition of who God is - and who I am - my perspective about everything else will be distorted.

How does this hymn refresh your faith?

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This verse stuck out the most to me because of its focus on the mystery of God:

He is so far above us it is hard to comprehend. One of my professors was recently talking about how so many misunderstandings and theological debates come about because we try to fit God into an understandable box, yet He is truly a mystery! And that is so worth celebrating.

I am reminded too of how much of the worship in Psalms is about who God is as Creator and Deliverer and of how our hope rests in His character. So much so that His self-revelation in Exodus 34:6 is the most requoted verse in Scripture and the constant hope of those who call out to Him (Ps 86:14-17; Joel 2:13-15).

So too is this love and faithfulness beyond comprehension, not only in never giving up on us, but in Jesus’ death for us on the cross and God’s dwelling with us even now. And so Paul too, points to and speaks of the mystery “which is Christ in us, the hope of glory,” (Col 1:26-28).

So this Hymn refreshes my faith by reminding me of the mystery of who this God is whose throne we lie down before. His power and mercy is so far beyond anything I can understand, and this is the very reason I can hope in Him. God has brought the freedom and deliverance that no human could do and He pursues me with a faithfulness I can’t understand. I’m so thankful for what He has done, who He is, and that He is good and powerful beyond my comprehension! And that spurs me on to live for Him and to love Him with all my heart!

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