religion – penpaletteheart

Song of Wonder
© 2017 Mollie Pearce McKibbon

1.
Zechariah longed for a son, gabriel-comes-to-mary
Old, he thought, all hope was gone.
When God surprises , hope arises
And heavenly will is done.

Chorus:
O sing of wonder, sing of light!
Angels sing in pure delight.
God’s devices all suffices
Banishing darkest night.

2.
Mary had no thought of all
God’s good graces on her to fall.
Gabriel found her to astound her
Telling of God’s great call.

Chorus

3.
All night Joseph tossed and turned,
Stunned by all that he had learned.
Should he marry or be wary,
Should Mary’s love be spurned?

Chorus

4.
Herod was only king in name.
All he sought was gold and fame.
Though so clever, he would never
Destroy what God had ordained.

Chorus

5.
Never think your day is done
Or say a battle cannot be won.
When God surprises, hope arises
And Holy Spirit will come.

Chorus

In 2001 I wrote my first hymn. I have always written, but never did I imagine writing a hymn. There was a hymn that I wanted to use in our service, but our organist disliked the words. I said (, thinking “how hard could it be!” ) “Will you play it, Doris, if I write new words for it?” Doris said she would and so I embarked on a journey that has proved both very exciting and very difficult. You see, I don’t read music. I’ve never played an instrument. But, ignorance is bliss, so I started. Oh my, the crumpled paper! The erasures! The scribbled lines that didn’t make the final draft. Anyhow, here it is and I am still writing.

In the Beginning

In the beginning, all was in silence;

Darkness and water covered the earth.

God’s Word made sunlight, moon-glow and star-shine,

Green grass and flowers, birdsong and mirth.

God’s Word is blessed, God’s Word is sacred,

Brought forth as human, caring and kind;

Healer and teacher, prophet and Saviour;

Love resurrected, King beyond time.

Word of elation, Word of salvation;

Jesus, beloved, full of God’s grace.

Wonderful counsellor, Manna from heaven;

All that You are God, shines from your face.

May the world praise You, O God Almighty,

May we all sing praise, ever to You.

Open our hearts God, to your Word spoken,

Make your Word known, God, all the world through.

I was really thrilled when the Southern Ontario Chapter of the Hymn Society chose this hymn, along with hymns from three other writers, to be sung at a Hymn festival in Toronto. It was thrilling to hear it sung by a wonderful soprano and then by a full choir. If anyone would like to use this hymn please contact me through this blog as I do own the copyright.