Scripture:

“My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed.”
— Psalm 71:23

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Opening to the Sun Above

One day, Henry van Dyke heard the joyful, triumphant music of Beethoven set against the backdrop of his own life. His heart rose in praise—but he needed words to give that praise form. So, he wrote them.

Those words have become so deeply woven into our worship that, for many, they are inseparable from the music itself. Together, they lift us toward the presence of God and invite us to bow before Him.

“Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee,
Opening to the sun above.

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!”

– Henry J. van Dyke

God of immortal praise and undefined glory, unrefined splendor, and uncharted wonder, we come to Thee!

Joyfully, we come. Our hearts are like flowers and we would open to Thee as the flowers of the field open to the sun above. Our hearts are stained with the black ink of sin and we pray that Thou wouldst melt away that darkness with all of its vestiges of doubt and despair. Thou art the Giver of immortal gladness, Thou, the One who are joyfully surrounded by Thy works, Thou, the subject and object of praise, Thou the Source of all rejoicing!

May we, like nature, reflect Thy rays.

May we live in love.

May we “join the happy chorus, which the morning stars began.”

May we “march we onward” as “victors in the midst of strife.”

May we be led “sunward in the triumph song of life.”