Some people say that the only thing that is constant is change. It is not a new idea. It can be traced back at least as far as ancient Greece. Perhaps it is ironic that the assertion of change remains constant. Ironic or not, the validity of the assertion depends on your perspective. For example, the earth is orbiting in a solar system that is rotating in a galaxy that is moving through space. The movement is constant, but the motions themselves represent change.
Some things don’t change at all. It is not a matter of perception. They are absolutely constant. The psalmist knew this very well. God is eternal. His mercy is everlasting. His truth endures forever. The 100th Psalm celebrates these truths. It is a succinct and inspiring call to praise and worship because of God’s constant, eternal nature. Its words have captured the hearts and minds of people across the millenia since they were first recorded, breaking through every barrier of language and culture.
The hymn All People That on Earth Do Dwell is an English setting of Psalm 100 by William Kethe. Of the 25 psalms that Kethe prepared for the 1561 Anglo-Genevan Psalter, this remains the one which is most widely used. It was paraphrased from a French setting of the Psalm, which had itself been prepared from Latin texts which were passed on after the psalm had been translated into Greek from Hebrew. Consider God’s eternal nature in the closing stanza.
For why! the Lord our God is good;
his mercy is forever sure;
his truth at all times firmly stood,
and shall from age to age endure.
Our pilgrim journey leads to the foot of the cross, a symbol of Christ’s great sacrifice. As you continue your journey today, remember God’s unfailing love for you. Know that you are walking on a path of enduring grace.
Follow the Path!
CARadke
[Use with Growing in Grace, day 38 of A Labyrinth Pilgrimage]