"O Lord of our ancestors, are you not God above?
Are we no more your people? Have you withdrawn your love?
Do you not rule the nations? Is your great power not true?
We know not what to do, Lord, but our eyes are on you."
"You gave your faithful people a sanctuary place,
A land where we could live safe and covered by your grace.
Now enemies surround us, their hate and bile they spew;
We know not what to do, Lord, but our eyes are on you."
That cry of ancient Judah we feel again today,
Beset by vain indifference, or hatred holding sway.
How do we stand against these, and yet to you stay true?
We know not what to do, Lord, but our eyes are on you.
TEXT: Charles Spence Freeman, July 2026, from 2 Chronicles 20:5-12
MUSIC: Tune PASSION CHORALE, Hans Leo Hassler 1601;
harmonization Johann Sebastian Bach, 1729.
After a sermon heard at the Presbyterian Association of Musicians' Worship & Music Conference, Montreat Conference Center on July 1, 2026 (preached by Brian Blount, president emeritus of Union Presbyterian Seminary). Yes, the sermon was on 2 Chronicles 20.
