So, Lord, Art Thou To Me

Last week I decided to check out the Mormon Tabernacle Choir album, "Consider the Lilies" (and ended up buying & downloading the entire album on the spot). There was one song in particular that I wanted to listen to, a song that we sung in Institute Choir this past Christmas, "God So Loved the World." I could listen to that song a million times and not get tired of it. I feel God's love for the world and for me individually as I listen to (and sing along) this song. "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son." I know that God loves each of us and knows of our daily concerns and struggles. I know that miracles can and do happen everyday. I experienced a small miracle at work this week. I was feeling the pressure to quickly secure a courthouse for the Federal Bar Association's Moot Court Competition in March. The courthouse we have gone to every year for the last 10+ years had already been reserved by another group. This lead me to start calling and mailing solicitations for another courthouse to hold our Friday rounds. Then out of the blue on Tuesday morning, I got a call from the clerk of the court of one of the courthouses I had contacted. She told me that they could provide the necessary space for us. I was so excited I jumped up, shouted and ran down the hall to tell my co-workers. (They had helped me research alternate locations). It truly was a miracle for me. And as I sat down back and my desk and calmed down a little, I silently prayed in deep gratitude to Heavenly Father for providing this miracle to me. I understood that He even cares about my success at work. He loves and cares for each of us and gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to the inhabitants of this world so that we might be saved and return with happiness to live with them.

There is another song on the CD that, although the name is unfamiliar to me, the message speaks to my heart. The text was written by Johannes Tauler, a 14th century German Dominican. An interesting snippet from one of his sermons, "Now man with all his faculties and also with all his soul recollects himself and enters into the temple (his inner self) in which, in all truth, he finds God dwelling and at work." We are all God's children with divinity in each of us. As we ponder on how to expand our divine qualities and search for ways to become closer to and more like God, we will be able to, for the power is within us. The text for "As the Bridegroom to His Chosen" can be found below. I love the beauty of the similes and picture how they are so closely tied together and how one will exclaim "So, Lord art thou to me" when contemplating the closeness we desire with both our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Read the words and then watch the video below (found this on youtube, I did not make it) to hear the Tabernacle Choir sing this moving song. I hope that each of us will take some time to recognize the daily blessings we receive from a loving Heavenly Father and find ways to be closer to Him.

“As the Bridegroom to His Chosen”
As the bridegroom to his chosen, as the king unto his realm,

As the keeper to the castle, as the pilot to the helm.

As the captain to his soldiers, as the shepherd to his lambs,

So, Lord, art thou to me.

As the fountain in the garden, as the candle in the dark,

As the treasure in the coffer, as the manna in the ark,

As the firelight in the winter, As the sunlight in the spring

So Lord art thou to me.

As the music at the banquet, as the stamp unto the seal,

As refreshment to the fainting, as the wine-cup at the meal,

As the singing on the feast day, as the amen to the prayer,

So Lord art thou to me.

As the ruby in the setting, as the honey in the comb

As the light within the lantern, as the father in the home,

As the eagle in the mountains, as the sparrow in the nest,

So art thou, Lord to me.

As the sunshine in the heavens, as the image in the glass,

As the fruit unto the fig tree, as the dew unto the grass,

As the rainbow on the hilltop, as the river in the plain,

So art thou, Lord to me.