URC Daily Devotion Tuesday 23 June 2026

 Hymns 2 Let All The World In Every Corner Sing 

Rejoice and Sing 114

Let all the world in every corner sing
‘My God and King!’
The heavens are not too high,
his praise may thither fly;
the earth is not too low
his praises there may grow.

Let all the world in every corner sing
‘My God and King!’
The Church with psalms must shout,
 no door can keep them out;
But, above all, the heart
 must bear the longest part.
Let all the world in every corner sing
‘My God and King!’

Public Domain
George Herbert.  You can hear the hymn sung here.

Psalm 98: 4-9

Acclaim the Lord, all the earth;
break into songs of joy, sing psalms.
Sing psalms in the Lord’s honour with the lyre,
with the lyre and with resounding music,
with trumpet and echoing horn
acclaim the presence of the Lord our King.
Let the sea resound and everything in it,
the world and those who dwell there.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing aloud together
before the Lord; for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with justice
and the peoples with equity

Reflection

George Herbert’s antiphon, or repeated chorus, sits in his poem as is it set out here. Sung to a tune it usually requires us to repeat it in the middle. The poem shares some of the sentiments of the Psalmist. Praise is everywhere if we can only see and hear it. That is not to say that everything is perfect. However, there is praise to be found everywhere in the universe, whether in the unimaginable vastness of space or even the most unpromising spots on earth. When reclaiming land which has been the scene of human activity, which apparently has blotted out all natural life, time and again plants and creatures re-appear. However much we despoil the earth or exploit one another, the possibility of praise remains, if only it is given a chance.

Of course, the Church must praise God. The witness of the Church is evident to all, even those who despise it or are in general ignorance of what goes on there. However, George Herbert, committed as he was to the Church, assigns the chief role in praising God to the human heart. Beyond services of worship the continuous praise of God lies with individuals and their attitude to life.

Prayer

Living God, I thank you for everything that gives me joy and hope in life. I give thanks for natural wonders, the sights and sounds of the world on its good days. I thank you for all the people who cherish the natural world and conserve it. I thank you for the people who struggle to bring hope and relief to the dark places of the earth. May my thankfulness show in the way I live my life. May my heart be constant and loving however much I am tempted to cynicism and despair. May I bear my part in the song of praise which rises from the whole earth.