God, We Praise You, God We Sing
Music by Ron KlusmeierWords by Walter Farquharson
Tune Name: LANGENBURG
Lyrics as Poetry
God, we praise you, God, we sing.
Your love touches everything;
brings the sparkle to our eyes,
brings the sunshine to our skies,
Yours the world in which we live.
Yours the love we learn to give.
Love you gave that makes us one,
Love whose source is Christ the Son,
Love to grow with, Love to hold,
Love that’s tender, Love that’s bold,
Love that’s nurtured will increase,
Love to share until life cease.
God we praise you, God we sing,
To this marriage blessing bring.
We would celebrate each day,
Learning both love’s work and play,
Finding what it means to be,
children of your love so free.
Words by
Walter FarquharsonCopyright © 1979 by Walter Farquharson
Administered by Hope Publishing Company
Carol Stream, Illinois • USA
Scripture References
- Genesis 29:18-20
- Song of Solomon 1:15-17
- Song of Solomon 2:8-17
- Song of Solomon 4:9-11
- 1 Corinthians 13:4-10
- Philippians 4:4-9
- 1 John 4:7-12
Season, Theme
or Subject
- Celebration
- Life∶ loving life
- Love∶ human love
- Marriage
- Praise
- Wedding
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Comments About Song
BY WALTER FARQUHARSON
It’s a joy when people we love and care about find a partner, a soul mate, a partner they feel is “so right” and that they want to form with them a lifelong, vital, nurturing relationship.
The words for this wedding song were written for the marriage of a special cousin and her intended. Moira and Al Theede and Joan and I have shared many years of being family. Our lives as family and as families have been intertwined and continue to healthily be that intergenerationally. We have shared many interests and activities in common and yet have had a definite interest in the particular interests and activities that have marked one household but not the other.
Good marriages are life-giving. It is not naivety that associates love and marriage with song and sunshine. Lovers know that being in love changes everything. There is a sparkle in our eyes. Prism-like, that sparkle changes how we experience life, love, relationship. Lovers see good. They see opportunity. They see possibility.
The first response to each day becomes a response of gratitude and of joy. That context gives space to deal with loss and disappointment, even with tragedy or trauma when those must be confronted. The context, whatever words we use to describe or define it, is the love and good purposes of God manifest in creation, in human community, in loving relationships.
No one should expect a healthy relationship without a commitment to share in creating and nurturing it. My Dad’s straight forward advice to me before Joan and I were married affirmed this piece of wisdom, “ Never forget there are days you can’t live with yourself, so don’t be surprised when you hit a few where you think it is hard to live with your partner!”
Love welcomes growth, growth in interdependence, growth in freedom and creativity, growth in strength and courage. One delightful, simple yet profound form of marriage vows spoken by some couples was a promise that said, “I will laugh with you in joy, cry with you in sorrow, grow with you in love.” Those who learn to do this know blessing and they prove to be a blessing to those privileged to know them.