Thy Paths Our Chosen Way

Thy love divine hath led us in the past,
In this free land by Thee our lot is cast;
Be Thou our ruler, guardian, guide and stay,
Thy Word our law, Thy paths our chosen way.
This is the second stanza of the so-called National Hymn. The words were written by New
England pastor Daniel C. Roberts in 1876 to celebrate the centennial of the Declaration of
Independence. When a contest was announced to choose a hymn for the centennial of the
Constitution some of his parishioners submitted this hymn and it was selected as the winner. The
musician George W. Warren was commissioned to write a new tune for it and the familiar one of
today, with its rousing trumpet fanfares, was the result.
In its four lines this stanza is packed with theological richness. It begins where all Biblical
theology must begin, with the love of God. This is the hallmark of Yahweh. At the heart of the
universe and in every atom of it is the joyous, self-giving love of the Creator. The United States
of America only exists as evidence of that love. Our freedom is finally an expression of it. God’s
love is not coercing, demanding, smothering. It is free to all, demanding nothing in return. Our
founders, not all, but many of them, understood that truth.
The third line is rich in its simplicity. Who rules in the USA? “We, the people…”? Unless we
rule under the hand of our guardian, guide, and stay, the result will be chaos, as each of us,
confusing desires for rights, demand our own destructive way. God was Israel’s guardian, guide,
and stay until that day when their sins pushed his wings from over them. Have we taken that
same road? Is our doom already sealed? We pray not. But if it is, you and I can still choose to
rest securely under those wings.
The final line is so powerful: “Thy Word our Law, thy paths our chosen way.” What is it that
God wants? He has made it clear in his Word, both written and living. We see his way depicted
in Jesus. We see his path described in the Bible. He is not a heavenly tyrant, demanding, “Do
this, or die!” He is the virgin-born Savior who says, “Dear friends, come and walk with me into
life.” Oh, that our country might return to his ways.