In Heaven Above, ELW 630
1 In heav'n above, in heav'n above,
Where God our Father dwells:
How boundless there the blessedness!
No tongue its greatness tells.
There face to face, and full and free,
The ever-living God we see,
Our God, the Lord of hosts!
2 In heav'n above, in heav'n above,
What glory deep and bright!
The splendor of the noonday sun
Grows pale before its light.
The mighty sun that goes not down,
Before whose face clouds never frown,
Is God, the Lord of hosts!
3 In heav'n above, in heav'n above,
No tears of pain are shed,
For nothing there can fade or die;
Life's fullness round is spread,
And like an ocean, joy o'er flows,
And with immortal mercy glows
Our God, the Lord of hosts!
4 In heav'n above, in heav'n above,
God has a joy prepared,
Which mortal ear has never heard,
Nor mortal vision shared,
Which never entered mortal thought,
In mortal dreams was never sought,
O God, the Lord of hosts!
Devotion
Think of the happiest time of your life. Now, imagine it intensified exponentially. Even that does not express the joy that awaits us “in heaven above.”
In heaven above, God is preparing a future we could never hope for in a finite world. It is delight too great for us to fathom—joy “which never entered mortal thought, in mortal dreams was never sought” (v. 4).
In heaven above, “God our Father dwells” (v. 1). God, who is faithful and gracious, knows us fully and loves us completely. God's mercy endures forever. At last, we will see God face to face, in all his beauty and majesty.
In heaven above, God’s glory shines so “the splendor of the noonday sun grows pale before its light” (v. 2). The blessings of this life cannot compare to the joy of our eternal future, lived out in endless praise to “the ever-living God ... our God, the Lord of hosts!” (v. 1).
Prayer
God of abundant blessing, through Jesus Christ, you have promised us eternal life in your presence. Fill us with the hope of that joyous future, where “no tears of pain are shed” and “life’s fullness round is spread.” Amen.