How Good, Lord, to Be Here! (Evangelical Lutheran Worship 315)
1 How good, Lord, to be here!
Your glory fills the night;
your face and garments, like the sun,
shine with unborrowed light.
2 How good, Lord, to be here,
your beauty to behold
where Moses and Elijah stand,
your messengers of old.
3 Fulfiller of the past
and hope of things to be,
we hail your body glorified
and our redemption see.
4 Before we taste of death,
we see your kingdom come;
we long to hold the vision bright
and make this hill our home.
5 How good, Lord, to be here!
Yet we may not remain;
but since you bid us leave the mount,
come with us to the plain.
Text: Joseph A. Robinson; Music: W. Mercer; Public Domain
Devotion
At the Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John witness the glory of God revealed in Jesus. Peter—God love him—is the first to speak, eager and excited to do a new thing, create a new shrine, and bask in the glory as long as he can. Peter was one of the first disciples, had left everything to follow Jesus, and he just knew this was what it had been building up to become. Then the voice of God spoke. “This is my Son, my Chosen, listen to him!” “How Good, Lord, to Be Here” tells the story from Peter’s eyes. I love the last verse of this hymn. It is a reminder that mountain top experiences don’t last; they lead into service—service that Jesus directs us to and that he accompanies us in carrying out.
Prayer
Dear Lord, find us, come to us, speak to us, that we might carry out your work. Amen.