523. Wedding Anniversary Hymn

I've been thinking a lot about the fact that my parents' (dad and stepmom's) 40th wedding anniversary is coming up in a year or so. And 40 is the number my grandparents (on my mom's side) got to, before my grandma's cancer took center stage. I've known people to pass bigger milestones. I actually interviewed a couple, once, who had been married for over 70 years. Wedding annivesaries are pretty cool, even when the number before the "-th" isn't very high. Something so delicate enduring is to be celebrated. And here is a small attempt to do that in the form of a hymn. In the Common Metre. So, lots of possibilities for tunes; I'm not attached to any of them at the moment.

Rejoice, give thanks, and praise the Lord,
So well disposed to bless,
For joining two in one accord,
In wedded faithfulness!

Through all their years of toil and care,
Shared hours whose memories shine,
Such bracing testaments they bear
As age like choicest wine:

That two were made from thenceforth one;
And giving all in love,
They show the marriage of God's Son,
His blood the cup thereof:

Two made one flesh, each giving all
To serve the other's good;
God's throne of grace their wedding hall,
Their honor servanthood.

Forgiveness is the air they breathe
And patient love their bread;
The blade of pride they meekly sheathe
And cut vainglory dead.

Let all who see their union know
The impress of Christ's love,
And shape their footsteps here below
Toward festal joys above.

ART: The Marriage Feast at Cana by Juan de Flandes (1450–1519), deeded to the public domain via Creative Commons CCO 1.0 license.