Sabbath of the Heart
Like a child on a Sabbath night, dreamy-eyed in the candlelight,
Expectant yet restful, eager but secure.
In the timeless interplay – the sacred and the everyday,
The holy yet humble, the passionate and pure.
CHORUS:
So we’re resting in His care
In this love that He’s given us to share
This covenant bond of God that man can’t tear apart,
This sacrament; this Sabbath of the heart, this Sabbath of the heart.
Like a shining mystery hidden deep but plain to see,
This love and this marriage are more than you and me.
It’s knotted strong by triple strands woven by a master’s hands –
The glory of Jesus in perfect unity.
Bridge:
Living this mystery, enacting this irony, two that are one, becoming one
Like a child on a Sabbath night, dreamy eyed in the candlelight,
We’re sinking in slumber; as glory shines around.
Though we sleep on unaware, God has wrapped us in His care.
We’re clueless and shoeless, like saints on holy ground.
Comment:
This is a song about the power of the marriage covenant.
In trying to imagine the most secure and special of situations, I pictured a child on a Sabbath night. Gathered with his family in the candlelight of an evening that is familiar, yet festive, he feels restful and secure – and yet expectant at the same time. There is nowhere to rush off to, no demands, except to savor the profound sense of belonging and rest. There is ritual, but not boredom. The mysterious mixes with the mundane, the holy with the humble.
This is the power of the marriage bond, a lifelong commitment, sealed by the living reality of Jesus himself, the third strand in the cord, to nurture and protect. That is comforting and exciting. It is both passionate and pure at the same time. Living in the shelter of this sacrament, this holy, unbreakable bond of marriage to which we have unalterably pledged, we have nothing to fear.
Marriage requires hard work, and yet at the same time the burden is light and delightful. Through God’s love in this unity, we can participate in a Sabbath of the heart.
Dr. Bill Maynard