Palm Sunday: Old Testament, Deuteronomy 32:36-39                        

Deuteronomy 32:36-39

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!

What wondrous love is this, O my soul! What wondrous love is this

That caused the Lord of bliss to bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,

To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.

It’s hard to read the text of this momentous hymn. It is equally hard to sing. At least for me. I find myself more and more, (is it age? drawing closer to home?) that singing in church brings great emotion to my throat. “What Wondrous Love is This” is given in our liturgical preparation as an option for a hymn choice based on the Old Testament reading for Palm Sunday.

Moses’ song in this portion of Deuteronomy includes God taking stock of his wandering people. Oh how frustrating they can be. Just like us. And oh, how the Lord’s heart aches for them, as his does for us. At the close of the reading, God is assuring his people that he is the only true God, that he calls to life and death and that deliverance from his hand is impossible.

That can be either a fearful thing or something in which to endlessly rejoice. God has borne a curse for us in the death of his Son. If you are among his chosen, then rejoicing is your vocation. He was willing to give his Son to secure the praises of his people. And he has done all of that for us. For you.

Imagine! A God for whom his own brokenness brings about everlasting joy for his own who deserve it not. Wondrous love, indeed.