He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands
Psalm 24:1-2 (NIV) —
‘The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.’
Today we're taking a deeper look at the origins in both scripture and history of one of the best-loved hymns from the last 200 years.
‘He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands’ is one of the most popular hymns. You may have sung it at primary school? Or stretched your arms out wide doing the actions to it at Sunday school? If you do know it, the melody is probably already stuck in your head and it will stay there for the rest of the day (sorry, not sorry!)
But as with many hymns and songs that have entered our collective christian consciousness, we often don’t know their origins or their significance. He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands is not ‘just’ a kids' song, it’s an African-American spiritual, passed down through generations orally and first published in 1927. The lyrics find their origins in Psalm 24 and point to the almighty, all-encompassing sovereignty of God over the world and all life within it. Singing it reminds us that God is eternally sovereign. He is moving, he is watching, and he is in control.
Just think about the key destabilising moments of history this hymn has been sung through. Its origins lie in the bondage and oppression of the slave trade; it’s existed through civil wars, two world wars, the civil rights movement, the cold war…and the list goes on and on right up to the present day. People have been singing this song throughout all this history as a reminder that although there is intense brokenness, pain, suffering, disunity and unrest in our world, God holds it all and the eternal victory is his. It’s not just a Sunday school song; it has the power to inspire hope in the one who sings it.
Google/YouTube — He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands. Spend some time praying for the brokenness and unrest we see in our world and finish by worshipping God for his sovereignty over it all.