From Sea to Sea to Sea

With oceans on three coasts, Canada proudly celebrates her 144th birthday today from coast to coast to coast. Back in the days of confederation, Canada’s leaders chose a Biblical reference as a motto. In the words of the King James Bible, Psalm 72:8 says,

He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

It was a vision that Canadians would recognize God’s authority in our laws and life together – and that God would extend his blessing upon every corner of the nation.

Canadians today take a more pluralistic approach to life. Individuals and people groups from Atlantic to Pacific and from the Arctic to the Great Lakes make up a varied tapestry of opinions, values, hopes and dreams. It’s hard to find consensus on many things – not impossible, but it’s a challenge.

But the ancient psalm with its sea-to-sea vision actually deserves a second look. It is a prayer that the king (we might say parliament and the courts) would rule with justice, that people would enjoy prosperity, that children would thrive, that the weak and poor would not be marginalized, that agriculture would prosper, that international trade will flourish and the nation would be respected globally. It is a spiritual and social manifesto that tasks the king to exert an influence as beneficial as rainfall watering the earth (v.6)  What a dynamic vision of a government working hard in support of the best life has to offer. I don’t think you’d have trouble finding agreement around those goals, though you’d find differing suggestions, some passionately opposed to others, on how to go about achieving that vision.

And I for one am happy to live in a nation with such divergent political perspectives, where there is freedom to express them boldly and pursue them with vigor.

There is one other plank in the spiritual/social manifesto of Psalm 72 that also deserves a shout-out - that across the land, from sea to sea people would pray for their leaders and find reason to speak well of them (v.15). Prayer is a way of uniting a nation from one border to the other, ‘from Bonavista to Vancouver Island’ as Canadians say, coming together before God, asking for wisdom and courage and that the best of what makes us human will be protected and advanced in our day.

Prayer enables us to participate in something beyond the coastlines of even the second largest nation on earth. It engages us in the eternal reign of God – and that’s something to celebrate every day of the year.

Happy Canada Day, everyone!

Photo Sources:
Canada Parliament Hill - TripAdvisor.ca
Perce Rock - CBC
Totem Pole - Mongabay