- Ruler: Governor, king, judge; one who establishes and enforces laws, who makes judgments in behalf of the people
- Guardian: Protector; one who guards against enemies and evil
- Guide: Leader and mentor; one who shows the way and helps us make decisions
- Stay: Support, stabilizer, grounding mechanism; the ropes that keep a mast in place on a ship; one who sustains, strengthens, and helps us stand through wind and storm
That is a great list of the things we should allow God to do for each of us. But it's instructive to remember that this hymn was written for a national celebration--the 1876 U.S. centennial. So while this list has good individual application, it was intended here for national purposes; it is a plea for God to be our nation's ruler, guardian, guide, and stay.
Sadly, as a nation we seem to be turning against having God serve those purposes for us. We are certainly not following his rule; as a people, we do not obey his laws very well, and blatant sin runs rampant in our society. It does not appear that we seek his guidance in our national decisions very well, nor do we "stay" or rely on him for support as we should. We turn to philosophy, reason, and debate in our decisions, which is good, but do we add heavenly guidance to the equation? We still tend to hope God will be our guardian, but without having him to be our ruler, guide, and stay, any request for him to protect us rings a little hollow.
It seems to me that if we wish to enjoy the continued heavenly protection and support we have enjoyed for so long, we need to return God to his place as our ruler and guide. We need to teach and adhere to high moral standards and we need to seek and follow God's guidance more frequently.
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