Hyperbole

While seated in my pew

Early Sunday morning,

I watch the crowd come drifting in.

I turn the pages of my hymnal.

Lyrics flash before me

                O for a thousand tongues to sing

                My great Redeemer’s praise

Snippets of worship

                Were the whole realm of nature mine

                That were a present far too small

More than lyrics –

Poetry.

My mind goes back to high school English

And all those clever literary devices

Such as alliteration and metaphor.

Hyperbole, she taught us,

Is exaggeration to make a point.

Strategically used

The outrageous can paint a picture

And bring understanding.

Just another tool

Used by these hymn writers

Or so it seems.

But this is God

The Father of all

The Creator of the universe

Beginning and end

(and everything in between)

Holding eternity in His hand.

So I wonder

When it comes to God

Is there really such a thing as hyperbole?

Is it even possible to exaggerate

Anything about the One

Who surpasses all?

As the music begins

I rise from my seat

More than ready to join my voice

With a thousand other tongues

And sing

Of love so amazing, so divine

And offer my soul, my life, my all.