The mountain and the city

We attended Chris Bowater's Worship Weekend yesterday. As usual, when there is singing, I had a good time. We ended with one of my favourite hymns:

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the world Thy Hands hath made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

In his sermon, Chris talked about the event of the transfiguration of Jesus at the mountaintop. Moses and Elijah were there and the apostles who were there were so amazed, they fell on their faces. But then, Chris went on, they had to come back down. St Augustine talked about the City of God and the City of Man. If I may mix them up a bit, our lives have often been likened to a journey up a mountain. If so, then one of the fantastic views from the mountain is of the city from which we came. When we reach that mountain top, we (as Christians) will never climb back down again. Will we see the beauty of the city only from the mountaintop? If so, surely we will be remorseful and repent.

(PS: I think it is apt that the hymn above refers to the rolling thunder as one of the wonders of God. This rolling thunder often accompanies a natural force that wreaks havoc amongst us humans.)