This is my Father’s world, I rest me in the thought of rocks and trees, of skies and seas – His hand the wonders wrought.”

On a still Sunday morning in September, these reassuring words – learned and committed to memory during childhood – reverberate in my head: “This is my Father’s world, He shines in all that’s fair.” The words to the hymn were copyrighted in 1901; the arrangement was copyrighted in 1915 by the trustees of the Presbyterian Board of Publication and Sabbath School Work.

While the words and melody go round and round in my head, in my heart a sadness answers the unspeakable question: Is this my Father’s world?

In the town of Beslan, hundreds of Russian schoolchildren and their parents are slaughtered. Chechen terrorists model their tactics on the jihadists of the Middle East and South Asia.

“This is my Father’s world, and to my list’ning ears, all nature sings and round me rings the music of the spheres.”

In western Sudan, horrific killings continue in Darfur by marauding government-supported militias. Congress labels the killing spree genocide and approves more humanitarian aid to those suffering in the African tragedy.

“This is my Father’s world, in the rustling grass I hear Him pass, He speaks to me everywhere.”

Two more American prisoners are beheaded in Iraq, the gruesome, brutal images recorded on film. Car bombs, shootings and kidnappings escalate in Iraqi cities under insurgent control.

The South Korean foreign minister warns of intelligence indicating a possible launch of a North Korean ballistic missile, calling the report “very much alarming.” Adding to the tension, North Korea’s state-run newspaper declared: “If the United States ignites a nuclear war, the U.S. military base in Japan would serve as a detonating fuse to turn Japan into a nuclear sea of fire.”

The Taliban, al-Qaida, Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden. Other names, other places. Saddam Hussein. Saudi Arabia. Pakistan. Israelis-Palestinians. Datelines. News stories.

An Iranian opposition group reveals the existence of two previously secret nuclear facilities, in Natanz and Arak, the first devoted to uranium enrichment, the second to heavy-water production, which is a step toward producing plutonium.

“This is my Father’s world, the birds their carols raise, the morning light, the lily white, declare their Maker’s praise.”

U.S. officials say they are increasingly concerned – as the election nears – al-Qaida will attempt to mount a devastating attack aimed at disrupting the political process. Authorities reportedly are worried al-Qaida might try to replicate the influence terrorists had in Spain, where the governing party that supported the U.S. invasion of Iraq was defeated at the polls after train bombings in Madrid killed 200 people.

“This is my Father’s world, O let me ne’er forget that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.”