There was a time when Indians communicated by drums and smoke signals. There may be places in the world where that sort of thing still goes on. Years ago when the atomic bomb was being tested out on the desert flats of Nevada, a cartoon pictured two Indians. They were looking across the barren wastes – the spacious flats – when on the horizon the mushroom smoke cloud of an atomic explosion rose dramatically. As these Indians looked at that in wonder – never having seen such smoke – one Indian said to the other, “I wish I had said that.”

Many a poet, and scholar, and singer, and preacher – reading Paul’s magnificent hymn of love has felt, even if they did not verbalize it: “I wish I had said that.”

And all of us reading it, want to exclaim, “Oh, ah! That’s it!”

This is Paul’s exposition …