"For the beauty of the earth, For the glory of the skies, For the love which from our birth Over and around us lies.
Lord of all to Thee we raise This our hymn of grateful praise."
These are the words to the beloved hymn "For the Beauty of the Earth" written in 1863 declaring the wonders of God's creation. This week, I want us to remember the awesome God we know, love, and serve by taking a moment to pause and consider the things which He has made.
Romans 1: 20 states that since the beginning of creation "God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." And David writes in Psalm 19 that "the heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the works of his hands" and there is no place where their voices cannot be heard (vv. 1-3). Therefore, every person has the ability to see creation and know there is a Creator. Every single person is known by God! Every rock, every star, every galaxy- it is all completely known by Him. Isaiah 40: 12 asks the following questions: "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?" The Lord. The Lord alone knows all of these things.
By looking at creation, the beautiful wonders that God has formed, it can lead our hearts to praise Him. Paul commands the church of Ephesus to "sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:20) . In the busyness of life, we often take the beautiful things of this world for granted. Of course, this world has become tainted by our sin, yet, there is still beauty in it because of the one who formed all things is beautiful, perfect, and good.
For this reason, we should give thanks. Paul tells us in Philippians 4 that we should rejoice always, and there are several passages of scripture that tell us to give thanks, praise God, etc. but the abundant grace that God has shown us which we can see through His beautiful creation reminds us to praise Him.
1 Chronicles 16: 8-12 says,
"Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually!
Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
his miracles and the judgments he uttered."
And Psalm 150: 6 declares, "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!"
Let us seek his presence continually and remember that the Creator of all the beautiful things we see around us loves us enough to care for us and form us into the image of his holy, perfect son. As 1 Chronicles says, let's strive to share who our God is with one person this week by telling of all his wondrous deeds and the magnificent things He has done!
Isaiah 40: 28 is just one example of how to share who our God is with someone who does not know Him
"Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable."
Our God is everlasting, Creator, perfectly strong, and all-knowing, and that is only a fraction of all the things we can learn to praise and love about Him.
Jesus Himself talks about the glory and honor that God naturally receives. As Jesus enters the city of Jerusalem for Passover, the crowd of disciples following him joyfully praises God and cries, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (vv. 38) The Pharisees in the crowd do not appreciate the disciples shouting praises in the streets so they tell Jesus to rebuke the disciples. Jesus says in reply, “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” (Luke 19: 40). If humanity ceased to praise God, creation would continue to praise Him because He is worthy of all praise.
Creation does not just praise Him because He is worthy of it all, or because of what He has already done, but also because of what He will one day accomplish.
Psalm 96:11-13 says:
"Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness."
Here even in the Old Testament, David knew that God would one day come to judge the earth, and since then, Jesus himself has declared multiple times that He will one day return. Here David is telling us that even creation rejoices and is glad that He will come to judge the earth, for He is righteous and faithful.
So, even in the hard moments of life, we can praise the Lord for who He is, the beautiful things He has created, His coming return, His salvation, and much more. Take some time this week to enjoy the beauty of God's creation and rejoice for He is good!
ความคิดเห็น