Hymns of Glorious Praise

The first summer I lived in western Kansas I witnessed "amber waves of grain" for the first time. This week I watched as the billowing waves of the Pacific produced an "ocean white with foam". Nothing makes me more aware of the presence of the Creator than experiencing His creation. The beauty and smell of the pine trees in North Louisiana, the cool streams in the Ozarks, the majesty of the snow capped Rockies, the vast blue sky on a clear day in western Kansas; they all inspire me as they did the Psalmist to worship and bow down before the Lord, my maker.
 
These are a few of my favorite experiences with worship inspired by creation. 



Lisa, my brothers & I
in the West Virginia mountains.
(and Dad)

 Walking down a path in the mountains of West Virginia with my mom and my best friend, Lisa and realizing we were all humming the same song, "How Great Thou Art".

"When through the woods

 And forest glades I wander

 I hear the birds

 Sing sweetly in the trees;

 When I look down

 From lofty mountain grandeur

 And hear the brook

 And feel the gentle breeze; "

 Then sings my soul, My God, how great thou art!

Sunflower fields of Western Kansas
against the biggest, bluest sky!

 Watching year after year the beauty of the crops of western Kansas, gave me a new appreciate for a Thanksgiving Hymn I first heard at Red Oak UMC.

"Come, ye thankful people, come - Raise the song of harvest home:  All is safely gathered in. Ere the winter storms begin. God, our Maker, doth provide, For our wants to be supplied: Come to God's own temple, come - Raise the song of harvest home."

 Sitting on a rock in a cove surrounded by the Coastal mountains in central California, listening to the roar of the waves and watching the spray of the water as it broke against the rocks, I found myself humming a line from another favorite hymn, “sweep over my spirit forever, I pray in fathomless billows of love”. Watching as those waves rose and rolled again and again and again, each one seeming taller and stronger than the last, I could almost feel the waves of His love roll over my soul again and again and again. I sat amazed at the strength and endurance of His love and it brought to mind one of Stephen’s favorite hymns.

The Love of God

The love of God is greater far

Than tongue or pen can ever tell

It goes beyond the highest star

And reaches to the lowest hell

The guilty pair, bowed down with care

God gave His Son to win

His erring child He reconciled

And pardoned from his sin

Could we with ink the ocean fill

And were the skies of parchment made

Were every stalk on earth a quill

And every man a scribe by trade

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry

Nor could the scroll contain the whole

Though stretched from sky to sky

O love of God, how rich and pure!

How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure
The saints' and angels' song

 

But mightier than the violent raging of the seas, mightier than the breakers on the shore—the Lord above is mightier than these! Psalms 93:4 NLT

It's easy to miss in the busyness of our daily lives, but if we listen His creation speaks to us every day.  It speaks of His majesty, His provision, and His strength.

Thanks for listening,

See you next Sunday,

Ronda

 

Talking about all these hymns makes me think about cleaning the church on Saturday nights with my dad when I was a teenager. One of the things he always insisted on was “straightening the hymnals”. This task was not as simple as making sure they were all standing upright. We carefully placed each one the same distance apart in the holder so that when one stood at the back of sanctuary they lined up perfectly! I learned something from my Dad on those Saturday nights about honoring the house of the Lord.