Because He made an Incredible World
| O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens... When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? ... O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! (Psalms8:1-9) |
We look around:
- The vastness of the sky and the countless stars
- The shades of green and the hues of sunrises and sunsets
- The magnificence of the lion and quirkiness of the ant-eater
- The flash of lightning and the roar of thunder, waterfalls and crashing waves
- The silence of the desert and the hush of the forest
- The scent of freshly fallen rain and the perfume of a rose
- The wonder of the eagle in flight and the cheetah at full speed
- The majesty of the mountains and wildness of the sea
All of these things catch our breath and point us towards a Creator who is mighty, creative and loving.
Selwyn Hughes commented on how he pitied the atheist who observed all this majesty and had no-one to thank.
Because that's the crunch isn't it?
We see this beautiful magnificent bounty and then we feel Awe, followed closely by Privilege and then there's a profound sense of Gratitude. Now imagine feeling all of these and then having to say, "but it's all by accident..."
We worship because God gave us this incredible world and that means He must be amazing!
We worship because we see our world and gratitude wells up in us and we do have Someone to thank.
But there's one more thing - and it's captured in that beautiful hymn "All things bright and beautiful" which notes that it is not enough that our world is beautiful, there is a second miracle, captured in the last verse:
"He gave us eyes to see them
and lips that we may tell.
How great is God Almighty
who has made all things well."
Not only does God make a beautiful world, but He enables us to see it and enjoy it.
That's a pretty good reason to praise Him....
