Creation Hymns


I love great creation hymns like “All Creatures of Our God and King” and “I Sing the Mighty Power of God” and “Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation.”  One of the newest is called “Creation Sings” by Keith and Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend.  You can listen to it here:  http://www.gettymusic.com/creationsings.asp. 

 

There is a much older creation hymn that is little known and seldom sung, but the words are quite vivid and wonderful.  It’s from the pen of a great American Christian educator, Sewall Sylvester Cutting, who wanted to show the power of God in nature, science, providence, and grace.  Cutting was born in Windsor, Vermont, in 1813, and enjoyed a long and distinguished career as a pastor, an editor, an educator, and a denominational leader.  On January 16, 1882, while in his son’s home in Brooklyn, he suffered a paralyzing seizure.  He lingered for about three weeks before passing away.  I confess I’ve never heard this hymn sung, but the words vividly portray our Lord’s great power as Creator.

 

God of the world, near and afar,

They glories shine in earth and star;

We see Thy love in opening flower,

In distant orb Thy wondrous power.

 

God of our lives! The throbbing heart

Doth at Thy beck its action start;

Throbes on, obedient to Thy will,

Or ceases at Thy fatal chill.

 

God of eternal life!  Thy love

Doth every stain of sin remove;

The cross, the cross, its hallowed light

Shall drive from earth her cheerless night.

 

God of all goodness!  To the skies

Our hearts in grateful anthems rise;

And to Thy service shall be given

The rest of life, the whole of heaven.