All Nature’s Works His Praise Declare
All Nature’s Works His Praise Declare
All nature’s works His praise declare,
To whom they all belong;
There is a voice in every star,
In every breeze a song.
Sweet music fills the world abroad
With strains of love and power;
The stormy sea sings praise to God,
The thunder and the shower.
To God the tribes of ocean cry,
And birds upon the wing;
To God the powers that dwell on high
Their tuneful tribute bring.
Like them, let man the throne surround,
With them loud chorus raise,
While instruments of loftier sound
Assist his feeble praise.
Great God, to Thee we consecrate
Our voices and our skill;
We bid the pealing organ wait
To speak alone Thy will.
Lord, while the music round us floats,
May earthborn passions die;
O grant its rich and swelling notes
May lift our souls on high!
ALL OF NATURE continually praises God. Only humans require reminders to do so. When Henry Ware’s church in Boston was dedicating its new organ, he was asked to write a dedicatory hymn. As he wrote, he made sure that he did not speak of the greatness of the instrument. Instead, he emphasized the organ’s purpose: to assist Christians in the praise of God. In a way, it’s reminiscent of Psalm 150, which speaks of seven or eight different musical instruments, united in the praise of God. Thirteen times that psalm urges us to join in praise. We too are created for this purpose, to sing of God’s glory.
We can thank God for our church organs and the other instruments that lead us in Sunday worship. But how often during the week do we lift our souls to God in the unaccompanied exaltation of our glorious Lord?
Praise him with a blast of the ram’s horn; praise him with the lyre and harp! Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with strings and flutes! Praise him with a clash of cymbals; praise him with loud clanging cymbals. Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord!
Psalm 150:3-6
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