Stepping outside my front door this morning, the beauty in my yard was amazing! The flowering trees, the colorful flowers, the mix of birds singing and vying for their place at the bird feeder! It was all so inviting that I began thinking of the hymn, For the Beauty of the Earth and wondering what inspired someone to write this hymn. So here is what I found from The Story Behind: The Beauty of the Earth, hymncharts.com.
For the Beauty of the Earth was written by Folliott Sandford Pierpoint in the spring of 1864 in Bath, England. He was an accomplished poet at just 29 years old and his soul was stirred with gratitude as he looked over his hometown of Bath, England one spring morning.
This hymn was originally written for communion services, with eight verses progressing from physical creation to the spiritual beauty of the church. Over the years, numerous revisions and variations of this hymn have been serving a variety of denominations well.
While perusing through the verses, one will note there is a theological scope to this hymn from the natural world to human relationships, to the church and ultimately Christ himself.
The last verse of the hymn goes like this – For thyself, best Gift Divine, to the world so freely given, for that great, great love of thine, peace on earth and joy in heaven. Lord of all to thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise. In this verse, we see an echo of Luke 2 verse 14’s cosmic connection between earth and heaven.
I like to think the beauty of the earth is a teaser of what is to come in eternity. I believe the colors will be more vibrant and the sound of the birds will be sweetness to our ears. After all, our bodies will be perfect (Philippians 3:21) and we will see and hear 100%! God created the beauty of the earth for us to enjoy and even though our disobedience marred that beauty, through Jesus’ shed blood on the cross, we are forgiven. Someday, when God the Father says, today is the day, Jesus will return and there will be a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:18-23) in all its beauty.
We are living in the ‘already, but not yet,’ meaning we are present in this life (already) and yet waiting to see the future (but not yet). Spend time enjoying God’s creation, reflecting on its beauty and looking forward to the new heaven and new earth!
Chaplain Val
