Creation Day One

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning -- the first day. (Genesis 1:3-5 NIV)

At 29 years of age, Folliott S. Pierpoint (1835-1917) wrote the poem he titled The Sacrifice of Praise. It has since become known as For the Beauty of the Earth. It was originally written as a Eucharistic hymn used primarily in celebrating the Lord's Supper. The young poet/hymnist was enthralled by the beauty of the countryside around him. The first verse from his original version is:

For the beauty of the earth, for the beauty of the skies,

For the Love which from our birth over and around us lies:

Christ, our God, to Thee we raise this our Sacrifice of Praise.

Over the years that third line was changed to "Lord of all, to Thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise." That was an effort to widen its use to serve as a more general hymn of praise and thanksgiving. The hymnal we use at our congregation combines parts of both lyrics.

Who of us has not been mesmerized by God's Light and His separation of day and night? As night brightens into dawn or day fades into twilight, we get a glimpse of God's creative majesty. One of my favorite memories is captured in this photo of sunrise at Hayden Valley in Yellowstone National Park. I am awestruck by the unique manner in which God begins and ends each new day.