“Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” Genesis 1:28

The Worlds Thy Hands Have Made

The words to the old hymn, How Great Thou Art, rolled through my prayers one morning recently. I haven’t heard it sung in many years, but it was the song I learned at a youth camp so long ago—the camp where I met Jesus. As we sang it again and again at that camp, God’s greatness and the wonder of His majesty lodged in my heart. I proclaim it to this day.

There is evidence that the author of the song wrote the word “works” not “worlds,” but I learned it with the word “worlds” and we all know it is true: God created our world, and all the sub-worlds therein: the realms and habitats of other created beings and substances.

I think of the birds’ world: the sky and clouds, the trees, the winds and currents, the seeds and insects that feed them, the streams and ponds that quench their thirst.

There is a world for swimming creatures: the ocean depths and shallows, the tidepools, the rivers, all with hiding places, miniscule bits of food, various levels of light and dark, tides and currents, and the rains that replenish.

The world of land animals is glorious, colorful, noisy, and diverse—every animal is both prey and predator, useful for its own purposes in God’s kingdom.

There is the world of nature, all those God-created systems that generate what all the other worlds need: the world of the heavens; the operations of the water cycle, gravity, molecules, electricity; the mountains, forests, deserts, jungles, each seeming to stand alone and yet working together with the other created worlds to make THIS world, our world, the world of mankind.

Every creation of God is used by Him to serve the “world” of man, God’s crowning creation. A bird was dispatched to feed Elijah. The sea and land were told to give their food. The beasts of the field work for us and give their lives to feed us. The sun gives light, energy, and vitamins. And surely, some things He made just so we would stand and gape with our mouths hanging open, from the beauty of sunsets to the immensity of oceans, from the grandeur of mountains to the elegance of valleys draped in ribbons of wildflowers.

He set His love upon man, gave His Word to man, and told man to dominate and subdue the rest of creation—all the other worlds He made. He has involved Himself in man’s existence since the beginning, and prepared a place for man to be with Him forever.

“All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, and Your saints shall bless You. They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, and talk of Your power, to make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of His kingdom” (Psalm 145:10-12).