HOW GREAT THOU ART!
Opening Prayer
Lord, help me in the coming year to lean not on my own understanding, but in all my ways submit to you, that you might make my ways straight.*
Read GENESIS 1
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
The Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Footnotes
- Genesis 1:26 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text (see Syriac); Masoretic Text the earth
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
‘O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the works thy hands have made…’** Prayerfully consider what God has made and done in your life.Genesis 1 is not, and was never intended to be, a scientific explanation of how the world was created, but a revelation and declaration of how great God is. These verses are not scientific statements but a story—not a fanciful fairy tale, but foundational truths encapsulated in story form. This carefully crafted creation story takes us where science does not and cannot go, exploring not merely what God has done, but who God is and who we are in relation to him.
More than 30 references to God, what God said and did (making, naming, blessing) and his view of creation (‘God saw that it was good’) underscore some fundamental truths. First, creation is God’s. As its owner-ruler, God appointed his image-bearers as representative rulers and trustees of his creation (1:26–28). While free to use and enjoy the earth and its resources, God holds us accountable for our stewardship of this sacred trust. Secondly, as the designer-developer of human life, God alone knows how life and relationships work best; and so the wise will live according to the Maker’s manual. Thirdly, creation is good; matter is neither evil nor unspiritual, and how we manage the material world, including our bodies, matters to God (see 1 Timothy 4:1–5).
Apply
Let your prayerful reflection on the creation story move your heart to exclaim, ‘How good, how gracious, how great thou art!’
Closing prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for the part you give me to play in the care of your creation. Help me to carry it out in ways that are pleasing to you, in ways that honor the wonder of all you have made.
*See Proverbs 3:5, 6
**’How Great Thou Art’, Carl Gustav Boberg © 1949, 1953 Capital CMG Publishing
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