Folliot Pierpoint’s hymn, “For the Beauty of the Earth,” has been sung in churches for over 160 years. The author was taking a walk through the English countryside and decided he had to try to put into words the grandeur he saw in the natural world around him.

For the next few weeks, we’ll look at each stanza of this poetic masterpiece and let it point us back to God’s Word.

The hymn opens with the device it will make use of throughout: listing reasons we thank God in each verse before offering the thanks itself in the repeated refrain. The inverted order builds some anticipation. In this first stanza, the writer names the earth’s beauty, the sky’s glory, and the ever-present love we experience from birth.

What strikes me about this hymn’s opening is the fact that while we all experience these things, we also tend to hurry past them. The squirrel perched by your window might delight you for a few seconds, but soon you remember you’re late for work. The bright blue sky might grab your attention, but soon you’re off to a meeting. You feel the caring love of your mother, but by the teenage years you can’t wait to get out of the house. Felt for a moment, these amazing wonders fade from view, then fade from memory.

Psalm 68, like this hymn, calls God’s people to respond to the beauty, glory, and love all around us. David writes:

“Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies.”

Psalm 68:34

To “ascribe” is to appreciate, acknowledge, and give honor to the source. The wonderful gifts of God can be found over and around us all the time if we have eyes to see them. He deserves a response of gratitude once we remember that these good things come from Him.

If we walk through life without seeing these marvels and worshipping the One who sent them, we could end up like those mentioned in Romans:

“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking.”

Romans 1:20-21

The tragedy here begins not with their sins (that comes later) but with their casual disregard of all the beauty He brought their way. One walk through the countryside could have shown them the Creator.

Let’s make sure that the Lord of all receives the grateful praise of those who cannot help but ascribe these wonders to Him!