Scripture Reading: Exodus 34:5-8, Psalm 29:2, Matthew 14:24-33, Luke 19:35-40, Acts 3:1-10, Revelation 5:8-14
Gerard Manley Hopkins poem “God’s Grandeur” begins with the line, “The world is charged with the grandeur of God.” When we look at the world, at its mountains, lakes, flowers, birds, and trees, we see it all as God’s handiwork. His glory, His grandeur, charges all of it, causing it to hum and spark with energy. The Bible even speaks of the natural world praising God in verses like Isaiah 55:12 and Luke 19:40.
Yet Hopkins went on later to say that “…the soil / Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.” The trouble we face is that looking at the world, seeing it for what it is, is not easy. Our vision is obscured; seeing God’s grandeur is no longer our default. We sit at desks and stare at screens; we zip past the trees in our cars; we’re weighed down with stress that narrows our vision.
This is where worship as a disciplined practice comes in. Exodus 34:5–8 depicts God passing in front of Moses and proclaiming who He is, and Moses responded by bowing down and worshiping. This scene occurs after Moses asked God, “Please, let me see your glory” (Exodus 33:18). Moses knew it would be impossible to lead the Israelites without God’s presence, so he was desperate to see God’s goodness, even if the full display of it would have been overwhelming.
In Revelation 5:8–14, we get a glimpse of the heavenly throne room, where praise is given to the Lamb who was slaughtered. By His death He acquired a people, gave them new life, and gave them a vocation as priests in His kingdom. Seeing all this, all the beings in heaven sing His praises.
In these and other cases, what preceded worship was seeing. Moses saw God’s glory. The disciples saw Jesus walking on water and calming the storm. The elders and creatures of Revelation saw the Lamb. Even the lame man of Acts 3:1–10 gave his attention to Peter and John, who drew on the power of Jesus to heal him. When we see the world for what it is, and God for who He is, our hearts overflow in praise.
Hopkins made the turn in his poem to say, “And for all this, nature is never spent / There lives the dearest freshness deep down things.” At any time, it is possible to turn from the distractions and anxieties of our lives to see God’s grandeur. Hopkins’s poem focuses on the splendor of God as seen through His creation, but we can also see it in other ways: by meditating on His compassion and faithfulness, His power, and His great love that He showed in dying for us and making us His own.
In worship, we focus our attention on God. And in doing so, we see everything else—our job, our family, our city, our nation, the whole world—in its proper light as emerging from His love and bearing witness to Him.
Written by Elliot Ritzema
