This is My Father’s World (ELW 824)
1 This is my Father’s world,
and to my list’ning ears
all nature sings, and round me rings
the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world;
I rest me in the thought
of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
his hand the wonders wrought.
2 This is my Father’s world;
the birds their carols raise;
the morning light, the lily white,
declare their maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world;
he shines in all that’s fair.
In the rustling grass I hear him pass;
he speaks to me ev’rywhere.
3 This is my Father’s world;
oh, let me not forget
that, though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world;
why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is king, let the heaven ring;
God reigns, let the earth be glad!
Devotion
Maltbie Babcock was a Presbyterian pastor and an accomplished musician and writer as well as an athlete. Daily he would go for a run, often telling his wife or church workers, “I am going to see my Father’s world.” The words of his hymn are appropriate this Sunday for several reasons. Today we celebrate the secular holiday, Fathers’ Day, but they also remind us of a recurring theme in this day’s appointed scriptures: that God, our creator, who provides and sustains us and all creatures, eternally reigns supreme and calls us to respond joyfully. Just as Reverend Babcock enjoyed his daily runs, I like to go for a daily walk, enjoying all the sounds and sights of nature. On my way, I watch for God’s creatures and listen for new bird songs. As we sing in verse two, “In the rustling grass I hear him pass; he speaks to me everywhere.”
Prayer
Father of all, you have made all things beautiful and in them your praises are declared. Help us to listen and hear your voice in all the sounds of nature, and to find joy in all that you have made. Amen.