Earth and All Stars! (Evangelical Lutheran Worship 731)
1 Earth and all stars! Loud rushing planets!
Sing to the Lord a new song!
Hail, wind, and rain! Loud blowing snowstorm!
Sing to the Lord a new song!
God has done marvelous things.
I too sing praises with a new song!
2 Trumpet and pipes! Loud clashing cymbals!
Sing to the Lord a new song!
Harp, lute, and lyre! Loud humming cellos!
Sing to the Lord a new song!
God has done marvelous things.
I too sing praises with a new song!
3 Engines and steel! Loud pounding hammers!
Sing to the Lord a new song!
Limestone and beams! Loud building workers!
Sing to the Lord a new song!
God has done marvelous things.
I too sing praises with a new song!
4 Classrooms and labs! Loud boiling test tubes!
Sing to the Lord a new song!
Athlete and band! Loud cheering people!
Sing to the Lord a new song!
God has done marvelous things.
I too sing praises with a new song!
5 Knowledge and truth! Loud sounding wisdom!
Sing to the Lord a new song!
Daughter and son! Loud praying members!
Sing to the Lord a new song!
God has done marvelous things.
I too sing praises with a new song!
Text: Herbert F. Brokering; Music: David N. Johnson; Reprinted under OneLicense.net #A730924
Devotion
“O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!” It would be hard to find a hymn that captures the essence of Psalm 96 with more joy and enthusiasm than Herbert Brokering’s “Earth and All Stars!” He wrote the hymn for St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, in celebration of its ninetieth anniversary in 1964. Given this context for Brokering’s composition, the Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship states:
It is no surprise therefore to encounter trumpets, pipes, cymbals, harp, lute, lyre, humming cellos and by extension all the instrumental and vocal music that characterize St. Olaf College. Nor is it a surprise to find a snowstorm…test tubes, athletes, bands, limestone, beams, daughters, sons, knowledge, wisdom, cheering people, and praying members – all singing a new song about the marvelous things God has done.
Wherever we find ourselves, may we join all of creation in singing a new song of praise to God!
Prayer
Great and mighty God, open our eyes each day to see anew the marvelous things you have done! May our songs of praise never end. Amen.