God's jewelry!

(Octavius Winslow)  LISTEN to audio! Download audio

(You will find it helpful to listen to the audio above, as you read the text below.)
 

Those bright constellations—Christ created them.
Those burning suns—Christ kindled them.
Those snow wreathed alps, those cloud-capped mountains—Christ raised them.
Those verdant valleys—Christ spread them.
That blushing rose,
  that graceful lily,
  that exquisite fern,
  that curious sea flower tossed upon the shore,
  that wayside violet that screens the dew drop from the sun,
  that winding stream,
  that leafy grove—
Christ formed and penciled them all!

Yes, Christ is the one who . . .
  clad that magnificent landscape with its robe of living green;
  scented the air with its fragrance, and
  hollowed out the depth of that expansive ocean, dimpled with beauty by the gentle breeze—or awesome in its grandeur, when trod by the storm.

Truly, He has made everything beautiful in its time!

Oh! I delight to see the Incarnate God, who died to save—scattering from the opulence of His own boundless resources, all this jewelry; making man's sinful home so rich, so lovely, so attractive!

"The heavens tell of the glory of God.
 The skies display His marvelous craftsmanship.
 Day after day they continue to speak;
 night after night they make Him known.
 They speak without a sound or a word;
 their voice is silent in the skies;
 yet their message has gone out to all the earth,
 and their words to all the world." Psalm 19:1-4

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Something to ponder:
Octavius Winslow: "To the Christian pilgrim, death is but the exchange of his lowly abode on earth for the many-mansioned home of his Father in Heaven!"