Devotional:
Throughout scripture, we find the amazing image of creation joined as one in worship to the Creator. Here are just a few examples…
…the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise. Isaiah 43:21, ESV
I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises. I will boast only in the Lord; let all who are helpless take heart. Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness; let us exalt his name together. Psalm 34:1-3, NLT
You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands! Isaiah 55:12, NLT
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens! Praise him from the skies! Praise him, all his angels! Praise him, all the armies of heaven! Praise him, sun and moon! Praise him, all you twinkling stars! Praise him, skies above! Praise him, vapors high above the clouds! Let every created thing give praise to the Lord, for he issued his command, and they came into being. Psalm 148:1-5, NLT
It’s easy to disassociate ourselves from the rest of Creation, to separate mankind from the land, sea, and everything that lives within them. But the reality is, when Psalm 148 declares for every created thing to give praise to the Lord, we are all a part of that! And, together, we are called to magnify Christ.
When every creature finds its inmost melody
And every human heart its native cry
O then in one enraptured hymn of praise
We'll sing 'Christ be magnified!'
You and I are created by God to worship Him. Worship is our native cry, the inmost melody burning deep inside of us. We’re meant to sing the song that declares - “Christ become greater and be lifted high.”
O! Christ be magnified!
Let His praise arise
Christ be magnified in me
O! Christ be magnified!
From the altar of my life
Christ be magnified in me
I love that line from the altar of my life. Because while there are sacrifices we have to make when following Jesus, what we receive in return is so much better. When we lay our lives down on the altar and give Jesus everything, our old sinful nature is buried with him. Then, we’re raised with Him in new life. What a trade!
There’s nothing better than a life lived in surrender and worship to Jesus, a life joined with all of creation singing, “Christ be magnified!”
Verse 1:
Were creation to suddenly articulate
With a thousand tongues to lift one cry
Then from north to south and east to west
We'd hear 'Christ be magnified!'
Verse 2:
Were the whole earth echoing His eminence
His name would burst from sea and sky
From rivers to the mountain tops
We'd hear 'Christ be magnified!'
Chorus:
O! Christ be magnified!
Let His praise arise
Christ be magnified in me
O! Christ be magnified!
From the altar of my life
Christ be magnified in me
Verse 3:
When every creature finds its inmost melody
And every human heart its native cry
O then in one enraptured hymn of praise
We'll sing 'Christ be magnified!'
Scriptures:
Psalm 19:1-3, NLT
Isaiah 55:12, NLT
Revelation 5:13, ESV
Psalm 34:1-3, NLT
Psalm 148:1-5, NLT
Colossians 1:16, ESV
Isaiah 43:21, ESV
