Galatians 1:3-5 RSV
Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father;
TO WHOM BE THE GLORY FOR EVER AND EVER. AMEN.
Psalms 19:1 RSV
The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
The paramount function of all created things is to glorify God. It is true of the material universe. “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalms 19:1).
It is true of the angels; for when they appeared at the birth of Christ, their song was “Glory to God in the highest” (Luke 2:14).
It is even true of all the lower forms of life.
And every creature which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing and honor and glory and power be to him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.
(Revelation 5:13)
EVERYWHERE
Where myriad waterfowl with thunderous wings
Ascend to climb dawn’s flaming stair,
The oratorio of all created things
Is heard upon the morning air.
Where velvet footsteps march beneath the shade
Of mammoth trees and move along
The resinous forest’s colonnade,
God hears the thrilling Glory Song.
Where countless life-forms teem the ocean floor,
Is sung God’s glory in the sea,
A mighty chorus shore to shore
To justify their right to be.
Where Pleiades and Morning Star adorn
The arch of heaven, even there,
From Creation’s birthday morn,
God’s glory sings, and EVERYWHERE!
James Burton Coffman, 1962
Since the very purpose of man’s existence is to glorify God, it follows that when man circumvents or countermands this purpose, he forfeits his right to live.
Man cannot rise in his own strength alone, but must place his hand in the hand of his Creator, and like Enoch of old, learn to walk with God.
How profound is the thought that man at last may attain eternal fellowship with the Father.
What joys unspeakable are implied in this!
AMEN, like Hosanna, Hallelujah, Maranatha and Abba, is one of the “fossilized survivals” of Hebrew and Aramaic language of worship, transmitted through the New Testament Greek-speaking church to the later Latin-speaking church, and ultimately to most languages of Earth.
It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.
As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth, so the mind of kings is unsearchable.
Proverbs 25:2-3 RSV
