Guest Blogger: Katie Myers on God's Creation

Psalm 8
1 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. 3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

When I think about the stars and planets that God made, it reminds me that God is everywhere, as my catechism taught me, and that he is very big, and I am very small. But I thank God that he takes care of me.

Matthew 6

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

My favorite part of God's creation is the many wonderful and beautiful flowers that he makes. I love TULIPs especially. Jesus is called the "rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys" (Song of Sol. 2.1). He is more beautiful than the most beautiful flower in the field. My best friend's name is Lily too.

Psalm 19
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

My Daddy took me to a planetarium once, and sometimes I like to look up at the night sky. God made all the lights in the sky and when I see how beautiful they are, it makes me want to sing God's praises.

Psalm 104
10 He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills. 24 O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.

I live near the Shenandoah Valley and the Shenandoah River. God made so many beautiful mountains, valleys and rivers, and Virginia is full of them.

Psalm 147

4 He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. 5 Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.

The Milky Way is full of stars, but that is only a tiny portion of all the stars God made. He knows them all by name, just like he knows me by name.

Thank you God for making all things wonderful and beautiful, but especially for giving us eyes to see and hearts and mouths to praise Thee. This is a poem which I want to share.

All Things Bright and Beautiful
by Cecil F. Alexander

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,

Each little bird that sings,

He made their glowing colours,

He made their tiny wings.

The rich man in his castle,

The poor man at his gate,

God made them high and lowly,

And ordered their estate.

The purple headed mountain,

The river running by,

The sunset and the morning,

That brightens up the sky;−

The cold wind in the winter,

The pleasant summer sun,

The ripe fruits in the garden,−

He made them every one:

The tall trees in the greenwood,

The meadows where we play,

The rushes by the water,

We gather every day;−

He gave us eyes to see them,

And lips that we might tell,

How great is God Almighty,

Who has made all things well.

Guest blogger Katherine (Katie) Myers of Warrenton, Virginia, is 8 years old, and loves God and God's creation.

All God's Creatures

A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. (Prov. 12.10)

Cecil Frances Alexander, All Things Bright and Beautiful:

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

While conscious of the distinction between Man and Beast (Jesus said, "Ye are of more value than many sparrows," Matt. 10.31), Puritans vehemently opposed the idea that the dominion of Man over the creatures of the earth gave license to abuse animals. In opposing certain popular sports of the day, such as bear-baiting, cockfighting, and the like, they took occasion to note that all of God's creatures, including those that men employ lawfully for their service and benefit, are also precious in His sight. Far from the fantastic notions of animal rights or even superiority over humans held by PETA, the Puritans were nevertheless counter-cultural in pioneering the basis for animal protections theologically and legislatively. The first codified animal protections in American jurisprudence are found in the Puritan Massachusetts Body of Liberties (1641), authored by Nathaniel Ward.

Of the Brute Creature
Liberty 92.
No man shall exercise any Tyranny or Cruelty toward any brute creature which are usually kept for man's use.

Thomas Edwards, Gangraena (1646), I.17:

...God loves the creatures that creep upon the ground as well as the best Saints; and there is no distance between the flesh of a Man, and the flesh of a Toad.

John Flavel, Husbandry Spiritualized (1669), Part III, Chap. II, Upon the hard labour and cruel usage of Beasts, in Works, p. 166 (a poetic meditation concerning a poor, overworked horse):

What hath this creature done, that he should be
Thus beaten, wounded and tir'd out by me?
He is my fellow-creature;

Robert Bolton, General Directions for a Comfortable Walking With God (1625, 1991, 1995), p. 179:

Bathe not thy recreations in blood; refresh not thy tired mind with spectacles of cruelty. Consider the rule which divines give about recreations, that we must not make God's judgments and punishments of sin, either upon man or beast, the matter or object of them. Now, the best divines hold, that enmity amongst themselves was a fruit of our rebellion against God, and more general judgment inflicted upon the creature after the fall. Which misery, coming upon them by our means, should rather break our hearts and make them bleed, than minister matter of glorying in our shame, and vexing those very vexations which our impiety hath put upon them. Alas, sinful man, what a heart hast thou, that canst take delight in the cruel tormenting of a dumb creature! Is it too much for thee to behold with dry eyes that feaful brand which only thy sin hath impressed upon it; but thou must barbarously, also, press its opressions, and make thyself merry with the bleeding miseries of that poor, harmless thing, which, in its kind, is much more, and far better, serviceable to the Creator than thyself?

Philip Stubbes, The Anatomie of Abuses in England (1583, 1879), Part 1, pp. 177-178, 182:

For is not the baiting of a Bear, besides that it is a filthy, stinking and loathsome game, a dangerous and perilous exercise?...What Christian heart can take pleasure to see one poor beast to rent, tear, and kill another, and all for his foolish pleasure? And although they be bloody beasts to mankind, and seek his destruction, yet we are not to abuse them, for his sake who made them, and whose creatures they are. For notwithstanding that they be evil to us, and thirst after our blood, yet are they good creatures in their own nature and kind, and made to set forth the glory and magnificence of the great God, and for our use; and therefore for his sake not to be abused. It is a common saying amongst all men, borrowed from the French, Qui aime Iean, aime son chien; love me, love my dog: so, love God, love his creatures.
...
If necessity, or want of other meats, inforceth us to seek after their lives, it is lawful to use them, in the fear of God, with thanks to his name; but for our pastimes and vain pleasures' sake, we are not in any wise to spoil or hurt them. Is he a Christian man, or rather a pseudo-Christian, that delighteth in blood?