It is a lovely route, almost no traffic, just lots of beautiful cows, goats, sheep, birds, and deer, and sometimes roseate spoonbills. I love that ride. In the winter it is just beginning to dawn (And I think of Emily Dickinson's words --
I'll tell you how the sun rose,
A ribbon at a time
The steeples swam in amethyst,
The news like squirrels ran....)
Often the colors of the sunrise are like "ribbons" unfurling in the sky. And our "steeples" are tall trees....but it works anyway!
Last week I noticed all the hay bales dotting the meadows (fields?). It was a truly beautiful sight.
I didn't always think hay bales were beautiful.
Once we visited an art museum to see a special exhibit of Impressionists' Paintings. My favorite is Monet, and I was looking forward to seeing some of his original works -- his gardens at Giverceny, the pond with the bridge over it, the flowers -- all those almost unbearable vibrant colors -- the ethereal light that transforms his glimpses of nature into radiant images.
But when I got to the museum, I realized that at least half of Monet's paintings on display were of hay stacks and hay bales! Some of the visitors gasped in delight at the detail and perfection of the scenes, at the golden light that touched the hay at just the right angles...but not me!
I came to see the FLOWERS! The POND!
But now I am a different person and so I see the bounty of God's goodness whenever I see bales of hay! It is what our ancestors called providence.
It refers to the way God's perfectly formed creation itself is designed to provide for the needs of His creatures, with or without our help. So when I see the hay bales now I praise God for the way He provided for all of His creatures!
The hay bales are beautiful to me now. As I see the golden light transforming them into perfect symbols of His goodness I hear a voice in my head reminding me that we should be a more thankful people.
Come, ye thankful people, come
Raise the song of harvest home!
All is safely gathered in
Ere the winter storms begin
God, our Maker doth provide
For our wants to be supplied
Come to God's own temple come,
Raise the song of harvest home.
Our ancestors all understood providence.
In the Westminster Catechism, which we studied as children:
Question 11. What are God's works of providence?
Answer: God's works of providence are: His most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all His creatures and their actions.
The Scriptures we learned to support the answer were:
1. Psalm 145:17 - The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works.
2. Psalm 104:24 - O Lord, how manifold are Thy works! In wisdom hast Thou made them all; the earth is full of Thy riches.
3. Hebrews 1:3 - Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when he had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
4. Psalm 103:19 - The Lord hath prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom ruleth over all.
Matthew 10:29-30 - Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Job 38-41 (All of the verses of these chapters)
Maybe we should talk about God's providence more. It does clash, though, with today's popular world view that does not recognize God's sovereignty
(or most often God Himself) and His concern with His creatures.
Sometimes I get tired of it all -- all the humanistic proclamations about our society and where we are, or should be, going -- from people who have 'eyes but see not' and 'ears but hear not.'
When I get really tired of all the "garbage" being touted around me, I turn back to
Even so, Lord quickly come
Bring Thy final harvest home
Gather Thou Thy people in
Free from sorrow, free from sin,
There, forever purified,
In Thy presence to abide
Come, with all Thine angels,come,
Raise the glorious harvest home!
Therefore, comfort one another with these words!
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