A Poem Inspired by Genesis 1:16

When first the ancient silence heard
The sovereign summons of God’s word,
And darkness fled before His voice
Compelled by wisdom to rejoice,
The heavens spread their vaulted frame
To magnify His holy name.

The earth stood clothed in fresh array,
Adorned with life and crowned with day;
The seas obeyed their Maker’s hand,
The mountains rose at His command,
And every field and budding tree
Declared His boundless majesty.

Yet still the grand design would show
New wonders for the world below,
For God, whose wisdom knows no end,
Would greater gifts from heaven send.
He hung upon the spacious sky
Bright lamps to rule the hours that fly.

The greater light He fashioned there,
To flood the world with splendor fair;
The sun arose in golden might,
The sovereign ruler of the light.
Its burning glory crossed the blue,
Its warmth refreshed the earth anew.

It woke the valleys draped in mist,
The forests by the morning kissed,
The rivers dancing toward the sea,
The flowers clothed in finery.
Its beams stretched over hill and plain
And called the sleeping world again.

No human hand had forged its fire,
No mortal mind conceived its pyre;
Its blazing strength and endless flame
Exist to glorify His name.
The mighty sun itself remains
A servant bound in heaven’s chains.

It cannot wander from its place,
Nor alter one appointed trace.
Each dawn obeys the Lord’s decree,
Each sunset bows submissively.
Its journey through the endless years
Displays the King whom heaven fears.

Yet when the evening shadows fall
And darkness spreads its quiet shawl,
Another witness takes its place
To shine with softer, gentler grace.
The lesser light ascends the sky
To watch the sleeping earth below.

The moon appears with silver face,
Reflecting light it does not raise.
It borrows brightness from the sun
And shines until the night is done.
Though lacking fire of its own,
It gleams before the heavenly throne.

How often through the centuries long
It has inspired mankind’s song,
Its peaceful radiance above
A token of the Father’s love.
It lights the traveler on his road,
And shines upon the sailor’s boat.

It casts its glow on desert sand,
On mountain peak and fertile land.
It watches over rich and poor,
The palace gate, the cottage door.
Its silent testimony streams
Across the world of sleeping dreams.

And near that moon God scattered bright
A host of stars throughout the night.
What countless jewels fill the sky
Beyond the reach of mortal eye!
Each distant spark, though small it seems,
Was kindled by His vast designs.

The stars that Abraham once viewed,
The stars through which the shepherds looked,
The stars that crowned the Bethlehem sky
When Christ the Lord was drawing nigh,
All stand as witnesses above
To everlasting power and love.

No number can their host contain,
No chart can fully them explain.
Yet every star and every sphere
Moves by the word God speaks to hear.
Their courses never drift astray,
For He upholds them night and day.

The greater light, the lesser light,
The countless stars that grace the night,
All tell a story old and true:
Creation points the soul to You.
Their beauty is not self-contained;
Their glory is by God ordained.

The sun is splendid, yet it fades;
The moon grows dim through changing shades.
The stars themselves shall one day cease,
When time concludes and ages cease.
But He who made them all shall stand
Forever strong with sovereign hand.

The lights above were never meant
To draw mankind to vain intent.
They were not placed in heaven’s dome
To claim the worship God alone
Deserves from every tribe and land,
From every heart and every hand.

How often men have sought the skies
And trusted stars for counsel wise,
Forgetting that the lights above
Are servants of the God of love.
The creature must not take the place
Of Him who reigns through boundless grace.

For every beam the sunlight gives,
For every moonlit night that lives,
For every star that sparkles bright
Across the canvas of the night,
There stands behind their shining frame
The glory of God’s holy name.

And still today their voices speak
To all who listen and who seek.
They preach without a single word,
Yet everywhere their song is heard.
From dawn’s first glow to evening’s rest,
Their witness shines from east to west.

They tell the weary God still reigns.
They tell the suffering of His gains.
They tell the doubting heart above
There lives a Lord of power and love.
The ordered heavens still proclaim
The faithfulness of His great name.

The greater light that rules the day
Will someday fade and pass away.
The lesser light that guards the night
Will lose its borrowed silver light.
Yet Christ, the everlasting Sun,
Will shine when all the ages run.

No cloud shall dim His glorious face,
No shadow hide His matchless grace.
The Light of lights shall fill the land,
And all creation then shall stand
Awakened by His perfect ray
Within an everlasting day.

Until that hour, the heavens sing.
The stars exalt their sovereign King.
The moon reflects His gentle care.
The sun declares His splendor there.
And all creation, great and small,
Invites the human heart to call

Upon the One whose word gave birth
To sky and sea and fruitful earth,
Whose wisdom hung the lamps above,
Whose power sustains them with His love,
Whose glory through all worlds is shown
And whose dominion stands alone.

So let the greater light declare,
And let the lesser witness bear,
That every shining thing we see
Exists to praise His majesty.
The heavens blaze, the stars unite,
The day and darkness both recite:

“All glory to the Lord Most High,
Who spread the stars across the sky;
Whose mighty hand no power can stay,
Who rules the night and rules the day;
Whose splendor shines through endless years,
The King above all kings appears.”