The First Green Hymn
A Poem Inspired by Genesis 1:11-13
Before the cedar crowned the mountain’s height,
Before the vine embraced the waiting stone,
Before the meadow drank the morning light,
The silent earth awaited God alone.
The waters slept beneath the vaulted sky,
The winds were still where empty valleys lay;
No sparrow sang, no eagle learned to fly,
No blossom marked the birth of dawning day.
Then spake the Lord whose wisdom none can trace,
Whose voice commands the stars their nightly course;
He looked upon the unadorned place
And clothed the dust with hidden, living force.
He bade the waiting ground its treasures yield,
Its secret chambers opening at His word;
The barren plain became a fruitful field,
For all creation listens to its Lord.
The grasses came like emerald waves at sea,
A countless host that clothed the naked land;
Each blade arose in quiet dignity,
Obedient to the Sovereign Maker’s hand.
No trumpet sounded through the newborn glen,
No mighty army marched with clashing sword;
Yet greater than the kingdoms built by men
Was this green miracle ordained by God.
The herbs appeared with fragrance softly born,
Bearing the promise folded in the seed;
Each humble stalk adorned the infant morn,
Prepared to answer every creature’s need.
The leaves unfolded toward the light above,
Receiving gifts they never could repay;
A silent testament of Heaven’s love,
A hymn that blossoms still from day to day.
The olive stretched its branches to the breeze,
The fig tree learned the sweetness of the sun,
The towering pine and ancient cypress trees
Declared the works the Holy One had done.
The cedar raised its temple toward the sky,
The willow bowed beside the flowing stream,
And every root that ventured deep and high
Was nourished by the everlasting King.
The orchards waited for a future race,
Though none yet walked beneath their cooling shade;
The grapes concealed within their clustered grace
The wine that centuries ahead would make.
The wheat concealed within its golden grain
The bread to strengthen weary pilgrims’ feet;
The hidden harvest whispered through the plain
Of providence unfailing and complete.
Each tree produced according to its kind,
Each flower wore the garment God designed;
The order written by Eternal Mind
Was fixed in earth as truth for humankind.
No chance composed the lily’s perfect art,
No wandering fate the forest’s pathways drew;
The hand that fashioned every seed and heart
Declared His every purpose good and true.
The tiny acorn held an unseen wood,
The smallest seed a forest yet to rise;
Within the least was hidden mighty good,
A lesson planted deep for faithful eyes.
The Lord delights in wonders yet concealed,
In futures resting quietly below;
His promises, though long unrevealed,
In His appointed season surely grow.
The hills grew green beneath the evening glow,
The valleys laughed with colors newly made;
The rivers through their leafy borders flowed,
Refreshing every root with cooling shade.
The heavens watched the newborn gardens rise,
While earth received the blessing from above;
The soil became a witness to the skies,
Proclaiming both God’s power and His love.
The third day’s labor bore no beast nor man,
Yet all their generations there were stored;
For every kingdom followed Heaven’s plan
That first was spoken by the living Lord.
The forests waited for the builder’s hand,
The herbs for healing yet unknown to men,
The fruits for pilgrims through a distant land,
The flowers for Eden’s gentle paths again.
So still the fields preach sermons to the soul
When springtime clothes the earth in robes of green;
The changing seasons move beneath God’s scroll,
Declaring truths eternal though unseen.
The blooming branch and ripened harvest tell
Of faithfulness no darkness can destroy;
The earth that answered Heaven’s voice so well
Still sings the ancient song of holy joy.
O let the heart become such fertile ground,
Where Heaven’s living word is gladly sown;
May roots of faith and hope therein abound
Until the fruits of grace are fully grown.
For He who called the silent earth to bloom
Still speaks where barren spirits long have trod,
And life shall flourish through the deepest gloom
Where souls receive the holy voice of God.