“Fairest Lord Jesus”

God in creation has long been a source of music for the church.  The psalms are full of praise to God for His creation and numerous calls for creation to give praise to God.  The prophets speak of restored creation praising God and the Book of Revelation sings His praise for creating all things.  God’s power and glory in creation continued to inspire hymn writers through the early church years and beyond.  One of the great hymns of praise that centers on this theme has a history which is not fully known. Its first written record is during the Reformation era.  Sometimes called the Crusader’s Hymn, because legend had it that German crusaders had sung it on their way to the Holy Land, “Fairest Lord Jesus”, resounds with the theme that the glories of Christ surpass all the glories we see in the things that He made.

Pagans center their worship on creation.  Mother Earth and Mother Nature are two of their goddesses.  The focus of nature worship is that we find such sublime perfection in it.  Of course, there is no such sublime perfection in nature if we look more deeply.  When Adam sinned God cursed the ground.  There went perfection right out the window.  Nature is actually quite grisly.  We speak of a dog eat dog environment in the workplace, well, where did such an idea come from?  Did it come from the sublime perfection of nature?  I love the fragrance of the hyacinths in my yard.  Just a few of them fill the entire yard with their wonderful scent.  But they are short lived and are pretty ugly when dead.  Where is the sublime perfection of nature in that? 

The beauty of nature is often here and gone in a matter of days.  A babbling brook can become a rushing torrent of death.  A glorious mountain vista can become a major landslide or avalanche.  A beautiful forest, with just one stroke of lightning, can become a raging inferno that produces mass death and destruction.  Nature is certainly beautiful, but don’t blink.  But there is something that is always glorious, beautiful, fragrant and sublimely perfect.  That something is Someone.  He is “Fairest Lord Jesus”.

Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands, robed in the blooming garb of spring;
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer, Who makes the woeful heart to sing.

Fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight, and all the twinkling starry host;
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer than all the angels Heav’n can boast. 

Beautiful Savior, King of creation, Son of God and Son of Man!

Truly I’d love Thee, truly I’d serve Thee, Light of my soul, my joy, my crown.

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