CREATOR OF THE STARS (#6), a Hymn Devotion for 18 July 2017 Anno Domini
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
Gen 1:14-19 (KJV)
The name of the author of this hymn has been lost in antiquity, however we may assume that every Godly and biblical hymn such as the present one has its Author in the Heavens where He placed His stars in illustrious array. The music is a CONDITOR Sarum melody of the 7th century. The English translation from the Latin is by Mr. John M. Neale. (1852)
Creator Of The Stars Of Night
Creator of the stars of night,
Thy people’s everlasting light,
Jesu, Redeemer, save us all,
And hear Thy servants when they call.
Thou, grieving that the ancient curse
Should doom to death a universe,
Hast found the medicine, full of grace,
To save and heal a ruined race.
Thou cam’st, the Bridegroom of the bride,
As drew the world to evening-tide;
Proceeding from a virgin shrine,
The spotless Victim all divine.
At Whose dread Name, majestic now,
All knees must bend, all hearts must bow;
And things celestial Thee shall own,
And things terrestrial, Lord alone.
O Thou Whose coming is with dread
To judge and doom the quick and dead,
Preserve us, while we dwell below,
From every insult of the foe.
To God the Father, God the Son,
And God the Spirit, Three in One,
Laud, honor, might, and glory be
From age to age eternally.
“Creator of the stars of night, Thy people’s everlasting light, Jesu, Redeemer, save us all, And hear Thy servants when they call.” The Creator of the earth and all the heavens knows every star and its position where it was flung by the Finger of His Word. The stars are forever over-watching our world, but we can only see them after sundown. There is a very Bright Star called the Bright and Morning Star that represents our Lord Jesus Christ and His presence among us during the darkest hours of our earthly life. The Morning Star is the last to lose its brightness in Heaven at the rising of the sun. He is with us all the night long, and when the dawn comes stealing across the sky, He is the rising Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings. He hears His people when they call upon Him day or night.
“Thou, grieving that the ancient curse Should doom to death a universe, Hast found the medicine, full of grace, To save and heal a ruined race.” The ancient curse was occasioned by the Serpent in the Garden at Eden when Eve was beguiled by that old master of deceit. The curse of death and darkness came upon, not only all mankind, but all living things. It was ruinous to the world that God had made; but God offered a remedy through the means of a Redeemer. The leprosy of sin is a blood disease that can only be healed by a change in the constituent natures of our blood. That healing comes through the washing of the Blood of Christ for sinners who are called and chosen in Christ.
“Thou cam’st, the Bridegroom of the bride, As drew the world to evening-tide; Proceeding from a virgin shrine, The spotless Victim all divine.” Our Lord Jesus Christ came into the world under the gracious auspices of the Father to satisfy the terms of n ‘arranged betrothal’ – a betrothal to the Church which our Lord bought and paid with the blood of His sacrifice. In the latter sun of our world, the Bridegroom will come to claim His Bride and carry her across the threshold of the Gates of New Jerusalem to be wedded and remain with Him in eternity. In the process of time, our Lord is preparing a celestial mansion for His Bride, and when the preparation is complete, He shall return to claim His Bride.
“At Whose dread Name, majestic now, All knees must bend, all hearts must bow; And things celestial Thee shall own, And things terrestrial, Lord alone.” Yes, all knees shall bow at His coming – even the wicked murderers of Racca, and shall confess Him as Lord, but too late to claim the salvation He has offered to those who trust in Him. “11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” Romans 14:11-12 (KJV) Those who have raped, tortured, and beheaded little children and their parents will rue the day they committed such unmentionable sins. They will no longer bend the knee to a false idol of Allah, but to the Triune God who has a Son, a Holy Ghost, and a terrible swift sword to execute justice and punishment to the wicked.
“O Thou Whose coming is with dread To judge and doom the quick and dead, Preserve us, while we dwell below, From every insult of the foe.”Who are the quick and the dead? The dead are those who, living in this worldly physical life, are dead to Christ. These are the walking dead of Ephesians 2. The quick are those who have been made alive in Christ to the Way, the Truth, and the Life. “25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” John 11:25-26 (KJV) Did you note the subtle distinction Christ is making here of life or death? If we are dead in Christ, we yet live the true life of the saint. And we MUST believe while we yet live in this world. After death, no decision will be accepted. God will close the door of salvation at the moment of our death just as He closed (not Noah) the door of the Ark when the Floods were upon the earth. When we are assaulted day in and day out by the enemy, God will prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies.
“To God the Father, God the Son, And God the Spirit, Three in One, Laud, honor, might, and glory be From age to age eternally.” If you thought, from the title of this hymn, that the subject of the hymn was the stars, you would be mistaken. The subject is not about the creature but rather the Creator. His creation of the worlds, the stars, the suns, the moons, of the world, of the rivers, seas, mountains, valleys, and of life itself, only gives testimony to His glory and Holiness. If I ask you “Who created the world?” what would you answer? If you answer God, you would be correct. But could you be more specific? Yes, you could. On the eve of Creation, when the world was “without form and void,” God the Father brooded over the morass of mud and darkness in company with the Holy Ghost – “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Gen 1:2 (KJV)
Where was our Lord Jesus Christ – ever present from eternity past with the Father – during this great event of the creation of the worlds? He was right beside the Father acting under the direction of the Great Architect (God the Father) executing the creation plans of the Godhead. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” John 1:1-4 (KJV) “14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 (KJV)
If you are a bear hunter, you learn to identify bear tracks. If you would know the Creator better, look to the stars, the sun and moon, and to the beauty of the rose, the newborn baby, and the multitudinous beauties found in nature. Those are the tracks of God!
