FAIREST LORD JESUS[1]
Similar to the way that the moon gets its light from the sun and has no light of its own, the beauty of creation is like a mirror, reflecting something – or someone – much greater. Jesus is fairer, the hymns tells us; Jesus is brighter and purer. It is good and right to revel in the glories of nature, but it is even better to revel in the Creator.[2]
[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.[3]
Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature,
O thou of God and man the Son;
Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor,
Thou, my soul’s glory, joy, and crown!
The coming of spring is a joyful time for many people. Leaving the cold and dark of winter behind, the warmth of the spring sun and the beauty of emerging flowers and foliage. Still, nothing can compare with the peace and joy that Jesus gives a person who seeks him and knows him and receives his gift of salvation.
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.
Probably because of the time he spent in his youth outdoors, caring for his father’s sheep, David was a keen observer of nature. He saw evidence of God’s grandeur and majesty in the skies above: “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” (Psalm 8:3-4 NRSV). Still, Jesus is more grand and more majestic.
Fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight,
And all the twinkling starry host:
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer,
Than all the angels heaven can boast.
The apostle Paul tells us that, because of his faithfulness in securing our salvation through his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus is now exalted in heaven and has been given “. . . the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”[4]
Jesus is the object of unceasing worship in heaven.
Day and night without ceasing they sing, “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come. . . You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”[5]
And he should be the object of our unceasing worship as well.
Beautiful Savior! Lord of the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, praise, adoration,
Now and forevermore be Thine!
Fairest Lord Jesus
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Corinthians 4.15).
[1] Munsterisch Gesangbuch, 1677; stanzas 1-3 Evangelical Christendom, 1850, stanza 4, J. A. Seiss, 1873
[2] The Sing! Hymnal, “Fairest Lord Jesus,” p. 920.
[3] Colossians 1:15-17 NRSV
[4] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Php 2:9–11.
[5] Revelation 4:8, 11 NRSV
