Worshiping God in weekly church services is, for many of us, the only time we express ourselves to God in song. In song we 
praise God’s faithfulness, thank him for his unconditional love, and recount the history of his communion with us.
But have you ever noticed how often we use references to creation in our worship songs? “All Thy works with joy surround Thee/Earth and heav’n reflect Thy rays,” wrote Henry van Dyke in the hymn “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee.” That’s just one example of this creation theme that stretches from the Psalms to contemporary praise choruses. Alluding to the glory of God’s natural world in our worship reminds us of his presence in our daily, earthly lives; a presence that is a distinctive of Christianity, and without which we could not meet each day.
Below you’ll find a list of worship songs—old and new—that reference the truth of the seraphs’ words in Isaiah 6:3: “ ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’ ” Use this list as a church resource for including more songs in your worship that do not ignore this earth, but that praise God for being present with us in it.
*The following songs are only a selection of the possible worship songs that refer to creation. What are some of your favorites? Please include them in the comment section below!
“Across the Lands”
- Keith Getty, Stuart Townsend
“All Creatures of our God and King”
- Francis of Assisi, William Henry Draper
“All Things Bright and Beautiful”
- Cecil Frances Alexander
“Children of the Living God”
- Fernando Ortega
“Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble”
- Martin Smith
“Everything Declares Your Majesty”
- Larry Lloyd
“Fairest Lord Jesus”
- H. A. Hoffman von Fallersleben, Joseph August Seiss
“For the Beauty of the Earth”
- Folliott Sandford Pierpoint
“God of Wonders”
- Marc Byrd, Steve Hindalong
“Great is Thy Faithfulness”
- Thomas Obediah Chisholm, William Marion Runyan
“Hear Our Praises”
- Reuben Morgan
“Holy is the Lord”
- Chris Tomlin, Louie Giglio
“Holy, Holy, Holy”
- Reginald Heber
“How Great Thou Art”
- Carl Gustaf Boberg
“I Lift My Eyes Up”
- Brian Doerksen
“I Sing the Mighty Power of God”
- Isaac Watts
“Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”
- Walter Smith
“Indescribable”
- Laura Story
“Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”
- Henry van Dyke
“Make a Joyful Noise”
- David Crowder
“Mountains Bow Down”
- Jason Wallis
“Not to Us”
- Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves
“O Lord, Our Lord, in All the Earth (Psalm 8)”
- Melchior Vulpius
“Praise Adonai”
- Paul Baloche
“Praise to the Lord, the Almighty”
- Joachim Neander
“Shout to the Lord”
- Darlene Zschech
“Rock of Ages”
- Augustus Montague Toplady
“Your Love Oh Lord”
- Brad Avery, David Carr, Mac Powell, Mark Lee, Tai Anderson
Wonderful point! I think this sort of analysis of “what we’re actually singing about” needs to permeate all the songs we sing. It always bothered me that we sing “lift up your hands!” but no one does; or “shout aloud!” “dance for joy!” or “we bow down” yet we all are still just standing. Perhaps being true to such simple actions would go a long way in making sometimes abstract concepts, like the earth reflecting His glory, a whole lot less abstract. Thanks! ch:
Thanks for making this list… really helped me find some good songs for my small group worship time!