All Good Things

ALL GOOD THINGS

In the beginning, God made it all,
And as His Scriptures clearly recall,
As He surveyed what His hands had wrought,
Unto Himself, "It is good!" He thought;
And He said, when Creation was done,
"Let Us make man like Us," to His Son;
Happiness was the heart of His plan
For the crown of His creation, man;
All that is good from God’s bosom springs—
He is the giver of all good things.

The universe with His splendor glows;
The earth with His glory overflows:
An undimming sun for warmth and light,
Myriads of stars as guides by night,
Abundant harvests, bountiful seas,
Forest green with the wonder of trees,
Majestic mountains meeting the skies,
Flower and fauna dazzling our eyes,
Earth underneath rich in ores and oil,
Rain to water parched throats and dry soil;
The world around with His presence rings—
God is the giver of all good things.

Eyes to admire what His hands have made,
Ears to listen to Life’s serenade,
Tongues to savor every kind of treat,
Nostrils to imbibe aromas sweet,
Minds to devise inventions and creeds,
Hands and feet to transform them to deeds,
Senses for feeling pleasures and pains,
Healing for sickness, mending for sprains;
The Lord of all and King of all kings,
He is the giver of all good things.

Marriages made for eternity,
Homes, the hope of better worlds to be,
Birth—the miracle none can explain—
Continuing Life’s unbroken chain,
Families in which loving abounds,
Children’s sweet laughter—greatest of sounds—
Answers to prayers and dreams that come true,
Second chances to begin anew;
God instigates all good happenings
And is the giver of all good things.

Ability, art, talent, and skill
With which our needs and dreams to fulfill;
Stories and music, art and the dance,
Wooing, cooing, the game of romance,
Travels, adventures, quests to pursue,
Good neighbors, friends, loyal and true,
Fashions and menus to please our whims,
The urge to thank Him with deeds and hymns;
Into our lives His pleasures He brings—
God is the giver of all good things.

His greatest Gift, Christ nailed to a tree—
Mankind’s lone hope of Eternity—
Who with stripes and scars and blood and shame,
Bore on Calvary all mankind’s blame,
Then died mankind’s death for mankind’s sin,
Took our place in hell, then arose again
And gave a promise to all His own:
We’ll stand with Him before Heaven’s throne;
Each believer to this promise clings—
God is the giver of all good things.
Š2001 J. G. Braddock Sr.