How great Thou art!

You might not see him, because he is so small, but on the shore stands a man. A monk, to be exact.

I don't think we're meant to notice him.

He is not the focal point. In fact, he's looking away from us, towards the beauty of the elements, of the nature around him; and in so doing guides our own vision toward the enormity, the grandeur and the overwhelming beauty of the sky and the sea.

Moreover, we're told that he is a monk in the title of the picture. I like to think he's contemplating how the things he sees are such gripping reflections of One he cannot yet see. I like to imagine he knows God personally, and he's able to direct his praise to the One who has created all.

I love this picture especially, because it reminds me of who I am before God: nothing. In comparison to His eternal character and being, I am just a person who once upon a time for a splitsecond of an eternity stood upon a beach somewhere, in awe.

And then, I want to sing :)

O Lord my God! when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed:

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul! my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze:

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul! my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin:

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul! my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul! my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

PS I found this picture somewhere, on someone's website some time ago. I don't know what the name or the title is anymore. I'm sorry.