Poetry · Chapter
The Burning Bush explained
This chapter reflects on the divine presence in the natural world, using the biblical image of the burning bush to illustrate how God's wisdom and might are revealed through creation.
What happens
This chapter reflects on the divine presence in the natural world, using the biblical image of the burning bush to illustrate how God's wisdom and might are revealed through creation. It calls for turning aside from ordinary paths to recognize the holy in the homely, and prays for the soul to perceive the living flame of the divine.
Themes in this chapter
Nature and Divine Beauty
The chapter celebrates how God's works in nature—the faithful stars, fruitful earth—reveal divine order and power, and how a marvel like the burning bush can shine amid these laws.
Faith and Doubt
The prayer expresses trust in God despite human formation from dust, and asks for the grace to see the living flame, reflecting a movement from doubt to faith.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“Thy wisdom and Thy might appear, Eternal God, through every year; From day to day, from hour to hour, Thy works reveal self-ordered power.”
God's wisdom and power are continuously displayed in the orderly workings of nature throughout time.
This sets up the theme of divine order in creation.
“Yet Thou canst make a marvel shine Amid these mighty laws of Thine. As when Thy servant Moses came And saw the bush with Thee aflame.”
Even within the regular laws of nature, God can produce a miraculous sign, as when Moses saw the burning bush.
Highlights the intersection of natural law and divine miracle.
“We turn aside and tread the ways That lead through wonder up to praise; Wherever Thou by man art found The homely earth is holy ground.”
We pause from our usual paths to follow wonder into worship, recognizing that any ordinary place becomes sacred when God is present.
Emphasizes the theme of holy ground and the pilgrimage of life.