The Presbyterian Hymnal: Hymns, Psalms, and Spiritual Songs

287

God Folds the Mountains Out of Rock

1.  God folds the mountains out of rock
    And fuses elemental powers
    In ores and atoms we unlock
    To claim as if their wealth were ours.
    From veins of stone we lift up fire,
    And too impressed by our own skill
    We use the flame that we acquire,
    Not thinking of the Maker's will.

2.  Our instruments can probe and sound
    The folded mountain's potent core,
    But wisdom's ways are never found
    Among the lodes of buried ore, 
    Yet wisdom is the greater need,
    And wisdom is the greater source,
    For lacking wisdom we proceed
    To waste God's other gifts on force.

3.  Lord, grant us what we cannot mine,
    What science cannot plumb or chart:
    Your wisdom and your truth divine
    Enfolded in a faithful heart.
    Then we like mountains richly veined
    Will be a source of light and flame
    Whose energies have been ordained
    To glorify the Maker's name.

WORDS: Thomas H. Troeger, 1985
MUSIC: Carol Doran, 1985
Scripture: Job 28
Theme: God