As sure as the day follows night
Sunrise always follows sunset,
One is sure to follow the other
How beautiful can a sunrise get?
I suppose it’s one’s preference
That determines the winner,
Or perhaps what really follows
That decides which we prefer.
There is a sense of emptiness
As the sun disappears from view,
But joy comes in the morning
As we hail the day, brand new.
But how might we compare
The colours and their hues,
Bearing in mind the spectrum
With its yellow, reds and blues?
For every sunrise is distinct
And every single sunset too,
God the magnificent Artist
Paints them with colours true.
Maybe it’s the sunset’s splendor
Contrasting with the darkness
Or a yearning for a longer sunset
Before the parting brightness.
Maybe it’s the coming light
With that great anticipation,
That heightens the sunrise
Reminding of God’s creation.
For while I’m urged to remember
The beauty of the sinking sun
The brilliance of the sunrise
Is gone before the morning’s done.
The impressions of a sunset
Often linger through the night
But the radiance of a sunrise
Is lost with the brilliant light.
So my vote goes to a sunset
For it is clearly obvious to me
No comparison between the two,
The sunset’s a thing of beauty
But where is the satisfaction?
Is the choice I made correct?
Where is the sense of justice?
What is this feeling I detect?
Could it be that we the judges
Are clearly out of our league?
Or our personal preferences
Cloud the way we perceive?
So back to the drawing board
And back to the stated question,
Can the beauty of a sunset
Eclipse that of the rising sun?
Is there additional evidence?
Tell me where I should look,
“Yes there is,” I heard Him say,
“Look into my Holy Book.”
That God is the only Artist
Evidence from the Bible shows
He paints the sunset and sunrise,
From His hand each one flows.
The question now before us is,
Is He better at one, can you tell?
Certainly not must be the answer,
For God performs all things well.
With His deft strokes and artistry
He paints each sunset and sunrise,
Ever since the beginning of time
They sing the heavenly reprise.
Tell me, can God out do Himself?
Does perfect have a comparison?
He is the designer of them both
So a ‘dead heat’ is the decision.
But if justice has been served,
Why is there still this feeling?
I feel there is something greater
That the Holy Word is teaching.
Father, show to me the lesson
I should learn from all of nature,
Every sunset and each sunrise
Teach to me to what they refer.
And then His sun begins to rise,
His light shines upon my reverie,
The Bible documents God’s work
And reveals about the Almighty.
Neither of these works is better,
The sunset stands not on its own,
In that sunset the Saviour died
But his resurrection is the dawn.
That sunset was really not about
The sun’s departing radiance,
But was meant to be the herald
Of the Son’s uprising brilliance.
Even God could never exceed
His glorious magnificent best
When Jesus went to Calvary
And our hopes upon Him rest.
And so from the grave He arose,
We echo that triumphant song,
The sunrise we look for is coming
To the heavenly, believing throng.
O what a sunrise it’s going to be
When Jesus returns for you and me,
Goodbye Old World I’ll be out of here,
Will you join me in the land over there?
More than a sunrise or sunset, you see,
They both speak of an eternity to be,
Many will scoff at this mystery
But the promise will be a reality.
The work of God some don’t accept,
They spurn His love, His Son reject,
Creation’s story not fit for a school,
To believe in such one must be a fool.
Whatever shadows obscure the mind
The refusal of God is no excuse,
Those who reject recreation’s story
Are also them whom God will refuse.
Resurrection power has been revealed
In the form of the empty tomb,
He is not here but risen in deed
And now He asks us, “Is there room?”
Is there any room for the Saviour?
He conquered death and the grave,
And now he sits on heaven’s throne,
Why not accept him and be saved?
Good Friday evening and Easter Morn,
The sinking sun and the crack of dawn,
The crucified Jesus and the risen Christ,
All speak of the Lamb and His sacrifice.
Stewart Russell © 2014
