This is a spoken-word piece meditating on the cry of the seraphim in Isaiah 6 who cry, “Holy, Holy, Holy! The whole earth is full of his glory.”

The whole earth is full of his glory;
Every person, every place, was
Made for the story of the fullness of His grace,
To shine in holiness, shine on every face
Among all peoples, every tribe, every race—
The whole earth is full, the Whole.


It’s full. Do you hear? Full.
Don’t fill yourself with the dull,
Dank counterfeit bull
Oh, quit! Don’t settle for it: the pleasure of praise
Which you’d like to score (and is nice)
But leaves you wanting more
Until you’ve poured out everything,
Left lying empty but consumed
Though the whole earth is Full.


And they said the whole earth:
The Earth,
Not just feelings or thoughts but the dirt
And dust of life, the struggle and strife,
The ordinary, everyday-ness, the lovely
The great, the worries you carry,
And the mess, the beauty and hurt
What seems important or of no worth,
It’s all for his glory, the whole Earth.

© Randall Edwards 2020.
This poem is for Christ’s church. If it is helpful, please feel free to copy or reprint in church bulletins, read aloud, or repost. I only ask that an attribution be cited to myself (Randall Edwards) and this blog (backwardmutters.com).