Heaven's voice brings the dawn

Heaven’s voice brings the dawn,
out of chaos is born
new creation
exploding with wonder;
planets spin into space,
earth and sky find their place,
all of nature
awakes to its maker.

You say everything you’ve made is good:
the sun, the moon,
the stars that shine above.
You say everything you’ve made is good:
the land, the seas
and all that lives and breathes.

We sing praise to the maker,
to our King, our creator:
praise to Almighty God.
All creation together
singing one hallelujah:
praise to Almighty God.

We are formed from the dust,
with your image in us,
given life by the breath
you are breathing;
called to work and to care,
called to nurture and share;
called to serve you
and walk where you’re leading.

I remember Matt sending me a tune idea while we were in the Doxecology writing process and the atmospheric feel of the verse immediately led me into Genesis 1. I'd been keen to explore that chapter in a song. I wanted to roughly outline the creation process, including the mandate to humanity to take a role of responsibility in the world. The reference to 'chaos' at the beginning is to the 'formless', 'empty' state of things - without order - before God says 'Let there be light', a detail thatg has always intrigued me. Matt and I bounced things back and forth, refining melodies and lyrics, before spending months trying to find a chorus. Eventually we hit on a very straight declaration of praise, including the idea that all creation joins together in one 'hallelujah'. I love that this is upbeat and positive, both in celebrating what God has done and in recognising the call on us.