The heavens shout God’s glory!
The skies never stop talking
About his creativity.
All day,
Every day,
They just keep on speaking.
All night,
Every night,
They share what they know.
They can’t actually talk, of course.
They’re wordless.
Silent.
(Everyday Psalms, Psalm 19, page 39)
The earth is magical. Every stream and mountain, every tree and star is imbued with the glory of God. Every zebra and vole, every cormorant and orca breathes the life of God.
I have wept at the beauty of the stars on a clear night far from city lights, the milky way spread across the sky. “Glory! Glory! Glory! To you Creator of the heavens!”
I have stood at a vista point on a mountainside, overlooking forested valleys below and sung at the top of my lungs praises to the Maker.
I have snorkeled with dolphins and glimpsed the shockingly vivid colors of tropical fish beneath the concealing waves.
We each have had our experiences in which the Creation so wonderfully reflected the glory of the Creator that we’ve been drawn to worship. There’s a beauty to the earth that dazzles the eyes and fills the heart. It’s no wonder so many say, “Nature is my church” — it’s so filled with wonder.
It is the role of humanity within Creation to voice the praise of voiceless Creation. If we neglect our job, what will Creation do?
On that first Palm Sunday, the religious leaders rebuked Jesus for the exuberance of his followers. To this, Jesus replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:40).
Isaiah 55 paints a picture of a coming day when in a great reversal, all wrongs will be made right. In that day, the silence of Creation will be lifted:
You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands (Is. 55:12).
But until that day, it remains our job to put into words the speechless praise of Creation. And so in songs and sermons, poems and simple shouts of joy and whispered wonder, we proclaim our great Redeemer’s praise.
Prayer: I hear the wind and drumming rain. I smell fragrant flowers and evergreens. I see muted sands and magnificent sunsets. I taste sweet berries and subtle soups. I touch silky fur and craggy tree bark. My senses are filled with your very good world, generous Creator. Your beauty is evident everywhere I go. I am in awe at the vastness and in wonder at the tiniest detail of it all. You are the great Artist. All glory is yours!
For further reading: Jeremy Begbie, Voicing Creation’s Praise: Towards a Theology of the Arts, T&T Clark, 2002.