Psalm 148:1–14

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights!  Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts!  Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!  Let them praise the name of the Lord!  For he commanded and they were created.   And he established them forever and ever; he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.  Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps,  fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word!   Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!  Beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds!  Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth!  Young men and maidens together, old men and children!   Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven.  He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his saints, for the people of Israel who are near to him. Praise the Lord!

It is truly amazing at times to live in the forest.  Earlier this summer, God impressed upon me how blessed I was to live amongst His creation, His nature, His handiwork but not for the reason that you might think.  One particular night at dusk, as we were bringing an end to our day and things were slowing, I could hear from my study window a flock of turkey as they put to roost, the short gobble and the putting of the birds as they settled into the pines behind the house.  As darkness set in, the lone whippoorwill sung it’s distinct song and before I fell off to sleep, the hoot of a distant owl was heard.  I thought, ‘thank you, Lord for such a place’.

I awoke hours later to the fast chirping of the small songs birds setting up housekeeping for the season in the back woods, the cooing of the two doves that live right outside the bedroom window and the distant caw of the crows as they flew overhead.  I had gone to sleep listening to the night sounds of birds of creation and awakened to the sound of energy and newness.  Wow, once again thank You God for this place.   There was a sense that the rest and peaceful moment was just for me, just for this time.

But soon thereafter the above Psalm and God’s purpose in all that we experience by living in the forest came to a deeper meaning.  God has created all for His glory not simply for my entertainment, rest or introspection.  All nature declares His glory and all nature sings His praises.  He allows us and intends for us to enjoy the very nature He has created but it isn’t for our ultimate end.  He has declared that all nature will cry out in praise of Him.  The song of the birds was in one sense their declaring His praises and I was simply given the privilege of witnessing that praise.  His glory, His power and His worth is proclaimed by every facet of His creations.

I recently came across this video of Louie Giglio explaining the above verse as only he can.  He may take a little artistic liberty with his interpretation but it certainly makes the point that God has impressed upon me this summer.  Enjoy the video and the next time you’re in the forest listen for creation to sing His praises.

http://youtu.be/7zWKm-LZWm4

soli deo gloria