Let All Creation Praise

I was euphoric as two friends and I loaded our belongings onto the roof of a taxi that cool April morning.  Dawn was breaking and it would be an incredibly gorgeous Himalayan day.  I was embarking onto a new venture, one I had longed for and prayed about through the previous thirty years.  At long last I climbed into the front passenger seat; my friends crawled into the back and we were off.  No interstate highways criss-crossed those parts, and the snaky two-lane road would traverse some of the most beautiful terrain on earth with snowcapped mountains towering all around.  Myriads of fascinating birds serenaded us, the gentle morning breeze stirred the wakening forest, and as the sun rose in colorfully iridescent grandeur the passing deodar forest mesmerized our eyes.

The driver tuned the radio to his regular morning Hindu bhajans (worship music).  Having spent substantial time in South Asia I was accustomed to this ritual and prayed silently trying to block out the sounds of worship to his gods.  My friends in the back were disturbed by the unfamiliar to them sounds, so pulled out their earbuds to pray with their own worship music.  As we journeyed on and time passed one of the ladies with me began to hear a different song.  She later told me that God had allowed her to hear the harmony of nature praising its Creator.  When I, amazed, asked her to describe it she could not.  She only said, “It was the most beautiful sound I have ever heard.”  But then, when God explained why she was hearing creation’s chorus she said it became “the saddest sound I have ever heard.”  God showed her that nature was praising because in that region of the world no humans worshiped Him.  [(Jesus) answered, “I tell you, if these (people) were silent, the very stones would cry out.” Luke 19:40]*  Oh how I long to hear the beauty of the song of all creation, not just the humans, praising the Creator!  I believe that one day when all things are made new and evil is vanquished we will again hear and worship in unity with all of God’s creation just as it must have been in the beginning in Eden.

Some time later I was returning by bus to that same area.  My previous time there had been filled with sickness and physical pain which I attribute to backlash for the inroads that were being made for the Kingdom, so, though thrilled to be returning I also felt some trepidation.  On the hours-long journey I was pleading with God to let me hear what my friend had heard; perhaps I was seeking assurance of His presence with me. It was a night trip and as my destination grew close I was praying silently but with fervor.  And then as the road passed through a gorge, steep mountain bluffs on the left and a river and more snowcapped peaks on the right, just like that, in the quiet darkness I heard the most beautiful sound.  It lasted for the briefest moment but I knew.  It was God’s holy angels, messengers sent to accompany me and assure me that He was with me, going before and behind, surrounding me.  And I silently wept in rejoicing for my Savior’s love and care, thankful for His everlasting presence and strength.

I have not yet heard nature’s praises but I have heard its groaning.  The year was 1975ish. My husband and I were living in Little Rock, Arkansas, and our firstborn had not yet made her appearance into the world.  Life was good and I was happy.  There was, however, always a heaviness, a sort of sadness, that I carried in my inner being.  I was frustrated because I wanted to be joyful, bouncy happy, and exuberant.  So I asked God to take away the heaviness.  And He did.  Instantly.  For the next few days I was wonderfully buoyant.  But there was something I had not expected; I felt incredibly lonely.  So I asked God, “Now that I feel so happy why do I feel so lonely?”  He answered immediately.  “The heaviness you felt was the burden, the love, I gave you to carry for those who are far away from Me.  You are missing the company of that burden.”  I was shocked!  “Oh, God, then please give it back!” I cried.  And He did.  Instantly.  I carry that precious burden to this day. I treasure it as God’s gift to me.  In his letter to the Romans Paul described something akin to what I feel.  He wrote, “the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”**  What I sense is that the Holy Spirit, Who dwells in me, groans within me and that my spirit is groaning in unity with God’s Spirit. (“Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute for the men of Kir-hareseth…”Jeremiah 48:36 ESV, bible.com) It is a heavy but beautiful gift and I suspect that many others have been blessed with a similar experience.  In the same passage, Romans 8:19-27, Paul discusses not nature’s praising but rather it’s groaning.  He pens, “..that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.”**  In a sense I feel that I also hear these groanings of nature, not with my ears but rather in my spirit and I pray daily for that time when evil and destruction are no more and all the earth resounds with the beauty of praise.

Now, for some thoughts that are purely speculative, but they are speculations that I have considered often throughout the years.  I precede by clarifying that I do not practice or advocate animism nor Eastern religion nor it’s New Age outcroppings.  I do not worship “Mother Earth” nor any of the things that the Creator God has, in His goodness, made for our pleasure.  I worship and serve only the Almighty God who created all things.

Since I was a child the idea of the “rocks crying out”* has puzzled and intrigued me.  As a young adult I remember seeing a TV documentary with a new and startling discovery.  Rocks emit sound that is imperceptible to the human ear and some geologists had managed to record it.  Something inside me was stirred and my mind screamed, “The rocks do cry out!”  I have attached below a much more recent recording of this sound which has been amplified, the speed increased, and the frequency adjusted into the range of human hearing.***  The article attributes the vibration to natural phenomena such as shifting earth and also human activity, however I believe the explanation is quite simple.  All things vibrate—everything in the universe oscillates at various frequencies.  Vibration causes sound.  So, I think it is safe to conclude that all of nature is emitting sound, though mostly outside of the range of human auditory capacity.

Humans as well as animals are sentient beings—we have the capacity to feel and we have cognitive abilities, we can evaluate actions, remember consequences, and assess risks and benefits.  Humans, however, also have a spirit which gives us the ability to communicate with and be aware of God, Who is spirit.  While sometimes I think they might, we don’t know that animals have that capacity.  I’ve often heard it said that the birds are singing praise to God.  But I’ve also been told that no, they are just marking their boundaries.  Inanimate things are not alive and are non-conscious.  As I understand then, a rock or water is therefore unaware of its surroundings and cannot made decisions.  They have neither a mind nor a soul and certainly not a spirit.  There seems to be some differences of opinion as to where plants fall into these categories but exploring that is not the purpose of this blog.  And then, there is the formidable field of quantum mechanics.  I cannot comprehend even the kindergarten level explanation nor the Youtube videos I have seen; they actually leave me feeling uneasy with their talk of waves and non-solidity.  So I am skipping the science and just suggesting a very simplistic “what if”.

Below I have listed a few Biblical references to nature praising its Creator.****  A large portion of Scripture is poetry.  One literary tool used in Biblical poetry is personification, attributing a human characteristic to something nonhuman (the stars winked, the sun smiled, the flowers danced).  I am perfectly comfortable with describing all of the examples in these references as personification—the sun smiling does bring glory to God.  Yet, could they mean more?  Just the fact that all of the elements of creation exist, and their doing or being what God created them to do or be brings glory to His Name is a satisfactory explanation to me.  Yet, could there be more?

And so in great trepidation I submit to you my “what if” speculation.  What if when God created all that is—the cosmos, the oceans, the trees of the forests, the birds of the air, etc.—what if integrated into the recipe of each creation He mixed something that responds to His Presence (kind of like good vibrations to quote the Beach Boys) and that response could be considered praise or worship.  What if that response is continuous because the Creator is omnipresent.  What if the sound of that response is more starkly noticeable to Him in the absence of humans worshipping, which is actually the reciprocation back to Him of the love He constantly lavishes on the people He created in His image.  And what if that response also can embody some sort of groaning or mourning of the fallenness and corruption that is present since the Fall, a longing for restoration and renewal when all things will once again be pure and wondrous and lovely as the Creator desires.  Many will deny it but that ingredient is fully integrated into the human race; that is why a person feels so incomplete outside of a relationship with God’s Son.  What if all creation truly does sing some sort of praise which is actually a response to or a reflecting of the love that such an incredible Being as our Holy God is continuously lavishing on all the cosmos.

And now for a closing thought.  I have till now focused the idea of worship and praise as sound.  That however is only a portion of how worship can be expressed and to explore that topic entirely would require a book if not a library.  I would like to close by submitting a brief nod to a few of the other ways worship to the Father can be expressed.

What if, just what if nature also honors its Creator with beauty using such things as water and light and grains of sand and vibrations. These images are particularly inspirational to me because of my love for kaleidoscopes and geometric patterns.  Imagine how God must rejoice in His creation’s artwork!

I have heard accounts of near death experiences that describe seeing colors not visible to the human eye.  And there are reports of being surrounded by beautiful “music” lacking rhythm or beat.  What if that is the sound of nature worshipping.  I long for the day.  I yearn for the day when all will be restored and the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea, for the day when all people, created in God’s image, join together in worship with the heavenly beings, with the animals, with nature, with all the cosmos filling everything everywhere with the glorious sound of the created returning love to the Creator, Who is always lavishing His love on the created, who will eternally pour out their adoration in a never-ending world resonating with magnificently sublime love and peace and joy. How I long for the day…

I would love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to comment below.

 * As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” 
 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Lk 19:37–40). (2016). Crossway Bibles.

** 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Ro 8:19–27). (2016). Crossway Bibles

*** https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/environment/castleton-tower-moab-vibrations-sound/ 
You will need to scroll down to the block “You can listen to the rock here:” and turn your sound all the way up.

****
1 Praise the Lord! 
Praise the Lord from the heavens; 
praise him in the heights! 
2 Praise him, all his angels; 
praise him, all his hosts! 
3 Praise him, sun and moon, 
praise him, all you shining stars! 
4 Praise him, you highest heavens, 
and you waters above the heavens! 
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord! 
For he commanded and they were created. 
6 And he established them forever and ever; 
he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away. 
7 Praise the Lord from the earth, 
you great sea creatures and all deeps, 
8 fire and hail, snow and mist, 
stormy wind fulfilling his word! 
9 Mountains and all hills, 
fruit trees and all cedars! 
10 Beasts and all livestock, 
creeping things and flying birds! 
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples, 
princes and all rulers of the earth! 
12 Young men and maidens together, 
old men and children! 
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord, 
for his name alone is exalted; 
his majesty is above earth and heaven. 
14 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! 
 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Ps 148:1–14). (2016). Crossway Bibles.

11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; 
let the sea roar, and all that fills it; 
12 let the field exult, and everything in it! 
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy 
13 before the Lord,
 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Ps 96:11–13). (2016). Crossway Bibles.
 	
Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it; 
shout, O depths of the earth; 
break forth into singing, O mountains, 
O forest, and every tree in it! 
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, 
and will be glorified in Israel. 
 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Is 44:23). (2016). Crossway Bibles.

“For you shall go out in joy 
and be led forth in peace; 
the mountains and the hills before you 
shall break forth into singing, 
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 
 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Is 55:12). (2016). Crossway Bibles.