Bulletin Articles
Joining Nature's Worship Service
In Psalm 148, of all of God’s creation, both in heaven and on earth, are called upon to praise Him:
“Praise the LORD from the earth, sea monsters and all deeps; fire and hail, snow and clouds; stormy wind, fulfilling His word; mountain and all hills; fruit trees and all cedars; Beasts and all cattle; Creeping things and winged fowl.” (Psalm 148:7 – 10)
Throughout this Psalm, angels, humans, and the natural world are instructed to worship God. I could see how angels and humans could answer this call, but how could a mountain, a tree, or a river do this? Psalm 19 gives further explanation:
“The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard.” (Psalm 19:1-3)
Nature praises God through nonverbal communication. Without a word, a mountain showcases God’s power and craftsmanship just by being a still, solid mountain. A buffalo bows down and proclaims God’s glory, not through words, but through the grazing of the grass. You can even hear God’s name being exulted through the rustling of the trees and in the calm, peaceful sounds of a river. Indeed, to behold nature is to witness a worship service without words.
But l wonder what nature would say if it could speak. What would be the lyrics of their songs? Here are three possible samples:
“There is a God!”
God’s divine nature is clearly seen in physical nature. The artwork displayed through nature points to a divine Artist(Romans 1:20). Unfortunately, many people through the ages have looked at nature and concluded that nature was singing, “Worship me.” But in reality, nature is declaring, “Worship God!”
“Be still and listen to God!”
When Jesus rebuked the wind and told the sea to calm down, the wind and the sea became still (Mark 4:39). Nature is at times more obedient to God than we are. We too need to be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10).
“Come, Lord Jesus!”
Not only does nature sings, it groans, longing to be released from its bondage at the second coming of Jesus. The earth suffers as a result of man spiritually polluting it with sin as explained in Romans 8:20 - 22: “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creations groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.”
It’s a privilege to allow God’s beauty to be seen through our lives like it’s revealed in nature. Just as something as seemly ordinary as a buffalo eating grass reveals God’s divine nature and power, we also bring God praise even through the most monotonous of tasks, such as cleaning dishes, when done for His glory (1 Cor. 10:31).
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