MEDITATIONS
FROM PSALMS
May 10,
2006
Reading: Psalm 148:1-14
“Praise the LORD
from the earth” Psalm 148:7
Have you ever wondered how the flowers, trees, fish and animals can praise the Lord? They do not possess a spirit or soul, yet the scriptures frequently speak of these elements of creation praising their Creator and bringing glory to His name.
My soul, wonder no more. Every flower is an expression of the Creative glory of God and the same must be said of every created thing.
“The special clumsy
beauty of this particular colt on this April day in this field under these
clouds is a holiness consecrated to God by His own creative wisdom and it
declares the glory of God.
The pale flowers of
the dogwood outside this window are saints. The little yellow flowers that
nobody notices on the edge of that road are saints looking up into the face of
God.
This leaf has its
own texture and its own pattern of veins and its own holy shape, and the bass
and trout hiding in the deep pools of the river are canonized by their beauty
and their strength.
The lakes hidden
among the hills are saints, and the sea too is a saint who praises God without
interruption in her majestic dance.
The great, gashed,
half-naked mountain is another of God’s saints. There is no other like him. He
is alone in His own character; nothing else in the world ever did or ever will
imitate God in quite the same way. That is his sanctity.” Thomas
Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation.
But
what about you, soul of mine? How do you praise the Lord and bring glory to His Holy Name? Are you
not His creation as much as are the flowers and mountains? Yes, but there is a
difference—you are a soul and something is required of you that is not required
of the rest of creation. Is it not the same whereby the nature of the flower or
bird is sufficient to glorify God? No, your nature is a fallen nature,
separated from God by sin. That which glorifies God is lost and incapable of
praising Him.
However, God has
made a way whereby you can bring Him glory. It is called the new birth—being
created in the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. Only as you are created anew and
walk in His light can you glorify Him.
“But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of
you” Luke 12:20.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things
have passed away; behold, all things have become new” 2 Corinthians