earthsong

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. 

Isaiah 44:23

God calls on the universe to sing His praises. Why would God do this? What cosmic event leads the heaven and earth to shout out and break into song before The Lord? It is the restoration of Israel and the glory of God manifested in relationship with His people. God calls the universe to focus upon the apex of His creation: humanity. In a biblical worldview the natural world serves to praise The Lord and is under the dominion of humanity. That makes perfect sense with this call for universal rejoicing at Jacob's redemption.

Much current thinking challenges this view of humanity at the apex of the created order. Modernity gave us a wealth of scientific data on the universe. It is wondrous and unfathomably huge. The result is that for most people today, the universe is frightfully unknown and vast, as we are infinitesimally small. The order of things is reversed in our current thinking about man's role with the universe. We are seen as just a speck in the cosmos... barely significant. When we cut God out of any relationship with us or the universe, the sad result is that human beings are diminished in importance.

Still, God calls the universe to sing over the redemption of His people. If Jesus said that the rocks could cry out His praise, then the universe still knows its Master. We know that the angels long to look into our great salvation. There is not any corner of creation that is not enthralled at God's saving work. Humanity is uniquely loved by God by virtue of our creation in His image. That is why our redemption is such a big deal. The cursed creation awaits the day of our revealing as the children of God.