Category: Joy

Psalm 96:11,12                                         Let Heaven and Nature Sing

“May the heavens be joyful, and may the earth rejoice; may the sea roar, and all it contains; may the field be jubilant, and all that is in it.  Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy” (NASB).

 

This well-known Christmas carol was taken from Isaac Watts’ paraphrase of Psalm 98, particularly verses 4-9, and as such, it really speaks more of Christ’s second coming than of His birth.  The music is actually taken from Handel’s “Occasional Hymns and Hymn Tunes,” an arrangement by Lowell Mason, a Boston music educator in the 1800s.

It begins in verse one with a call to the whole world, including the heavens and the earth to receive her King with joyous song.  It continues in verse two as  the “Savior Reigns, and in verse three, “He comes to make His blessings flow.”  In the final stanza, “He rules the world.”  All of this is true and is certainly good reason to rejoice and sing, but it does seem more appropriate as a song of rejoicing at the second coming of Jesus Christ when He will become the ruler of the earth for a thousand years.

As a nature photographer, I am especially fond of heaven and nature singing, of fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains repeating the sounding joy of men singing jubilantly.  Whenever I look at the beauty of God’s creation, all the fantastic variety of animals, plants, landforms, stars, and planets, I am brought close to my Lord, and my joy expands.  Christmas time with the decorations, the singing of His coming, and the frequent messages of God’s plan to send His Son to provide for our salvation–our assurance of a heavenly eternity–brings peace to my spirit and heart as I wonder at His love.  His love is above description, lasts forever, and is available to anyone who will accept it.

Joy to the World

 

Luke 11:34                                                          Live Wide-Eyed

“Your eye is a lamp, lighting up your whole body.  If you live wide-eyed in wonder and belief, your body fills up with life” (MSG).

 

Jesus spoke these words just after He had told the crowd that they had one wiser that Solomon in their presence, and they didn’t recognize it, or rather didn’t recognize Him.  What a joyful picture this is—our whole body will be filled with life.  His next sentence shows the opposite effect for those who live in greed and distrust: “If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a musty cellar.”  Of course, the better choice is obvious.  I want to live wide-eyed in wonder.  They had the opportunity to be wide-eyed in wonder because the Messiah, the one sent from God, was in their midst and speaking to them daily, but they didn’t recognize Him.  It’s easy for me to wonder how they could have missed Him, the very Son of God!  But before I get too critical, I need to remember the times in my life when I was either too ignorant, or to willful, to recognize Him in my life—the times I ignored Him or said not now or no.

I know that my Lord speaks to me today, and I want to hear Him.  To do that, I must be listening, to be on alert for the slightest nudging from the Holy Spirit, and sometimes the intrusions in my daily thoughts—listening for my Lord.  If I pay attention to Him every time He talks to me, I’m sure I will indeed by wide-eyed in wonder, strong in belief, and my whole being will be filled with life!  Now that’s a goal worth pursuing.  (Lord, I commit to listening for your voice every day, and I commit to believing that I will hear your voice every day.)  I intend to live wide-eyed in wonder at His glory.  Won’t you join me?  Let’s see just how joyous and full of life we can become.  When we do, we will make a great difference in our world.