God is Great and Worthy to be Praised

 

Almost everyone will recognize the beautiful red, male Cardinal pictured above. They are stunningly beautiful representatives of the glory of God's creation. Almost any time of any day, you can stand around my bird feeders and soon you will see beautiful, living examples of this bird, and the less brightly colored female partners.

Early this morning I was on a "phone call prayer meeting" of Point people. Someone was outside and the chorus of music being sung by birds was amazing. Earlier in the week, on Wednesday, I was with my friend Ron Lewis. We were videoing a conversation about Psalm 130 to be used for a virtual worship service on this coming Sunday, 29 March.  When I listened to the recording - the birds were in the background praising God!

That got the "Wendel Berry in me" to thinking. What if each of us, early in the morning, listened to the birds? But not just listen, what if we picked out our favorite "phrase, or tune?" In our prayer meeting this morning, the birds were magnificent. If you happen to visit the Spring Road Christian Church virtual worship service this Sunday, you will hear a mighty chorus of God's creatures shouting out.

It is mid-day at my house. I just came inside. I've been listening. It is an incredible chorus of music going on right now.

In my personal Bible reading this morning, I finished a project of reading five psalms and one chapter of Proverbs per day. (Email me and I'll send you a plan!) Psalm 148 was among "the five psalms." Listen to some of its words:

Praise the Lord from the earth,

sea monsters and all deeps;

fire and hail, snow and clouds;

storm wind, fulfilling His word;

Mountains and all hills;

fruit trees and all cedars;

beasts and all cattle;

creeping things and winged fowl;

kings of the earth and all peoples;

princes and all jusges of the earth;

both young men and virgins; old men and children.

Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for his name aloen is exalted;

His glory is above earth and heaven."

Psalm 148:7-13

Did you see that phrase in bold print above? "And winged fowl." What if all that music I hear outside is in fact "praising the Lord?"

Here is a little spiritual exercise we can all do in these difficult times that might help us gain perspective.  Pick a sound from the birds. Using your own creative language skills, interpret it to mean "God is great, and worthy to be praised." Don't worry about technicalities, you are creating the definitive dictionary for that particular bird language!

Now . . . every time you walk outside and hear one of God's creatures make that sound, just say "Amen! God is great and worthy to be praised." Psalm 148 declares "Praise the Lord from the earth . . ." and then goes to great length to describe how that happens - including "winged fowl." 

Psalm 19 says, "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands." (19:1) Psalm 24 proclaims "The earth is the Lord's and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it." Romans 8:19, in one of the best paragraphs Paul ever wrote, says "For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the children of God." 

In my growing up years, I don't think my home church ever missed a Sunday of singing "The Doxology." Here are its words:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,

Praise Him all creatures here below.

Praise Him above the heavenly hosts,

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  Amen.

The "winged fowl" seem to have gotten that message pretty well. Maybe we need to join our voices with their voices and proliaim "God is great, and worthy to be praised."

By the way, the sound I have picked - no registered trademark on the choice - is the male Cardinal. It is so distinct. It sounds a bit like the English word "Cheer." Seems kind of appropriate for a Cardinal to be declaring "God is great and worthy to be praised!"

 

Willow - Queen of the Sad Eyes

Earlier this week I went with my younger daughter, Bethany, to the emergency vet hospital in Fayetteville with her dog, and our granddog, Willow. She was pretty sick. The vets at the emergency hospital were hopeful, kind, and encouraging.

Later in the week I went with Bethany to her regular vet, Willow was most likely sick beyond recovery. I sat in the room as the vet, an extraordinarily kind and compassionate professional, and my daughter agreed that we were at the end of the struggle. Peacefully Willow left this world for the next world - a world that Scripture itself describes with remarkable ideas about the relationship between humans, created in the image of God, and all other creatures made by God

Willow was a rescue dog. Bethany,and her husband Chad, rescued Willow about ten years ago. She was a mix of who knows what - perhaps Jack Russell and something else - and snow-white in appearance. As the title of this post suggests - she was "queen of the sad eyes."

As a rescue dog, Willow wasn't fond of all humans, and especially humans who drove white cars. If you were outside with her and a white care passed by, you needed to make sure you had a firm grip on the leash. Someone in the past had clearly abused her, and they must have driven a white car.

Some would say, "She was just a dog." But I would say, even as a "dog" she modeled a sense of God's intentional purpose at creation that her first "owners" failed to model in significant ways. The biblical idea that humans are created in the image of God shouldn't make us think that all other creatures are merely at our disposal. If the truth be told, Willow modeled God's intentional purpose at creation in ways far better than the sub-human morons who first abused her.

Willow loved creation. She may be the only creature I've ever met who thought being outside was the greatest of gifts more than I do. Just say the world "let's go for a walk" and Willow was in high gear, ready to go. She adored looking outside, and being outside, and smelling outside.

During the winter months, I don't think I know a human who better enjoyed a fire in the fire place. In all honesty, the pleasure in Willow's eyes for a fire in the living room was more than worth the money I paid for the fire wood every winter.

Her heart, pancreas, who who knows what else finally gave out last weekend. She was our "grand dog" for about ten years. For about five of those ten years, she lived close by. She was, as the title suggests, "queen of the sad eyes." You just couldn't look at her and not realize that she saw stuff the rest of us ignore. But those sad eyes could quickly turn to eyes filled with joy and thanksgiving at being in the company of others who loved her.

Bethany and Chad chose well when they picked Willow to be a part of their family. Vicki and I, and "Aunt Sarah" were blessed by the sweet, loving, and penetrating eyes of Willow. While I would have rather been anywhere else in the world than in a vet's office as Willow's life ended - in great mercy and compassion - I wouldn't take anything for the blessing of having known her as one of my "grand dogs."

Creatures made by God are special. Just read the Bible for crying out loud. I hope one day to see Willow - along with other special creatures in my life - in an eternal, renewed and restored creation that measures up to what God intended in the first place.

Here's my favorite picture of Willow.



Thank you Lord, for making creatures like Willow. They bring blessings beyond measure if we just pay attention.