Reading: Psalms 148:7-10 and Lygon Stevens

Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all depths;
fire and hail, snow and mist, storm winds that fulfill his word;
you mountains and all you hills,
you fruit trees and all your cedars,
you wild beasts and all tame animals,
you creeping things and you winged fowl.


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In this, the middle verse of Psalm 148 which is "Hymn of All Creation to the Almighty Creator," the author of this religious song is exhorting both living beings and inanimate objects to praise God. There is a deep insight here, as this is not an example of poetic license telling mountains and hill and trees to literally raise their voice in praise. The author is declaring how the very existence of all things and their being is the actual praise to God because all these things "fulfill his word." Because the word of God brings all things into existence, from the easy to understand such as a fruit tree and tame animals, to the not so easy to understand, the monsters of the depths and the fire and the hail, all manifest things are by their very existence engaged in the act of praising God.

This is an important mystery and imagery to ponder that will be fruitful in better understanding the nature of God.

This is one reason why some particularly sensitive religious people feel closer to God in nature. The young Christian lady who recently died in an avalanche, Lygon Stevens, comes to mind. She was a very active Christian, so she was not climbing mountains as a substitute of "naturalistic impulses" or "Mother Earth" for God.

Rather one can tell from her journal writings that she could unconsciously "hear" the praise of God being expressed by the very mountains, the snow, the wind, the sun and the trees exactly as described in this Psalm. May God bless and comfort her family.