The worship of God is far more than the activities of humankind. In the natural world all around us, there is a service of worship that is happening all day, every day, around the clock, in adoration of God! The Bible frequently calls our attention to the ongoing worship that exists in the natural world:
Job 12:7-10 – 7 Ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; 8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. 9 Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? 10 In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.
Psalm 96:11-13 – 11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. 12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. 13 Let all creation rejoice before the Lord!
Job 26:7-14 – 7 He spreads out the skies over empty space; He suspends the earth over nothing. 8 He wraps up the waters in His clouds, 9 He covers the face of the full moon, 10 He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters for a boundary between light and darkness. 11 The pillars of the heavens quake, 12 By His power He churned up the sea; 13 By His breath the skies became fair; 14 And these are but the outer fringe of His works; how faint the whisper we hear of Him! Who then can fathom the extent of His power?
During Advent each December, we often sing this familiar Christmas hymn:
Joy to the world! The Lord is come! Let earth receive her King! Let every heart, prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing! And heaven and nature sing! Let Heaven & Nature Sing for the glory & honor of Jesus!
• The blossoming of a flower
• The song of a bird
• The flight of an eagle
• The crash of ocean waves
• The dancing of forest trees
• The pounding of horses’ hooves
• The explosion of lightning and the roaring of thunder!
• The babbling of brooks
• The churning of waterfalls
• The chirpings of chipmunks
• The roaring of lions
• The clapping of beaver tails
• The leaping of whales at sea
• The elegant choreography of schools of fish underwater
• The majesty of falling snow
• The refreshing of a nourishing rain
• From coral to rainbows,
• from mountains to meadows,
All of creation conspires together to honor its brilliant Creator!
Psalm 19:1-4 – 1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words; 4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, and their message reaches to the ends of the world.
Job 9:8-10 – 8 He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. 9 He is the Maker of Ursa Major and Orion, the Pleiades and all the constellations of the south. 10 He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.
Far beyond our atmosphere – the universe with all its vast array of galaxies & stars & planets & solar systems – all the constellations of the cosmos swirl and spin in a dance of worship and honor unto their Creator – and it’s all for Him! It’s all for King Jesus.
And in heaven, the angels present an unending procession of praise before King Jesus – a never-ending celebration of worship & adoration & thanksgiving. And miraculously, we are invited to enter into their unending service of worship before the throne of King Jesus! To join our voices with theirs in the majestic songs of heaven:
Revelation 4:1,8-11; 7:9-12 – 1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. 8 Day and night the heavenly beings never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.”
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to Him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives for ever and ever.
They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being.”
9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”
Worship is SO much more than songs. And It’s SO much more than human activity. When we worship, we do not start something new. We join in with a massive celebration already in progress that involves all of nature, the universe, and the heavens:
The natural world all around us honors Him!
All of the cosmic universe dances for Him!
And all of the multitudes of heaven adore Him!
Let Heaven & Nature Sing! Let Heaven & Nature Sing! And Heaven, and heaven, and nature sing!
