Article by Dr. James Pedlar ⬩
Our Part in the Song of Creation
“ALL NATURE SINGS.” So says the hymn This Is My Father’s World. The hymn-writer, Maltbie D. Babcock, was echoing Scripture. Take, for example, Psalm 96: “All the trees of the forest will sing for joy.”
How does a tree sing? Trees do not have voices. But from a biblical perspective, each creature brings glory to its Creator when it thrives according to the design God intended for it. In other words, a tree “sings” its praise to God by being a tree – by putting down deep roots, spreading its branches wide, and bringing forth rich foliage.
It is the same with all of God’s creatures. Each creature reflects the glory of its Creator in its own way. The glory of a majestic maple in fall sunshine is different than the glory of a cheetah running at full tilt. Creation is like a great choir singing a marvellous hymn of praise. All nature sings, and each creature does its part in bringing glory to God.
But the next line in Psalm 96 might strike us as a bit odd: “All the trees of the forest will sing for joy, they will sing before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth.”
Why would the trees sing joyfully at the prospect of judgment?
Many Christians think of judgment in terms of personal guilt, but God’s coming judgment is not only about God deciding the fate of individuals. It is about establishing God’s kingdom. God’s great day of judgment will usher in a new heaven and a new earth where everything that is wrong will be set right; where war and famine and sickness and poverty will be no more and God will dwell in the midst of His people, as all creation flourishes under His just and faithful reign.
God has always desired all creation to flourish. Human beings were created in God’s image, Genesis 1 tell us, to exercise dominion over creation – to develop it and cultivate it in a way that reflects or “images” God’s reign. We were commissioned to be fruitful and multiply and build civilization in a way that fostered the common good and brought glory to the Creator.
But human stewardship of creation has often failed. In our sinful brokenness, we have used creation for selfish and short-sighted ends. All people and all creation flourish under righteous rule, but all people and all creatures suffer under unrighteous rule. Our unfaithful stewardship has muzzled and muted creation’s song of praise.
And just as suffering people cry out for justice, Romans 8 tells us that creation itself is groaning in “eager expectation” of the day when the children of God will be revealed. So, yes, it makes sense that the trees will sing for joy at the coming of the righteous judge, who will set all things right and make all things new.
Christians, too, live in hope for that day. But we don’t wait idly for God’s coming. Rather, we are empowered by the Spirit to live even now as citizens of God’s coming kingdom. Because Christ not only paid the debt for our sin. He redeemed our humanity from the inside out, restoring us to the image of God – to true humanity as God always intended it. And God always intended us to be stewards of creation.
Creation stewardship is integral to Christian mission. The earth is the Lord’s, and He has given it into our hands to manage.
The song of creation that we hear today is beautiful, even if it is mixed with groans, sighs, and longings for redemption. We cannot write the song of the new creation that is coming – that will be God’s doing. But our faithful stewardship can turn up the volume on creation’s hymn of praise, and give witness to the day when all things will be gathered under Christ, and all creation will ring out with a new song more beautiful than we can fathom.
James Pedlar is Associate Professor of Theology at Tyndale Seminary, where he holds the Bastian Chair of Wesley Studies.
A Rocha Canada
If you want to get involved in creation stewardship, consider A Rocha Canada, a Christian environmental organization. A Rocha is active in the conservation of sensitive habitats, development of sustainable agriculture, and educational work with both children and adults. Visit arocha.ca