Article August 1, 1994 Issue

The song of creation

Joy Anne Reges

What song are you singing today? Is it a song of despair? A song of loneliness? A song of sorrow? Or is it a song like this one from Psalms: "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: to shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night.... For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands" (92:1, 2, 4).

The song of praise is the song that rejoices in the truth stated in the first chapter of Genesis, where God's creation is established and it is very good. This is the song that glorifies God and His omnipotence. We might call this the song of creation.

References to singing resound throughout the Bible. The book of Isaiah speaks of "the mountains and the hills" that will "break forth ... into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands" (55:12). The book of Acts tells us that Paul and Silas "prayed, and sang praises unto God" when they were in prison. There was an earthquake, "the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed" (16:25, 26). What power that singing expressed! It is clear to see that singing itself—whether aloud or in our hearts—can be a form of prayer.

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