Photo by Jachan DeVol on Unsplash

“Let the field be joyful, and all therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice.” – Psalm 96:12

Sometimes, I walk or sit in a field and allow my mind to wander and my heart to wonder. What might Eden have been like for our ancient father and mother who opened their eyes there?

The word, “Eden” comes from and ancient root meaning “fruitful, well-watered,” and, in the old Akkadian and Sumerian languages, “plain.” However, in Hebrew, the meaning is even richer and is sometimes translated “pleasure” or “delight.”

So, then, in those glimpses of what is past with their hints of what is to come, we pause in awe among the joyful fields of grass, clover, and wildflowers to drink in the pleasures of God’s creation. We take delight in all that He has preserved of what has been lost, and we breath in the expectation of a day when all of creation is redeemed.

“Let the field be joyful” is no empty prayer or mere poetic sentimentality.

“Let … all therein” embraces the whole of what God has made and declared to be good.

The trees of the wood truly do rejoice in their own ways, with the swaying of their trunks and branches and with their arms reaching toward the sun. Every leaf, bud, and flower is a song of praise.

It is not just for the Francis of Assisi characters, the “Johnny Appleseed” Chapmans types, or the John Muir figures to be great admirers of God’s handiwork. It is also for us.

If the trees and fields can praise God, how much more so can we who are fearfully and wonderfully made? How much more might we who are made in the image of God with the capacity to see His hand at work? How much more should we who are uniquely invited to know Him and enjoy His redemptive grace sing His praise

Let us sing alone and let us sing in the company of others.

Let us join with the chorus of the joyful fields and our lives to be fruitful and responsive to His wonders.

Amen.