Let Heaven and Nature Sing
As a nature photographer I am obviously visually oriented. When I am out photographing I enjoy looking at the beautiful scenery around me. I then try to create compositions with my camera to showcase the beauty before me. My enjoyment of nature, however, is not limited to the visual realm. My other senses do not take a vacation when I’m out photographing. In fact, if they did I would miss out on so much that brings me pleasure in nature.
There are many sounds in nature that I absolutely love. Some of my favorites include elk bugling in the fall, the sound of sandhill cranes migrating, the crack, rumble and roar of glaciers calving, a geyser in Yellowstone erupting, and a canyon wren’s call echoing off canyon walls in the desert southwest. Other favorite sounds include frogs croaking, owls hooting, eagles screaming, crickets chirping, waves splashing against the shore and waterfalls crashing. All of these are sounds that make me love and feel close to Creation and God.
There are Scripture verses which lead me to believe that these sounds may be there more than just for our enjoyment or, in the case of the animals, for communication’s sake. The sounds of nature may also be understood as Creation offering praise to its Maker.
Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” In Psalm 96:11-12 we read “Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy…” Isaiah 49:13 says, “Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains!” In Revelation 5:13 John writes, “Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!’”
In some way all of Creation joins in offering praise to the Creator. That being the case, we should be very careful to do our part as well.
–Chuck
(I photograhed the elk above at Rocky Mountain National Park.)