All Creatures Here Below
May 8, 2009
I am continually struck by the rich tradition of Creation Care affirming lyrics in the hymns of the past—and often in the praise songs of the present. Rarely a week goes by at my conservative evangelical (and hardly “green”) church without God’s creation being invoked either as a reason for or means of praise. Take, for example, what may be the most widely sung four lines in English speaking Protestant Christendom—The Doxology.
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow
Praise Him, all creatures here below
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
While the Creation Care message may not be as apparent as, say, in St. Francis’s “All Creatures of Our God and King,” it is there.
Though many unconsciously view this as a song from “us” (i.e. humans on earth) to the Trinity, the song’s message is that we are part of, but not the center of, a much larger chorus of praise.
“All creatures here below” means a lot more than just “people.” St. Francis draws this out further and includes “inanimate” objects like the Sun, Moon, fire, water, and all the Earth in this canticle of delight. (Perhaps we should read Jesus’s exclamation that even “the rocks would cry out” more literally than we usually do.)
But while all creation has a part in praising the Triune Creator God, mankind has a special role in making sure the rest of “the world” that “God so loved” is healthy enough to sing joyfully.
We also tend to forget the “heavenly host” of angels and those awaiting the Resurrection in Paradise. In so doing, we forget both our limited stature as “creatures” and our connection to history. Those who have gone before have an interest in the preservation and rejuvenation of this Earth, as do generations yet to be born.
So, rather than just going through the motions as the offering plates make their way to the front, let us “Praise Him, all creatures here below” both in the sanctuary and in the world that has been entrusted to our stewardship. The trees long to clap their hands in praise, but we must first leave them standing.
(See Isaiah 55:12) (See this too.)
John Murdock is a natural resources attorney in Washington D.C. You can read his blog at http://republicantreehugger.blogspot.com
Comments
Got something to say?
