Psalm 65:12

Psalm 65:12

Hills clothed with gladness

I’ve said it before but it bears repeating, one of the most amazing revolutions in Israel over the past 70 years has been the changing landscape. The wilderness has literally blossomed. In 1867 Mark Twain visited the land and he wrote, “The further we went the hotter the sun got, and the more rocky and bare, repulsive and dreary the landscape became…There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country”. Today, the land has been cultivated and much of it is highly productive, maybe it looks now as it did in David’s day? 

This verse is not the first time that the Bible attributes human emotions to what we might call inanimate objects. Do hillsides resonate with gladness or is this just in the eye of the beholder? Does the sea resound? Do the rivers clap their hands? Are the mountains able to sing together for joy? (Psalm 98). 

If, when you view these things, you can only see a physical world as described by science, then you will not be able to discern any of the reactions that the Bible describes. If you have had your spiritual eyes opened and you are in touch with a creative Being who endows the earth with His character and personality, then it takes on a different hue. If you can see the work of a loving, gracious God in all that He has made, then everything has life and every living thing is dancing to His music. Such a world is a vibrant and most beautiful place, full of meaning, energy and purpose. The reason mankind is destroying creation is because there is no understanding of the Creator. 

I challenge you today to look at the world not through the sceptical lens of science but with the eyes of faith, as one who sees the remarkable works of a loving provider who writes His signature on all that has been made. Hallelujah!

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