Why Do the Birds Sing?

Psalm 148

“Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: praise him in the heights.² Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. ³ Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. ⁴ Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. ⁵ Let them praise the name of the Lord: for he commanded, and they were created. ⁶ He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass. ⁷ Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps: ⁸ Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his word: ⁹ Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars: ¹⁰ Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl: ¹¹ Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth: ¹² Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: ¹³ Let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven. ¹⁴ He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the Lord.”

All of creation praises God together in Psalm 148. This is more than just God’s children singing to Him. It includes the weather, mountains, trees, and animals. Each element of creation uniquely gives praise to God. Verse 13 gives the reason: “Let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.” God alone deserves all the praise of each part of creation.

In my travels recently, I had the amazing opportunity to go paragliding. We had some promotional material from the company, and I was looking at it afterwards. The phrase “Discover why the birds sing” caught my eye. When flying through the air, we had a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains and lakes; I understood why they would use such a phrase for marketing.

Later, though, I had some time to reflect on the day and the place we were in. I looked around me at the snow-capped mountains, the massive trees that seemed so small from a distance, the river nearby, and all the singing birds, and I was amazed by God’s intricate handiwork in this little piece of the world. In that day, I took some time to think about why the birds sang. I pondered why the water sparkled and why the trees grew tall and then turned beautiful colors in autumn. I considered why the lion roared and why the snow fell and why the sun set and rose each day in all its glorious splendor. I thought about why the stars shone and why the flowers bloomed.

Romans 11:36 reads, “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” Our God is amazing, and He created all things for the purpose of showing His splendor in so many different ways. It’s easy to imagine how the Grand Canyon or the Rocky Mountains exist for the glory of God, but I so often forget to see Him in the normal, everyday things. Romans says “all things,” though. The birds singing, the sun shining, and the tree growing – each does this to glorify its Maker.

When I remember this, it’s a humbling reminder to me of my lack of praise. I am created in God’s image as a rational, moral creature, but I think the flowers praise God better than I do sometimes. As part of creation, God created me so that I could glorify Him. I forget, I’m distracted, and I’m busy, but sometimes creation reminds me of a better life – one in which my walk gives constant praise to my King.

Kelsey Kuiper