Shout for Joy to the Lord

Shout for Joy to the Lord

O sing to the Lord a new song,

   for he has done marvellous things.

His right hand and his holy arm

   have gained him victory.

The Lord has made known his victory;

   he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.

He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness

   to the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen

   the victory of our God.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;

   break forth into joyous song and sing praises.

Psalm 98:1-4

As a lover of God’s creation, I long to see more of it being able to “Shout for joy to the Lord”. However, creation is struggling in many places to “shout for joy” because of unjust destructive environmental practices.

There are many verses, and entire Psalms, that speak of creation giving praise to their creator. Psalm 98 is one such psalm. In verse 1 the Israelites are invited to “Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvellous things.” As well as singing, they, and the earth, are told to “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music” (verses 4 & 6). Then in verses 7 to 9, the psalm singer invites all of creation to add its own instrumental mix, “Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord.” Wow! What a beautiful and extraordinary picture.

We do of course need to be careful not to overly anthropomorphise God’s creation. After all, rivers don’t have hands. They do, I believe, use their natural features to praise their creator. I remember while walking in the bush in the Adelaide Hills, hearing my young daughter exclaim, “look Mum, the trees are singing and dancing.” I stood still, looked and listened. She was right. The leaves moved gently as if waving in the breeze. The sound was remarkably melodious. I’m sure many of you can identify with this story.

As I hear yet more reports on our deepening environmental crises, I wonder how God’s creation can continue to burst into jubilant song. Being one of the directors of A Rocha Australia (an International Christian conservation organisation) I’m aware that there are many ecologists and scientists doing incredible work to preserve, save and restore God’s beautiful creation. Their work is small in comparison to the enormity of the crisis, but it enables some of creation to be freed, restored and able to “burst into jubilant song with music” and add its “own instrumental mix” of praise to its Creator.

Why should all humanity and all creation join in the celebratory song of God’s reign? Verses 1 to 3 and verse 9 frame the psalm and provide the rationale for such an extravagant display of praise. The Hebrew word yasha means ‘salvation, deliverance or victory’ and is repeated three times in verses 1 to 3. So it is the “right hand” and the “holy arm” of God which is able to deliver humanity, and, indeed, all of creation from oppression. Finally, in verse 9 we are reminded that “He will judge the world (Hebrew erets: the earth or land) with justice and the nations with fairness.” 

As we reflect on Jesus’ birth this Advent season we join with all creation in celebratory and joyful song, for the life-giving, abounding hope and justice that Jesus brings.

Sally Shaw is an eco-theologian (Doctor of Ministry, 2023) who runs arts-based creation care workshops. She is a Director of A Rocha Australia – a Christian conservation organisation. As a UK trained midwife, she worked for over 15 years in refugee health and community development in Thailand and Cambodia. Sally and her husband Doug live in an eco-community in South Australia.

This devotional is part of a series of daily email devotionals for Advent 2024 reflecting on the life-giving, thirst quenching justice of Jesus we long to see flow across these lands. A justice overflowing with love and compassion, bringing forth hope, healing, nourishment and flourishing for all.

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