Resounding Sea

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.   For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.   For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.   Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his dwelling place.   Ascribe to the Lord , all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.   Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.   Tremble before him, all the earth! The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.   Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”   Let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!   Let the trees of the forest sing, let them sing for joy before the Lord , for he comes to judge the earth.   Give thanks to the Lord , for he is good; his love endures forever.   Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.”   Praise be to the Lord , the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the Lord .” – 1 Chronicles 16:24-36

This passage is a prayer of David.  The accounts of David in Samuel tended toward David’s accomplishments in battle as a military leader.  These details paint a different picture of David as a “man after God’s own heart”.  The language used here is very “resounding” of praise toward God.

I had to look up the word “resound” to see what it really meant for the “sea to resound and all that is in it”.  I came up with a couple of definitions which seemed to fit.  It could mean 1) to praise; 2) to roar or make a loud noise; 3) to echo or reverberate; or 4) to be filled with sound.

The image that I have in my mind is the feeling I get when I am sitting at a live concert and there is a large bass sound which I can literally feel reverberating in the cavities of my body.  Now I am no expert on sound but apparently the bass sounds are non-directional, meaning you can set your sub-woofer behind your TV or in front of your TV and you really can’t tell the difference.  I suppose that is consistent with my understanding of God’s presence on earth…it is essentially non-directional and “resounds” in our souls.

There is another sense in this passage of a God who is “bigger than creation and yet He is present when the trees of the forest “sing” and the fields are jubilant.  I think there is a joy in God’s creation for those who have eyes to see it.  It is not God Himself, as some would believe, but the echo (resounding) of His presence in the world.

Prayer: God as we walk through our days help us to stop, look, and listen to the echo of You in all that we see.