Praise the Lord…creeping things!

The entire creation is commanded, in Psalm 148, to praise the Lord -- from dragons to judges, from snow to snowy-haired men. We are reminded by David, in Psalm 19, that all of creation is doing just that: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork" (v.1). David sings again, in Psalm 8, "O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!" (v.1).

It is an excellent and edifying habit to take the time to hear what the creation is saying about our God! The Grand Canyon and oceans declare His bigness and majesty. The atoms and breezes proclaim His invisible power and wisdom. The flower petals and slugs reflect His beauty and glory...

"What? Did you just say slugs? Is that really the best example you could come up with?"

That's right. Let me tell you, first of all, that I hate slugs. My wife and I had a deal, in our first house, that I would take care of killing any spiders, crickets, etc. but that she would have to take care of the slugs that periodically appeared in our front flower bed and porch. When I see a slug I generally scream like a girl and run like a... well, you get the idea.

But then I came across this video clip of a giant slug in the Namaqualand region of South Africa, eating a spring flower. These slugs grow bigger than one's hand, they tell me. I watched with revulsion at first, but then... my repugnance slowly turned into admiration, my aversion into wonder. And I finally had to admit to myself that what I was watching was... well... beautiful!

It seems that God has tucked away bits and pieces of His glory into every corner of His creation. No wonder the psalmist was so careful to include such a variety of creatures as he penned the 148th Psalm. He even says, "Praise the Lord... creeping things" (v.10)!