Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Psalm 96:11-13 NIV
Jubilant Fields
You might wonder where the earliest baseball field in Canada is located. Beachville, about 40 kilometres east of London, Ontario, boasts of itself as the home of baseball in Canada because it was here on June 4, 1838, that a game of baseball, or at least a form of the game as we now know it, took place in front of several spectators. The basis of this claim lies with a lengthy letter published May 5, 1886, in the Philadelphia-based Sporting Life magazine.
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The Bible speaks of the impact of sin on all of God’s creation. We tend to focus on the impact on the human heart and our relationship with God, but the things that are wrong with our world, including conflict between nations and the natural calamities that rock our planet, are all because of sin. So, it shouldn’t surprise us that when the psalmist describes the Creator who is working to correct all that is wrong and judge those who have done so much harm, he does so this way, in Psalm 96:11-13: “Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness.” When Jesus the Messiah returns to make all things right, the heavens will rejoice, the earth will be glad, the seas will resound, the fields will be jubilant, and the trees will sing for joy. What a day that will be.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley