Scripture Daily

Context No. 1582 of 4322 · Daniel (Greek)

Context · Reflection

Daniel (Greek) 3:74-89: in context

74O let the earth bless the Lord! Let it praise and exalt him above all forever! 75O you mountains and hills, bless the Lord! Praise and exalt him above all forever! 76O all you things that grow on the earth, bless the Lord! Praise and exalt him above all forever! 77O sea and rivers, bless the Lord! Praise and exalt him above all forever! 78O you springs, bless the Lord! Praise and exalt him above all forever! 79O you whales and all that move in the waters, bless the Lord! Praise and exalt him above all forever! 80O all you birds of the air, bless the Lord! Praise and exalt him above all forever! 81O all you beasts and cattle, bless the Lord! Praise and exalt him above all forever! 82O you children of men, bless the Lord! Praise and exalt him above all forever! 83O let Israel bless the Lord! Praise and exalt him above all forever. 84O you priests of the Lord, bless the Lord! Praise and exalt him above all forever! 85O you servants of the Lord, bless the Lord! Praise and exalt him above all forever! 86O you spirits and souls of the righteous, bless the Lord! Praise and exalt him above all forever! 87O you who are holy and humble of heart, bless the Lord! Praise and exalt him above all forever! 88O Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, bless the Lord! Praise and exalt him above all forever; for he has rescued us from Hades, and saved us from the hand of death! He has delivered us out of the midst of the furnace and burning flame. He has delivered us out of the midst of the fire. 89O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy is forever.

This is part of the Song of the Three Young Men, sung, in the Greek text of Daniel, by the three thrown into the fiery furnace and preserved. It is a great summons to all creation to praise God. Let the earth bless the Lord, it cries, the mountains and hills, all growing things, the seas and rivers and springs, the whales and all that move in the waters, the birds of the air, the beasts and cattle. Let all people bless the Lord, and Israel, the priests, the servants of God, the righteous, the holy and humble of heart. And the three who were saved from the furnace give thanks, for he is good, and his mercy endures forever.

What this song does is summon the whole of creation to praise its Maker, and there is something worth catching in the sweep of it. Mountains and seas, whales and birds and cattle, growing things and springs of water, all are called to bless the Lord, along with people and priests and the humble of heart. Praise, the song reminds us, is not a narrow human activity we invent, but the fitting response of all creation to the God who made it; the whole created order exists to give him glory, and when we praise him we are joining a chorus already sounding from every part of what he has made. There is an enlargement in that for our own worship. We can think of praise as a small, private thing, our own voice alone, easily discouraged when we feel little like praising. But the song sets our praise within a vast company: the mountains and the seas and every living thing are called to bless the Lord, and our voice joins theirs, one part of a creation-wide chorus of praise. And notice where the song comes from: the mouths of three men who had just been delivered from a furnace, who end by giving thanks that God rescued them from the fire. Praise flows here from gratitude for deliverance, and it reaches out to call all creation to join. When we bless the Lord, we are not alone; we join the earth and the sea and the sky, and the whole company of the redeemed, in the praise for which all things were made.

Do I think of praise as a small, private thing, my voice alone, or can I see it as joining a chorus already sounding from all creation, the mountains and seas and every living thing summoned to bless the Lord, so that my praise is one part of the worship for which all things were made?

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