Marvelous Things -- Anonymous

Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things… (Psalm 98)

He might have been reading from an ancient songwriter’s poem -- that much we could say. And, perhaps he shared his experience with a few friends, who improvised some alternate voice characterizations to add some depth to the praise phrase he already had gleaned from the centuries-old text. What would it be like to have all of creation join in and do what we normally think only human voices can provide? (Perhaps to include the Great Falls of Yellowstone Park [shown here], which most of us no doubt think is pretty marvelous just the way it is, right?) That’s what the old songwriter-worshipper coaxed from within, that if you and I choose not to give the Creator His due, the ‘stones will cry out’, as He has said (Luke 19:40). How disappointing might that be for Him, and yet, what would that sound like if the seas, the rivers, and the mountains suddenly did the unthinkable? And so, it is a proposition that we humans accept when we sing “Marvelous Things”, singing it in parts to imagine what the various voices of His creation sound like when they’re in harmony. Maybe they’re doing it every day, and could it be we just don’t notice…?

The ancient psalmist had three things he wanted to say when he cast his words onto a page. First, the Creator-God has not stood by and watched His world fail, and then thrown His hands up in defeat with a shrug of His shoulders. His efforts have not ended up in a cosmic waste can. The Almighty has lived up to His name, despite what you might conclude after finding out Noah rode a big boat with his family onto the top of Mount Ararat, a result of the Creator concluding that near-total destruction of the world was warranted. He has made saving the human race His objective, and has provided the means to that end. That’s rather an amazing thing for the psalmist to say, centuries before the method (Jesus) was made known, but this writer evidently had faith in the God he knew. Salvation is His to give. Second, how does a planet full of needy people properly respond? With ecstatic music, he says. Honk on that horn, strum those strings as loud as you want, and raise your voice in a shout to say ‘Hurrah’! It’s a celebration of your team winning it all, magnified ten times, at least. Euphoria captures everyone at the same moment. That’s what His gift of salvation ought to inspire, right? And yet, if we don’t express the enthusiasm He desires, the psalmist writes a third message for us to hear. The inanimate will do what we don’t – seas resounding, rivers clapping, and mountains singing – so that He is abundantly praised. Everything will be made new and glorious in the New Earth, Eternity, so accept that His is a righteousness not to miss. He’s fair, because what He has awaiting me is worth what I can do to celebrate Him now, today. Don’t wait for another day. You and I will marvel at His handiwork, and at His true nature fully realized before our eyes in that day.

And so, the anonymous writer of ‘Marvelous Things’ takes up a one-line echo of his psalmist-brother. What He is preparing for us cannot be adequately described, so perhaps it’s enough for you and I to say it is marvelous, and leave the rest of our adjectives for when we finish the journey. Imagine you’re singing one part of the four-part harmony the writer composed, as a single voice in His creation. You’re doing your part, nothing more, but that’s all He asks. The rivers are there to clap, not sing the mountains’ part, after all. He will leave me with my mouth agape when I see Him in person for the first time. ‘Marvelous’, or maybe just ‘Wow!’ may be all I can manage to say at that moment. He might even leave me speechless. What do you plan to say when you reach your journey’s end?                      

The bible’s Psalm 98 is the only resource used in the above song story.