_THE SOUL AND NATURE_
PSALM cxlviii.
"Praise ye the Lord." And the Psalmist calls upon the creation to join in
the anthem. And that is the gracious purpose of our God, that the world
should be filled with harmonious praise. It is His will that the character
of man should harmonize with the flowers of the field, that the beauty of
his habits should blend with the glories of the sunrise, and that his
speech and laughter should mingle with the songs of birds and with the
melody of flowing streams. But man is too often a discord in creation. The
flowers put him to shame. The birds make him sound harsh and jarring. He
is "out of tune."
What then? "Tune my heart to sing Thy praise." We must bring the broken
strings, the rusted strings, the jarring strings to the Repairer and Tuner
of the soul. It is the glad ministry of His grace to re-awaken silent
chords, to restore broken harps, to "put new songs" in our mouths. He will
make us the kinsfolk of all things bright and beautiful. We shall "go
forth with joy," and "all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."