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.
Then all the trees of the forest
Will sing for joy;
They will sing before the LORD
For he comes,
He comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
And the peoples in his truth.

I love the picture of the creation shouting out God’s praise! Whales, dolphins, and sharks from the sea, and field mice, bumblebees, and grasshoppers from the meadow—all cooing and clicking and crunching their praise.

I love the talking beasts from Narnia, where animals are given human language so we can remember that their words and praise matters too.

Their joy and ours comes from the great promise that one day our LORD will judge the earth with righteousness. “Judge” mostly means “lead” or “govern.” To judge “in righteousness” means it’s done right or fairly. No more corruption. No more saying one thing and doing another. No backroom deals.

That’s a great starting point for us in our praying today. Not only will Jesus one day return to govern rightly, but he’s already King and we’re part of his Kingdom. He left us to get a jump on Kingdom life here, now, and today.

This day when we pray and where God opens a door, we jumpstart the Kingdom!

Praying and praising with you (and the trees and the field mice and finches) this day.

Andrew