Singing Mountains and Clapping Trees

These words are reflections on a passage of scripture.  They are not an exposition or a study to find the meaning and the truth of the words so we can apply them to our lives.  Instead, this is an exercise in imagination.

We often do not give imagination a fair shake.  Some think that what comes from the imagination has no relation to truth.  In fact, the imagination can contribute to and even be a source of truth.  This is especially true in our relationship to scripture.  Yes, there are truths to learn and principles to apply, but so many of them arise out of the delightful and challenging stories and images of the text.  So, I hope you will accept this invitation to play with, to imagine, and see where that takes you.

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You shall go out in joy and be led back in peace

The mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song

All the trees of the field shall clap their hands

Isaiah 55: 12

These words from Isaiah catch the author in mid-song.  We catch the writer in the middle of a joyous celebration.  And it is almost a universal truth that joyous celebrations are accompanied by song.  The song of Isaiah 55 is a celebration of returning.  The time of exile is over, and the people of God are returning to their homeland.

But there is so much more to it than just coming home after a time of being away.  The people of God come back with a sense of newness.  They have accepted responsibility for their turning from God, which was the reason for their exile.  Now, it is a time to begin again.  The prophets have spoken of God doing a new thing.  They have spoken of God’s people having a new heart.  There is the promise of a new covenant, a new relationship with God.

It is not wonder that Isaiah breaks into singing.  There is much to celebrate after a time of great sadness. And as songwriters often do, the prophet gets swept up in the moment and the language become ecstatic, almost excessive.  The lyricist portrays a joy so contagious that nature itself is caught up in the celebration.

Of course, we know that the mountains and hills don’t really sing.  We know that trees cannot clap their hands.  Or do they?  I wonder what it would be like to stay with these lavish poetic words for a moment, and with a little help from our imaginations, see what they can stir up and teach us.

The mountains and the hills shall burst into song.  What would the song of the mountains and hills sound like?  Would it be more similar to a baroque concerto…or perhaps modern jazz?  Would it sound like a Mozart symphony…or a country-western love song?  And why do we need to compare it to anything? After all, if mountains are singing, wouldn’t it be enough just to sit there, listen, and enjoy it?

Of course, some part of us could respond by refusing to believe that the hills had voices to sing, and the trees had hands to clap.  Maybe our thinking minds would seek an explanation and develop a theory.  After further research we have concluded that the sounds are really an elaborate system of echoes, or they have something to do with relative humidity and wind currents.  They are not really singing and clapping at all.

Then again, there is a good chance that we would never hear the singing and the clapping.  The only sound we hear would be the “real” ones, like the backfire of a passing car or the noise of children playing, or the voices from the radio.  How inane would it be to put aside all of these “important” things I have to do and participate in something as silly as sitting out on the back porch and leaning against the fence post and waiting for the mountains to break into song as the trees keep the tempo by clapping their hands.

Yes, there are a variety of ways to respond to the songs of the hills and the clapping of the trees.  We can explain them away by simply pointing out the poetic and symbolic nature of the language.  We can devise some perfectly logical and rational explanation for what we hear, but all the time we would miss the fact wherever they come from, there is something deeply moving within their notes.  Or we can analyze what we hear and speak of how trivial or how deep the music sounds.  But then, we would miss the chance to join the trees as the music of the mountains stirs them to clap their hands and dance.  Finally, we can acknowledge the foolishness of the whole idea and rededicate ourselves to the “serious” tasks that we have given ourselves to do.

Yes, there are many ways to respond to the songs of the hills and the clapping of the trees.  Who is to say one way is right and the other is wrong?  We’ve all heard the question: If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a noise?  Well along the same lines, if the mountains and hills sing while the trees clap their hands, and no one claims to hear it, did it actually happen?  Most of us would say “no,” but after having said “no” and gone on about our business, I suspect the hills and the trees would display a wistful smile, wink at each other, and continue their celebration.

Some questions to consider:

What other songs of life besides those of the mountains and the trees do we miss?  What other celebrations escape our experience?

What other simple sights, sounds, and smells are also melodic and rhythmic celebrations that could send us joyfully leaping across the field? 

What simple movement of a hand or a change in a tone of voice is also a tune that captures the anguish and pain, or the joy and delight that resonates throughout the world…and reminds us of our own joys and sorrows?

God, help us to hear the songs and sounds of the hills, the trees…and all the people in the world around us.  Help us to hear the songs and sounds deep in our own heart.  Give us the grace to join the hills and the forests in the celebration of life lived in your presence and power.