Rivers Clap their Hands...

The other day I got to spend the entire day with Jesus.  For a large chuck of that I went on a hike along the Wildwood Trail in Forest Park, Portland, OR.  Earlier that morning I had read in Psalms 98:8 "Let the rivers clap their hands, Let the mountains sing together for joy."  Normally when I read that I think, "That's a great personification of water and hills and calling out to God, but what does that really mean?"  I never really had an answer till I was on that hike.  

I was standing next to a stream when it hit me.  This actually really does sound a little like clapping.  But can you make the jump and say rivers are the same?  Yes you can.  I was on another hike the next day with an actual river and it didn't just sound like clapping.  It sounded like a huge standing ovation.

Next time you see a stream or river, stop, listen in silence for a couple minutes, imagine yourself in a concert hall, and see what you think.

This got me thinking about the mountains part of the verse.  Do they really, actually sing?  While I was eating lunch I realized that in a way they do.  The birds singing, the wind in the trees, even the noise of traffic in the distance.  It all comes together to create a song.  Yes, those aren't technically mountains themselves, but they can't really be separated from each other either can they?  I say it counts.  

Next time you are up in the hills or mountains stop and listen for a little while and see what you hear.  The writer of Psalm 98 is not just giving a creative metaphor or anything.  He is describing something real.