Eagles and Whales

“Then God said, ‘Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.’ So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth. So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.” (Genesis 1:20–23)

On the second day of creation God separated “waters above” from “waters below,” creating a firmament—the sky. Third-day creation saw God telling the waters below to go to their assigned places, not only making for continents and islands and mountains and valleys, but also creating seas and lakes and rivers and oceans. Now God creates inhabitants for these homes, players for the stage He has already set: fish and birds and everything in between.

God be praised for shrimp and whales, sharks and minnows, jellyfish and giant squid. Give God thanks for sea anemones, clown fish, angel fish, and Sammy suckers; for hermit crabs and oysters and lobsters and clams; for piranha and octopi and sting rays and dolphins. Thank God for the great sea creatures: for Loch Ness monsters and Job’s Leviathan and the fish who swallowed Jonah. Thank God for rainbow trout and wide-mouth bass, for Alaskan salmon and albacore tuna. God moved over the surface of the waters, blessed them, and they are teeming with life and beauty and wonder.

God be praised for eagles and sparrows, hummingbirds and buzzards, bats and mosquitoes. Give God thanks for mockingbirds, cardinals, bluebirds, and finches; for doves, quail, and pheasants; for ducks and geese. Thank God for toucans, parrots, canaries, and nightingales; for owls and hawks, robins and purple martins; for swans and flamingoes and seagulls and heron. Thank God for birdsong and fried chicken, for Canadian geese overhead, for turkey dinners and peacock feathers. God breathed a blessing in the air, commanding fruitfulness and abundance, and the sky grew wings and beaks and exquisite colors of every shade.

“We give You thanks, O God, for the multitudes of joy-filled creatures with which You have populated the heavens and the waters below, and we pray You would bless us along with them—bless us and multiply us on the earth—that we might bring glory to You in the depths and the heights. We give You thanks for our Lord Jesus Christ, who has gathered us under the safety of His wings, for the great Fisher of Men, who has gathered us into His kingdom, and in His name we pray and give thanks. Amen.”