A Song Greater Than The Nightingale’s Song

Nightingale

Who hasn’t heard Manhattan Transfer sing A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square? And did you know it was a Nightingale that inspired Tchaikovsky when he was composing his Humoresque opus 10-2? Even my grandson knows about the beauty of the Nightingale’s Song from Hans Christian Andersen’s story The Nightingale. In short, the Nightingale’s Song is a sound of pure beauty with quite a reputation. Ever heard a greater song?

Nightingales are named so because they frequently sing at night as well as during the day. The name means ‘night songstress’. As is usual, it is the male who sings, not the female. He does so with ulterior motives: to attract a mate.

The male nightingale is known for his singing, to the extent that human singers are sometimes admiringly referred to as nightingales; the song is loud, with an impressive range of whistles, trills and gurgles. Its song is particularly noticeable at night because few other birds are singing. This is why its name (in several languages) includes “night”.

Singing at dawn, during the hour before sunrise, is assumed to be important in defending the bird’s territory. Nightingales sing even more loudly in urban or near-urban environments, in order to overcome the background noise.

I know an even more beautiful song that helps me overcome the background noise of life. It’s God’s Song! Did you know God sings? The Bible says so!

In Zephaniah 3:17 it says:

The Lord your God is with you,
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.

Oh! What an awesome thought! The Creator of all nature thinks I’m so special, and takes such delight in me that He sings lullabies to quiet me with His love! It is an intimacy that surpasses the mother-child intimacy, and I depend upon it many nights. I even sing back to Him and drift off to a peaceful, natural sleep. During the most troubled times of my life, it’s been the only way I could sleep.

Me singing to my Heavenly Father is one thing; but knowing He rejoices over me with singing is just too awesome to comprehend. No wonder I love Him so much!

(c) 2009 April Lorier

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Romans 1:20

Supplied by and reprinted with permission of April Lorier.

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