The Wonders of God’s Creation
“Yea, the sparrow hath found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young.” Psalms 84:33Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God. (Psalm 84:3).
In past issues we have considered some of the unusual nests built by birds in various parts of the world. With most nesting birds the female picks the spot and starts to build by herself. The male bird, showing up later, may not approve of his mate’s work and make her change it or do it all over again. At other times he will rearrange the work the female has already done.
Many birds do not make nests at all. In last week’s issue we talked of the seabirds that lay their eggs on bare rocks. Others, like the royal terns, just make a slight bowl-shaped spot in the sand — fully exposed — where one egg is laid. Often thousands of terns do this as a group, with the sandy “nests” nearly touching each other. Penguins, flamingos and many other birds nest in similar huge groups, with nests also close to one another, yet each mother, returning from gathering food, knows which nest is hers and makes no mistakes.
The European cuckoo, too lazy to build its own nest, invades another’s while the owner is away, knocking one of the existing eggs out and laying one of its own which matches almost perfectly with those already there. When the true mother returns she is unaware of what has happened, and when the little cuckoo eventually comes out of its shell she accepts it even though it doesn’t look like her other babies.
The softest nest of all is one made by the eider duck in the maritime provinces of Canada. From her own body the mother duck plucks enough down to provide a soft, warm and comfortable lining for her eggs and for the little ones when they hatch out. Other ducks “wintering over” instead of migrating, will also do this.
A nature lover long ago wrote: “How well suited the lining of a bird’s nest is, not only for the comfort of the young, but to keep the eggs from breaking. The tender and brittle eggs, which you can hardly carry in cotton, lie there without harm.”
Certainly, the wonders of God’s creation are not hard to see in every phase of bird life. He looks after even the lowly sparrow as well as the more exotic birds for their whole life span here on earth. But David, who wrote the above psalm, was thinking also of the goodness of the Lord Jesus to the people of the earth, inviting them to let Him be their Shepherd and Saviour, with a promise not only for this life but for the life hereafter, when he wrote: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalms 23:66Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. (Psalm 23:6). If you have accepted the Lord Jesus as your Saviour, you too can apply to yourself what David wrote.
ML-04/24/1988