Archive for April 17th, 2009
Camping with Psalm 19, Coyotes and Whip-Poor-Wills
As the darkness gathered after sunset a chorus of coyotes began their mournful calling, first one, then another, then a dozen. The lovely yet haunting cries of the coyotes are one of life’s purest joys when hunting and camping in the wilderness of North Texas. Last Friday, Good Friday, my son, Jeremy, and I went to our friend’s ranch by Stephenville, TX for an evening of hunting wild hogs, and while we waited in vain for the pigs, the accompanying music of the coyotes was a blessing sent from God not soon to be forgotten.
www.desertusa.com/june96/du_cycot.html
Armed with his Marlin .30-30 and a scope, Jeremy was to the right at the edge of the treeline, about 130 yards from the feeder where the hogs normally gather after sunset. I was to the left and closer, but only by about 20 yards, standing behind a small, stumpy mesquite tree armed with my Mossberg 590 shotgun in 12 ga. stoked with one slug followed by 000 buck.
While we walked to the favorite hunting site we saw one little cottontail in the road. It waited til we got within 10 yards before he hopped away; even then, he just went 10 more yards down the trail. As we continued, he finally decided to move on out of the area. We did a quick survey of the area around the feeder and saw no activity, so we waited. And waited.
The coyotes sang to us twice, once about 20 minutes after sunset and again about 20 minutes later. A few dogs belatedly joined in, but they were an octave lower and in the wrong key. The dissonance was disquieting. Somebody a couple miles away was moving around in a 4 wheeler. The darkness grew too thick, the full moon had not risen yet and the light layer of clouds shielded enough of the stars so that Jeremy could no longer see through his scope. We headed back to camp.
Arriving an hour before sunset we had had plenty of time to set up our two tents and bedrolls. The landowner has one particular area with a picnic pavillion that he allows us to camp on. After pitching our tents we set up the Coleman stove and got out the coffee pot for the next morning, then we headed out on our futile hunt. When we got back to camp I began to get ready for bed as 9:30 was late enough for me after rising at 0330 that morning to head to work. Jeremy is used to the late hours as he works second shift so he was going to wait for friend Mark who was due in at 10pm.
I was not quite asleep when I heard Mark’s truck pull up. He went to his camping spot and then in about an hur he and Jeremy went back out to spotlight some pigs. I went to sleep and slept OK, but never heard any gun shots. About 1am they returned, again not seeing any hogs at all (I learned the next morning).
While hunting the previous evening, along with the howling coyotes, we heard the alert call of the whip-poor-will. All night long, whenever I briefly awakened, I heard the song of the whip-por-will in the distance. Thankfully it was in the distance. Once, when I was a child and camping in Colorado, we had a whip-poor-will very close to us. Not much sleep for us that night, they are loud! But I find the call of the whip-poor-will to be very comforting at night. It is a unique sound that speaks of the dark beauty of the night time woods and wilderness. You do not hear these birds in the city. They are all wild and solitary. When I hear the whip-poor-will I know that man has not encroached too far, yet. The wilderness remains. I can think of the first man, Adam, and his bride, sleeping under the stars in that Garden of God long ago, falling asleep to the cry of the whip-poor-will.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whip-poor-will
I awoke about 0400 and dozed intermittently for a while. At some time well before dawn the turkeys began gobbling from their roosts in the trees around us. Gobbles arose from the NE, the East, and SE; we were half way surrounded by turkeys. It is an amazing thing to listen to and watch turkeys. Though not really a “cute” bird, Ben Franklin wanted to make the Turkey the national bird. Thankfully that effort failed, else the environmentalists would likely ban their hunting. But turkeys are the premier game bird in North America. Old Toms are notoriously wiley and difficult to call in. The first European settlers and explorers of North America reported some of the turkeys weighing in excess of 60 lbs. I remember my father bagging a wild turkey for Thanksgiving once when I was a small child. I have watched a group of Toms engaging in one-on-one combat in a small clearing in the woods once.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_(bird)
I tried to get Jeremy up so we could go hunt turkey before dawn, but he was too tired, having not gotten to bed til after 1am from his night pig hunt. I could have gone by myself but chose instead to stay in camp and just listen to these regal birds gobble incessantly til well after sunrise.
I heated some water on my coleman 2 burner stove and then poured it into a cup with some instant coffee. I don’t much like instant coffee. It doesn’t really taste like coffee despite what all the commercials will tell you. But I always relish the thought of drinking a cup of hot instant coffee in the out of doors while camping. The bitter taste, sipped carefully from a metal cup in the pre-dawn darkness in the woods evokes fond (?) memories of my days in the Army.
The eastern sky was brightening so I got into the truck, facing east, to watch the sunrise. With mostly overcast skies there was a bit of a gap at the horizon, just enough of a gap to allow the suns rays to change the clouds from black, to grey, to purple, orange and pink. It was a glorious sunrise accompanied by the turkeys and now the soft calling of the mourning doves and the bright chirping of countless other avians.
This morning was too beautiful to waste without reading from the Scriptures. It called for a reading from Genesis 1:
The Creation of the World
1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse [1] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made [2] the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven. [3] And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, [4] and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants [5] yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, [6] and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds [7] fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make man [8] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
The Seventh Day, God Rests
2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
Then I moved on to the Psalms and read ch.19:
The Law of the Lord Is Perfect
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above [1] proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice [2] goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, [3]
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules [4] of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Reading these passages while watching the sun rise and listening to the birds was deeply moving. I thanked God for the beauty of his creation.
Of course, being Easter weekend, and being in the Psalms now, I moved over a page or two to Psalm 22:
Why Have You Forsaken Me?
To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.
22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises [1] of Israel.
4 In you our fathers trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried and were rescued;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
8 “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;
let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”
9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.
10 On you was I cast from my birth,
and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Be not far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is none to help.
12 Many bulls encompass me;
strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13 they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my breast;
15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 For dogs encompass me;
a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet [2]—
17 I can count all my bones—
they stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.
19 But you, O Lord, do not be far off!
O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dog!
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued [3] me from the horns of the wild oxen!
22 I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or abhorred
the affliction of the afflicted,
and he has not hidden his face from him,
but has heard, when he cried to him.
25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
26 The afflicted [4] shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord!
May your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before you.
28 For kingship belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
even the one who could not keep himself alive.
30 Posterity shall serve him;
it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
that he has done it.
I confessed my sinfulness to the LORD and thanked him for the Salvation he has wrought in the perfect life and the atoning death of his Son, Jesus. I looked forward to joining my church family the next day to celebrate the resurrection.
This wilderness experience was an excellent way to prepare for a glorious time of worshiping the resurrected Lord the following day.
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