Declaring HIS Glory

“When I consider Your heavens, the works  of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that you visit him?”  Psalm 8:3, 4  (NKJV)

Attendance at our church services this past Sabbath day was scanty because nearly all the members were at the annual Outdoor Church service.  It’s a major event on the church’s calendar.  Each fall the members leave the well-appointed sanctuary to spend a day in God’s great outdoors. It’s  a refreshing time of learning, worshiping, and fellowship in a setting that celebrates our great Creator.

In our focus text, the psalmist expresses awe as he observes God’s handiwork in the skies.  Joseph Addison, a nineteenth century English  essayist and poet,  also looked up and marveled at the wonders of God’s creative power displayed in the heavens. One of his poems, set to music, made its way  into our hymnbooks.
“The spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue, ethereal sky,
And spangled heavens, a shining frame,
Their great Original proclaim.

Addison extolled  the grandeur of his English  star-filled sky, and here in the city where I live, I, too, look admiringly and marvel at the clear, blue immensity that I see at all hours of the day and night. But the skies here weren’t always so clear. Many decades ago, our city was known for its smog and dirty air that obscured the beauty of the skies.  In the sixties, it earned a bad grade from the Department of Health because of its polluted air caused by its coal and railroad industry. But  the city leaders made a conscious effort to clean things up,  and  the city was able to earn the highest level of government standard for clean air.  Now we can see the appealing skyline unhindered.

In the beginning, God provided a perfectly beautiful world for His children to live in.  Much of that beauty has been eroded, but a great deal of it remains in the skies at night,  as well as  in the daytime.  “The heavens declare the glory of God,” the psalmist says.  Let us look up at the wonders in the heavens, turn our minds to the One who created it all, and know that He is worthy of our worship. This grand thought should lead  us to  realize that we, too, must declare His glory.

Always,

Judith

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies,
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
Songs of gratitude and praise.”
Folliott Pierpoint (1835-1917)