Imagine yourself standing on a calm, clear ocean shore. The crisp, cloudless nocturnal sky shrouds your senses. Stars, like celestial diamonds, compete for your attention – flickering, quivering, and leaping – captivating your curiosity. Constellations glimmer with luminous light, performing a soundless symphony for an audience of One. And you stand in awe of God’s celestial creation.
The Psalmist must have seen a similar visual spectacle. However, he tells us that stars and other heavenly luminaries are not merely randomly-created celestial aesthetics for our casual enjoyment. In Psalm 147:4, it says God intentionally designed the heavens, determined the number of the stars, and calls them each by name. Actually, according to the psalmist, their wordless voice evokes a message to all people to look up and look closer. They communicate knowledge about the Creator to the observer.
This nighttime majestic marvel personally enchants my soul – always evoking a humble, worshipful response. Like the psalmist, I delight in surveying the heavens – not to idolize these creations but to prayerfully and poetically worship the Lord who created them. Every star-studded constellation piercing the dark panoramic canvas communicates to my spirit the eternal sovereignty and story of our God. Reformist, Martin Luther reiterated: “God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars.”
Join me. Look up and behold the glory of His story!
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you that the heavens declare your glory and the skies proclaim the work of your hands. You determined the number of the stars – and called them each by name. I thank you that in the vastness of all creation, you love me and sent Jesus to restore relationship with me. Create in me a worshipful thankful heart that submits to your Word and will. Amen.
Go Deeper – Revisit Psalm 19:1-4. Scripture includes many allusions to the stars, constellations, and their names. This week, on a clear night, take time to look up and to pray under the stars.
Photo Credit: Mi Pham