“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” (Psalm 19:1)

Every human being breathes beneath the awning of heaven and is confronted relentlessly with the speech of stars and planets, clouds and wind, searing sunshine and luminescent moonbeams.

Rainfall, thunderclaps, and snowstorms declare God as glorious, mighty, brilliant, ordered, and complex. Ultimately, he defies understanding, his startling beauty and intricate purposes mirrored in the splendor of his handiwork.

We need only cast our eyes upward into the heavens, contemplate the endless blackness surrounding the twinkling planets, or gaze across the measureless mass of ocean lapping rhythmically on the threshold of coastlines worldwide, to agree with the psalmist’s declaration: “Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard” (Psalm 19:2-3).

He calls us to cease our daily striving and surrender some time to contemplate the intricacies of nature; the complexity of the cosmos allows us to hear the undeniable message that God exists and God is good. To meditate at midnight or rouse from slumber to stare into the mist-­‐shrouded beauty of dawn is to be awakened to the sound of God’s voice of reason. His creation opens a spectacular window through which we can view his character and attributes; the view should prompt worship and delight.

God of all Creation, we lift our voice to join the chorus of starlight in night sky to acknowledge your goodness and greatness with our words, inadequate and insufficient though they may be.

Elizabeth A. Mitchell