I remember stepping out of a rural church on a cloudless moonless night and seeing the heavens stretched out before me. It took my breath away. Our mission team was in southeast India. I had brought the message in a rural concrete church building that had only recently been equipped with a power line. The service was slightly marred because I had forgotten to take off my shoes at first and no one had reminded me of my mistake. It went against their acceptable way to worship. Americans don’t think of their church floors as holy ground. The people were gracious and forgiving.
It was dark outside after the service except for the headlights of the cars as they were leaving the area. The vastness of the Milky Way is indescribable. Artificial lights have robbed us of our ability to truly see the heavens like our ancestors could see, even 50 years ago. City lights, floodlights, and security lights reveal what is close around us, but fade our views of the night sky.
Psalm 19 points us to the universe as we stand in awe of the silent heavenly praise that can be witnessed from any and every place on our planet. Look for tonight’s glorious display of six planets dancing in a chorus line across our crisp skies, to be joined by a seventh planet next month. Behold the sun running its victory laps around us declaring the majesty of our Creator. Soon the magnetic poles of the sun will switch, creating a beauty best seen through the latest satellite images from NASA. How many ways can we declare the qualities of the Word of God? It is sweet, good and beautiful news shining with clarity in the ruggedness of a world of constant breaking bad news. And what about our own words. How fitting are the everyday words we speak or think. My definition of worry is deep meditation on one’s fears.
The psalmist concludes with three humble prayers. It is that last verse, that concluding prayer, which convinced me to develop the habit of praying Psalm 19:14, basically each day, but especially when facing high pressure situations and conversations. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
(Adapted from Bro. Darryl’s Reflections for the Center for Congregational Ethics, for January 24, 2025)
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