Space to be Amazed

Jock Stein September 22, 2026 3 0

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Psalm 148 (NIVUK)

1 Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord from the heavens;
    praise him in the heights above.
2 Praise him, all his angels;
    praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
    praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, you highest heavens
    and you waters above the skies.

5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
    for at his command they were created,
6 and he established them for ever and ever –
    he issued a decree that will never pass away.

7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
    you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
8 lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
    stormy winds that do his bidding,
9 you mountains and all hills,
    fruit trees and all cedars,
10 wild animals and all cattle,
    small creatures and flying birds,
11 kings of the earth and all nations,
    you princes and all rulers on earth,
12 young men and women,
    old men and children.

13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
    for his name alone is exalted;
    his splendour is above the earth and the heavens.
14 And he has raised up for his people a horn,
    the praise of all his faithful servants,
    of Israel, the people close to his heart.

Praise the Lord.

Well, there has to be a poem on Psalm 148 for today:

People of the Light

Let every biochemist praise the Lord,

and every astrophysicist:

you charm afresh these earthly, heavenly bodies,

make John Keats clear Isaac Newton

of his crimes against the light.

The photons from the sun began their journey

deep in fusion at its core,

set out before the birth of homo sapiens,

only now are hitting on

the retina behind my eye.

Let every biochemist praise the Lord,

and every astrophysicist:

you open eyes and ears again to wonder

at God’s puns, those particles

which also take the form of waves.

Humans voice the praise of all creation,

God within us praising God beyond,

but God as usual goes ahead of us,

his beam soft booming of a boson,

modern music of the spheres.

Let every biochemist praise the Lord,

and every astrophysicist:

like Israel, you’re called to be a light

to Gentile ignoramuses –

go re-enchant the universe.

The universe is amazing, and God’s glory is beyond amazing, because ‘his glory is above earth and heaven’ (verse 13).

FOR PRAYER

Think of how the mind of the Creator is over all things, and how the Spirit lets us share the mind of Christ. Then quietly allow a space to take shape in your own mind, a space without limits because God is present. I suggest that even the Creator is amazed at the universe which has evolved over countless ages. How much more are we astonished, astounded at the little bit we grasp of what is real and true. There is always more – we stand at the shore of a multi-dimensional world hinted at in the stories of resurrection and transfiguration.