Heavenly Glory

​What an amazing display of God's glory I saw early on Friday morning! Three of His heavenly creations appeared at the same time. The crescent moon was still shining in the southern sky. To the left of it was the morning star, brightly flickering. Below both celestial bodies was the horizon, splashed with the vibrant pink-orange colors of the sunrise. This spectacular array drew me in and brought me into a moment of contemplating the Lord's majesty and power and glory.
 
A writer's technique called "personification" is used in the Bible, especially by the writers of Psalms and Isaiah. Psalm 148:1-6 gives us a wonderful example of this:  "Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the heights above. Praise Him, all His angels, praise Him, all His heavenly hosts. Praise Him sun and moon, praise Him, all you shining stars. Praise Him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded, and they were created. He set them in place for ever and ever; He gave a decree that will never pass away." The Friday morning sky seemed to be giving the Lord praise just as this Psalm describes.
 
It is interesting to note that the Lord refers to Himself as the Morning Star. "...I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star." (Revelation 22:16) The morning star announces the beginning of a new day and signals the end of the night. Think about how God introduced the Gentile population to The Morning Star, the Light of the World. He led the Magi by a star to visit the One who would be a light to those in darkness.
 
Psalm 74:16 declares, "The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon." God separated the day from the night with the sun and moon, and the canvas for the celestial bodies is the sky that He paints uniquely every single day. The prophet Isaiah compares the sun and moon to the Lord, "The moon will be abashed, the sun ashamed; for the Lord Almighty will reign on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem, and before its elders, gloriously." (Isaiah 24:23)
 
I have decided that my favorite verses to contemplate come from Psalm 8. "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" (Psalm 8:1-4) This is an amazing truth! When we compare God's majesty and power to our humanity, it is astonishing how important we are to Him in His great scheme of the world.
 
The heavenly delights we see are a reminder of God's great love for us. The moon and sun herald the day and night and tell us that seasons change, while the Morning Star reminds us that the season of darkness will come to light. The Lord will prevail. He will guide and direct us. We must join the heavenly hosts in praise to the God of the universe.