Heavenly Praise
By Pastor Mitch
October 09, 2012
How many stars are there in the universe? That was the question I raised to myself when I took this picture in the middle of the night at the Grand Canyon, USA. Using a stone fence as an improvised steady platform for my camera and putting it on a long automatic exposure, I managed to capture the essence of the night sky with a surprising trail of a meteorite thrown in. It was awesome to behold the thousands of stars overhead. Coming back to my profound question, according to UniverseToday.com, scientist are saying that are about 1 septillion stars in the universe. Wow! That is a lot of stars. By the way, do you know what is a septillion? It is 10 to the power of 24. Of course, this is only a rough estimate. Chances are, there is a lot more stars out there that man can ever count. It is truly amazing to behold the infinite stars of space. And thus, the Psalmist, when observing the nightly heavens called for the moon and stars to give glory to their Creator.
PRAISE THE LORD FROM THE HEAVENS
“Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the heights! Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light! Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, and you waters above the heavens!”
– Psalm 148:1-4
There are actually three levels of heaven depicted in the Bible. The first heaven is a reference to the earth’s atmosphere. The Psalmist made a call for the sky to give praise to God. The second heaven is a reference to all that is in space. The sun, moon and all the stars were to shine forth in giving matchless glory to the Lord. The third heaven is a reference to the spiritual realm where God’s angelic hosts dwell. All of heaven is to gloriously give praise to the Lord. The heavens of heavens is a reference to the heavenly places. Everything in heaven is meant to give praise to God
“Let them praise the name of the Lord, For He commanded and they were created. He also established them forever and ever; He made a decree which shall not pass away….”
– Psalm 148:5-6
All of the heavens were to give praise to God’s name because He is the creator of all of them. At His command, they were all instantly and incredibly created. All God had to do was to decree it and they were established forever. Since the beginning of time, the sun, moon and the stars continue to exist and they remain as our faithful and silent witness of God’s magnificent glory. They are meant to give praise to the great name of the Lord. Young people, let’s also seek to give praise to our Lord’s name because He truly deserves it.
