The skies display his craftsmanship...

The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. 

(Psalm 19:1-2 NLT)

Scripture describes the accolades that are raised as Jesus enters Jerusalem just before he is crucified, with throngs of people laying down garments and palm branches to make a pathway for his entrance, all the while calling out praises to God for all the miracles they had been witnesses to as Jesus ministered on this earth. The religious leaders are none too excited Jesus is receiving all this "attention", so they tell him to rebuke these followers for the things they are saying. Jesus simply turns and pointedly says, "If they keep quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!" All of creation is meant to praise the eternal God, even the majestic skies, roaring seas, and soft babbling brooks.

As a kid on hot summer days, I'd find a semi-shaded spot and just "sky gaze" while luxuriating in the coolness of that shade. I'd listen as birds sent their melodious messages from one branch to the other, crickets chirped their incessant songs of impassioned pleas, cicadas buzzed as the busily shed their outer shell of skin, and the occasional breeze rustled the leaves underfoot. As I gazed upward, I noticed something - the skies are never the same. From day to day, the hue of the blue changed and the colors painted at various times of the day were always different. Even the con-trails of the passing airplanes sometimes stretched from one corner to the other, while at others they disappeared into what seemed like "thin air" almost as soon as they were formed. The skies were full of clouds one moment, than clear the next. There was a constancy to the uncertainty of the changes I observed, but a beauty to be found in that "constant change" nonetheless - a beauty that declared the majesty of the Creator indeed.

It should come as no surprise to us that nature even has a way of praising the Creator of all things. The constant lapping of waves on the shore produces a melody of rhythmic praise all its own, while the gently ruffling of the mulberry leaves in the gentle afternoon breezes declare a melody quite unique to them alone. The whispering of the pines and the gurgling of the brooks, each declare some simple, yet profound truth of praise to the one who both created them and sustains them at the same time! All of creation - that includes us - will join in praise one day, bowing before the feet of Jesus and echoing accolades that not only declare what we have seen, but what we have come to know in our hearts - that God exists, rules supreme, and is the Lord of Lords, and King of Kings!

In the meantime, let us never lose sight of the fact God is deserving of our praise - not just because he does miracles in our midst, but because he is the one who both created and sustains us in all things. Yes, those miracles create a sense of awe, but it is the beauty of his creation - the complexity of it all working together - that causes me to praise him. From the complexity of the skies and seas, to the inner-working of the many systems which make up the human body, all declare there is a Creator deserving of praise and worship! Just sayin!