By: Dr. Jacquelyn Simmons
Scripture: Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: praise him in the heights, Praise ye him all his angels: praise ye him all his hosts. Praise ye him sun and moon… all ye stars of light… Praise the Lord from the earth… Fire and hail; snow and vapors; stormy wind fulfilling his word: Mountains and all hills; fruitful trees… Beasts and all cattle… Kings of the earth and all people… young men and maidens; old men and children… Praise ye the Lord. (Selected passages from Psalm 148 KJV).
My Friends,
God blessed me and three of his other children to witness one of the most spectacular, indescribable displays of his majestic handiwork in his created skies. As we traveled westward down Highway I-20, it seemed as if his setting sun, billowing clouds, and breathtaking blue skies were playing one of my childhood games, “In and out the window”. They appeared to be interchanging positions by traveling back and forth with each other while making various artistic strokes of beauty during their transfers. We did not know in advance what gorgeous scenario was going to happen next. Sometimes the various scenes seemed to appear to our left and then to our extreme right and centralized afterwards. I just sat and watched in awe awaiting His next gorgeous display. I could not help wondering how many people often travel that same route and witness the same breathtaking scenario we were blessed to view?
As night approached, the appearances of the blessed display of God’s handiworks appeared visibly less and less and finally to my utter dismay, it seemed as if God’s hand had placed a dark curtain over the entire display, and “puff”, it was completely gone. I grieved at its loss as we suddenly were completely enveloped in God’s darkness of night except for traveler’s car lights. It comforted me to realize that after God’s planned darkness, His daylight would appear again. Hallelujah!
In our text for this message, the Psalmist is calling all heavenly beings and heavenly bodies to praise God, and earthly beings to praise Him, also. But sadly, to say, even though He generously allowed us to use His created skills He has blessed us with, many of us are using them to praise ourselves, instead.
I wonder whether others traveling the same highway notice His heavenly displays or is their focus on other things?
The Psalmists who wrote indescribable beautiful Psalms, automatically viewed God’s handiworks due to their walking from place to place and had no present-day God’s innovative inventions of vehicles and lightings. They walked and later traveled by camel and horseback. Their only lightings were God’s sunshine, moon, and stars.
My Friends! Look up and around you in order to appreciate God’s handiworks! While you are bowed over “looking at” … your enemies are fast approaching! Beware!!
Lookup!!! Look around!!!! LOOK!!!!!
Love you much,
Jacquelyn Simmons
