All in the Temple Cry Glory

Psalm 29 is a hymn of praise. I invite you to take a few moments today to read it.

Reflecting on this psalm, scholar Eugene Peterson wrote:

“…the imagination of this praying poet takes off: the voice of the Lord splits huge trees into kindling for bonfires and turns immense mountains into a carnival of dancing animals… We [find ourselves] in a world of play to the glory of God, in the beauty of holiness… oceans roaring, mountains playing, lightning flashing, wilderness skipping and tumbling, oak forests dancing… Every time God speaks, there is more life. The energy and exuberance in place and people accumulate, and then we hear them: in his temple all cry, ‘Glory!’”

Peterson continues, “If our eyes and ears are open, this is going on all the time. Mostly all we need to do is look and listen, touch and taste.”

I think about those moments that I’ve had—and I know you’ve had—when we realize there is far more to life than mere survival. There is far more going on in the world than first meets the eye. It might be on a mountaintop, at the birth of a child, in the loss of a loved one, or during a stirring piece of music—we catch glimpses of the intricate connections between everything we see and everything we can’t see. We get these hints of transcendence, these perceptions that there is more happening here than we can account for.

If our hearts are open, these moments have something to teach us; they allow our perspectives to widen. And it’s almost as if they compel us to respond.

All in the temple cry: Glory!

This psalm calls us—invites us—to stop and sit in awe and wonder; to marvel at the beauty and wonder of the gifts God has given us; to notice the holy and the sacred in the everyday, and to respond with open hearts and our deepest praise.

Let us pray: Ever-Creating God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—when we consider our place in this vast universe, it is humbling. When we begin to imagine the details of DNA, or the nuclear reactions needed to birth a star, or the delicacies of a blooming flower, it gives us perspective and pause. Thank you for your magnificent creation—and for creating us along with all that is. Above all, we thank you for the love and compassion you have for us, through Jesus Christ. Amen.