Text: Psalm 8<\/p>\n
There are moments in our lives when we cannot help but sing our praises to the Creator of the universe.<\/p>\n
Maybe you\u2019ve felt it standing on the side of a mountain\u2026
\nresting on the sand with your toes in the ocean\u2026
\nquietly sitting on a deer stand in the middle of the woods\u2026
\nkneeling in the garden amongst the zinnias\u2026
\nstaring up into the heavens on a cool dark night\u2026<\/p>\n
That sense of awe.
\nWonder.
\nMajesty.<\/p>\n
Swedish pastor Carl Boberg had those feelings overcome him in the aftermath of a thunderstorm.
\nAs he later reflected:
\nIt was that time of year when everything seemed to be in its richest colouring; the birds were singing in trees and everywhere. It was very warm; a thunderstorm appeared on the horizon and soon there was thunder and lightning. We had to hurry to shelter. But the storm was soon over and the clear sky appeared.
\nWhen I came home I opened my window toward the sea. There evidently had been a funeral and the bells were playing the tune of “When eternity’s clock calls my saved soul to its Sabbath rest”. That evening, I wrote the song, “O Store Gud”.<\/p>\n
As a paraphrase and reflection on Psalm 8, it allows us to pause in praise as we reflect on the wonders of creation. How could we not think of the Creator? How could we not sing of the Lord\u2019s goodness?
\nAs I\u2019ve shared with you over these years, astronomy and physics have always had a special place in my own call story. While I began my studies seeking to better understand the universe, that search led me straight to religion and faith and deeper questions about God.
\nDr. Olsgaard and I were working on an independent study when he handed me this book, God and the Astronomers, where Robert Jastrow describes precisely this shift:
\nIt is not a matter of another year, another decade of work, another measurement, or another theory; at this moment it seems as though science will never be able to raise the curtain on the mystery of creation\u2026 [the scientist] has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries. (p. 106)
\nWhen we stop.
\nReally stop.
\nStop and think about the vastness of the universe, the mystery of how it all came to be\u2026
\nHow could we not worship and bless God\u2019s name?<\/p>\n
So this morning, as we think about this hymn, I want us to spend some time in awesome wonder considering the world\u2019s that God has made and our place in it.
\nAnd rather than talk about it, I want to invite you to see it from a new perspective with this short film from National Geographic.<\/p>\n