Morning Psalm 148 NRSV
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his host!
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he commanded and they were created.
6 He established them forever and ever;
he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command!
9 Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
10 Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!
We sat outside in the relative quiet this morning, before the earnest buzz of various machines in backyards began. We were able to enjoy the birds at our feeders and marvel at the abundant growth of everything around us, including the weeds.
I eventually got to the two Psalms for the day, including 148, which praises the Creator, the Cosmic and Earthy God who has brought everything into being. Surely this psalm inspired Francis of Assisi to write the Canticle of the Creatures. (below)The Canticle of Creatures (St.Francis)
Most High, all-powerful, good Lord,
Yours are the praises, the glory,
and the honour and all blessing.
To You alone, Most High, do they belong
and no human is worthy to mention Your name.
Praised be you, my Lord,
with all Your creatures,
especially Sir Brother Sun,
who is the day,
and through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful
and radiant with great splendour;
and bears a likeness of You, Most High one.
Praised be You, my Lord,
through Sister Moon and the stars,
in heaven You formed them
clear and precious and beautiful.
Praised be You, my Lord,
through Brother Wind,
and through the air, cloudy and serene,
and every kind of weather
through which you give sustance to your creatures.
Praised be You, my Lord,
through Sister water,
who is very useful and humble
and precious and chaste.
Praised be You, my Lord,
through Brother fire,
through whom You light the night,
and he is beautiful and playful
and robust and strong.
Praised be You, my Lord,
through our Sister Mother Earth,
who sustains and governs us,
and who produces various fruit
with coloured flowers and herbs.
3 comments:
Check this out, David ! https://www.youtube.com/live/zLKZjA3ytV0
at 54 minutes and 135 minutes, the pieces I mentioned earlier... let everything that hath breath praise the Lord ! I am dancing in my kitchen during the Psalm !
Yup, I was out on the kayak this morning very early - didn't seem like anyone in the area was up except for the local rooster! Part of the enjoyment for me kayaking is to just sit out there for a few moments and stop and listen before paddling on.
I often think of our recent trip to Italy, where we had moments in thick crowds where I wished Scotty would beam me up. Such opposites, the solitude and peacefulness versus being among crowds of people jostling for position to see a piece of art. I definitely prefer the former. It would not be christian-like of me to tell you what I wanted to do to some of those ruder individuals.
I will take a listen, Judy.
I'm grateful that we visited European cities in another day, when crowds were minimal. I first saw the Mona Lisa at the Louvre when I was 19 -- 50 years ago! I was virtually alone in the display room, and it was amidst other paintings. I see that residents of Barcelona are so fed up with tourists that they are using squirt guns to harass them. Perhaps we should all be stepping back and paying attention. Keep paddling Roger!
Post a Comment