Psalm 24 (Re-imagined) for the Second Space Age

NASA: Colliding Galaxies: arp 143

Psalm 24 For Today.

Verses can be spoken or chanted.

The three Responsories can sung by all to the tune Truro/ Jesus Shall Reign Wherere The Sun.

 

The whole cosmos is the Lord's and everything in it:

every particle of matter throughout the universe.

 

All human beings, the earth’s wild creatures and resources:

and unknown beings who may live on planets far beyond our reach.

(Responsory 1) 

Lift Up your heads, you galaxies, 

Bright Nova form a dazzling path,

That your great King of Glo-o-o-ory 

Through all your realms may nobly pass 

 

It was God commanded the deep realm of space, Come forth:

and it sprang into instant being.

 

He established light and dark; light to see the wonders of our generous planet:

darkness to invite us to see the vastness of creation.

(Responsory 2)

 Who is this great and glorious King?

The Lord, Creator of us all, 

It was His Word establish-ed 

Prime forces and base particles.

Who shall travel beyond, into the eternal presence of The Lord:

or who shall dare to approach that holy place?

 

Even those who have clean hands and pure hearts, 

who love righteousness and Godly justice, and who despise greed and iniquity.

 

These will receive blessings from The Lord: and be welcomed into his kingdom of love.

They will be a renewed generation of those who revere God,

who stand in awe at the unfolding of the magnificence of his creation. 

 

Lift Up your heads, you galaxies, 

Bright Nova form a dazzling path,

That your great King of Glo-o-o-ory 

Through all your realms may nobly pass 

 

 

(c) March 2023

There is a YouTube Video  posted on the Sing of God  and Science channel. You will find it at 

https://youtu.be/4XHgjfVDhlY  

 

Psalm 93 Reimagined for the Second Space Age

Original Introduction in brackets here, but equally appropriate at  any time we want to praise our amazing God

(As we approach the end of the Christmas period at Candlemas, an opportunity to think of the cosmic relevance of the incarnation) 

Psalm 93 Reimagined for the Second Space Age

 

You, Lord, are ruler of the whole universe:

you are robed in the fabric of the cosmos

which was established at your Word.

The vastness of space and time

cannot contain you, Lord.

You are from and to everlasting.

Constellations are testimonies to your might,

Planets and their inhabitants praise you

   in joyful outpourings of known and unknown tongues.  

More majestic than the roar of gargantuan waters

that dwarf all of earth’s mighty oceans;

more majestic than storms that are indescribably vast,

are you, Almighty God

.

You reign in eternity and even now know the

    time of your return and the end-time of the universe .

Your laws guide us into truth, righteousness and justice.

Let me delight in the holiness of your domain

both now and forever, O mighty God.

If you appreciate this sort of re-working, you may like a similar refashioning of part of Job 38 which you can find HERE 

And here is the original in the NRSV

The Lord is king, he is robed in majesty;
   the Lord is robed, he is girded with strength.
He has established the world; it shall never be moved; 
   your throne is established from of old;
   you are from everlasting. 

The floods have lifted up, O Lord,
   the floods have lifted up their voice;
   the floods lift up their roaring. 
More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters,
   more majestic than the waves of the sea,
   majestic on high is the Lord! 

Your decrees are very sure;
   holiness befits your house,
   O Lord, for evermore.

You are the Alpha and Omega (of my life, dear Lord)

You are the Alpha and Omega 

 

You are the Alpha and Omega of my life, dear Lord,

There when I became a person, known by you and loved.   

Waiting to welcome me when death will bring me to your home;   

You are the Alpha and Omega of my life, dear Lord.

 

You are the Alpha and Omega of this planet, Lord,

Glad when rocks and gases massed at gravity’s accord.       

Watching earth’s groanings, for the time when life might be called forth;  

You are the Alpha and Omega of our planet, Lord.

 

You are the Alpha and Omega of all peoples, Lord,

Watched for us to evolve understanding, learning right from wrong.

Then came among us, to show your love, forever free and strong.  

You are the Alpha and Omega of all peoples, Lord.

 

You are the Alpha and Omega of the Cosmos, Lord,

There when the pregnant void awaited your commanding Word.  

Leading us now to your new creation, and second coming, Lord     

You are the Alpha and Omega of the Cosmos, Lord.

 

  

Inspired by Psalm 150 and re-imagined for the Second Space Age

Moth Nebula - (Acrylic: imagined): Gold of

the cosmic background to represent

the sovereignty of our Creator God.

Praise God in his holiness;

Praise him in heaven, his glorious dwelling-place

Praise him from the unknown depths of stars, moons and planets; and from the soaring wonders of the vastness of space.

Praise him for the marvellous gift of matter; and for his extravagant love for all that lives.

Let great aquatic creatures and enormous land-bound mammals, miniscule animals, insects and microscopic cells, praise the Lord.

Let forms of life wholly beyond human comprehension, praise the Lord.

For the neural pathways that birth our imaginations and give rise to all our understandings, give thanks and praise.

Let everything that exists, Praise the Lord.

No better reason for posting this other than it is ‘A new song, to The Lord’ (Psalm 33 v3: Ps 96 v1: Ps 98 v1: Ps 149 v1: Isaiah 42 v10 among other invitations to sing a new song).

Other psalms and Bible passages re-imagined for the twenty-first century can be found as under
Psalm 8 verses 1 and 2 reimagined for C21
Psalm 24 re-imagined for C21
Psalm 93 reimagined for C21
Job 38 verse 4 ff

Psalm 93 - Re-imagined for the Second Space Age

Moth Galaxy (imagined: acrylic by the author)

You, Lord, are ruler of the whole universe:

you are robed in the fabric of the cosmos

which was established at your Word.

The vastness of space and time

cannot contain you, Lord.

You are from and to everlasting.

Constellations are testimonies to your might,

Planets and their inhabitants praise you

   in joyful outpourings of known and unknown tongues.  

More majestic than the roar of gargantuan waters

that dwarf all of earth’s mighty oceans;

more majestic than storms that are indescribably vast,

are you, Almighty God

.

You reign in eternity and even now know the

    time of your return and the end-time of the universe .

Your laws guide us into truth, righteousness and justice.

Let me delight in the holiness of your domain

both now and forever, O mighty God.

If you appreciate this sort of re-working, you may like a similar refashioning of part of Job 38 which you can find HERE

You, Lord Will Take Good Care of Me. (Based on Psalm 23 for anyone who has never seen a shepherd!)

(Can be sung to the tune for 'Amazing Grace' )

You, Lord, will take good care of me

Each day and every night,

For like a lamb, so lovable,

I’m precious in your sight.

By sea or stream or river calm

Help me to think of you,

As I look at your wondrous world,

And at the night skies too.

May love and truth and honesty

Be constant gifts from you,

So those who see the way I’m led

Might want to follow too.

If I’m afraid or desperate,

So sad, I need to cry:

I know that you can calm my fears

And lift my spirits high.

Lord, may I ever thankful be

For precious food and fare:

The promise that your world can yield

Enough for all to share.

Your love, dear Lord, will follow me

As I learn more and more

Of all the awe and wonder that

Creation holds in store.

Psalm 24 Re-imagined for the Second Space Age

The entire cosmos is the Lord's and everything in it; every particle of matter both observable and hidden; the earth’s resources and living creatures entrusted to humans, and living beings of planets far beyond our reach.

For it was founded to inhabit the deep realm of space and on earth given the window of night, that in time we might better comprehend it.

Who shall travel beyond, into the eternal presence of The Lord, or who shall dare to approach that holy place? Even those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who love righteousness and Godly justice and who abhor greed and iniquity: they will receive blessings from The Lord and be welcomed into his kingdom of love.

This can become a renewed generation of those who revere God, who stand in awe at the unfolding of the magnificence of his creation.

Lift up your heads you galaxies and make a dazzling pathway you nebulae, that the King of Glory may pass among you.

Who is this King of Glory? It is The Lord, the mighty Creator whose Word brought forth this nurturing universe.

Lift up your heads you galaxies and make a dazzling pathway you nebulae, that the King of Glory may pass among you.

Who is this King of Glory? It is The Lord, the Almighty, our compassionate Creator, Redeemer and Great Sustainer.

Note to Psalm 24 version C21st

Psalm 24 has to be one of the great Psalms, with its imaginative sweep of the understandings of the cosmos of its age and the place of humanity within it. It therefore felt to be a very special text to try and re-imagine in light of today’s scientific understandings and cosmology. Some of it barely changes: other parts of this interpretation have a new immensity that reverberates the majesty of the God of the entire cosmos.

Bro Guy Consolmagno, newly appointed Director of the Vatican Observatory and current holder of the Carl Sagan medal for public communication of the planetary sciences has written of this post ‘I do love your Psalm 24’

By clicking on the image at the top of this post you can obtain a printable version of the re-imagined Psalm against a background Cosmic Ikon (acrylic) entitled ‘Starburst’. You are welcome to use this for discussion or workshops. It presents best on photopaper.

These themes are further explored in the hymn on this blogsite, Stars and Planets Sing Your Glory

and if this re-imagined Psalm resonates with your ideas of God, you might also like to read ‘I Imagine the God Who Created The Cosmos’ also on this blog. Click Here

Psalm 148

Sometimes it feels good to visit the themes of Scripture and reflect on them in one's own words.
These verses take up the cosmology of Biblical times. A hymn of praise with a contemporary cosmological view can be found at Stars and Planets Sing Your Glory 

Psalm 148
Praise the Lord of Heaven,

Praise him in the height’

All you hosts of angels,

Veiled in heavenly light

Now give praise, each living thing

To our God, the mighty King.

Moons and stars and planets

Dwellers of the sky,

All by God created

To adorn the night.

Now give praise, each living thing

To our God, the mighty King.

Reptiles, deeps and vapours,

Hills and storms and winds,

Worms and beasts and cattle

Princes, judges, kings.

Now give praise, each living thing

To our God, the mighty King.

Young and old together,

Saints tell out his name

Sovereign God, Almighty,

Everyone proclaim.

Now give praise, each living thing

To our God, the mighty King.

Psalm 51

One of the great penitential psalms in a newly written (2014), metric format. 

Also last verse altered in 2020 to reflect the possibility of post-pandemic change

Have mercy God, on me, in your great goodness,

with that same mercy, heal my waywardnesses;**

show me my faults. Yes! all my untowardness.

Cleanse me from sin, Lord.

My guilt is clear, it cannot be defended.

against you only have I oft offended:

when just conceived, sin swift my heart attended,

spare me from wrath, Lord.

Now inward truth is what you most require,

cleanse me and purge me like refining fire.

Released from sin; with gladness, me inspire

to praise Your Name, Lord.

Turn from my sin, forgive my every wrong.

Come, mould my heart, and let my spirit long

for help and wisdom, that I may be strong

in all your ways, Lord.

Then to the wicked, I might teach those ways:

deliver me and strengthen all my praise.

No sacrifice to you I have to raise,

save my poor heart, Lord.

Within me build your justice and your grace,

show all your people your belov-ed face.

Now help us build a just and righteous place,

giving you honour.

**Please note, I have changed the wording here from that in the stave below to make it a little less awkward. TT

Double click on the image to obtain as printable score (with thanks to Andrew Collier)

You can listen to the tune on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMcS44uE9qQ

played by Andrew Remillard

Other material for Holy Week and Easter can be found here