The Hubble telescope has provided us with dramatic pictures of the farthest regions of the starry heavens. Photographs show clouds of interstellar hydrogen gas towering nearly 6 trillion miles high, illuminated by the ultraviolet radiation of stars like our sun.

The telescope revealed evidence of an enormous galactic collision that produced immense shock waves which pushed space dust and gases together to form new stars. The Hubble lens focused on Eta Carinae, one of the brightest and most massive stars known to man, which erupts every so often with enormous bursts of energy. And it has given a glimpse of a "stellar nursery," an area in the constellation Orion where "stars are mass-produced by the dozen" (Time, November 20, 1995).

After viewing space through the Hubble telescope, astronomers used words like awestruck, overwhelmed, and amazed to describe their reaction. These are also appropriate responses for us as we think about the One who "commanded and they were created" (Ps. 148:5).

The stars speak in eloquent praise of the Lord's creative power. And if even the stars sing God's praises, how much more should we!  — David C. Egner