The Spacious Firmament On High

"The empty-headed fool has said in his heart,

There is no God."

Psalm 53:1

"The Supreme Being has made the best arguments for His own

existence in the formation of the heavens and the earth, and

these are arguments which a man of sense cannot forbear

attending to who is out of the noise and flurry

of human affairs..."

-Joseph Addison

The spacious firmament on high,

With all the blue ethereal sky,

And spangled heav'ns a shining frame,

Their great Original proclaim.

 Starry Night at The Doll's House

Canyonlands National Park

State of Utah

The unwearied sun, from day to day,

Does his Creator's power display,

And publishes to ev'ry land

The work of an almighty hand.

Soon as the evening shades prevail,

The moon takes up the wondrous tale,

And nightly to the listening earth

Repeats the story of her birth.

The Phases of the Moon

Whilst all the stars that round her burn,

And all the planets in their turn

Confirm the tidings as they roll,

And spread the truth from pole to pole.

What though, in solemn silence,

Move round the dark terrestrial ball?

What though no real voice nor sound

Amidst their radiant orbs be found?

Starry Night in the Negev Desert

Israel

In reason's ear they all rejoice,

And utter forth a glorious voice,

Forever singing as they shine,

"The hand that made us is divine."

"The Spacious Firmament On High"

Words by Joseph Addison

(1712)

Arranged by Franz Josef Haydn

(1798)