"The heavens
declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day
pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.” Psalm 19:1-2
Last Saturday, we had the fun opportunity to see Don
McLean in concert. I feel blessed that
many of my formulative years musical artists are, not just alive and kicking,
but still performing at better than perfunctory levels. McLean was no exception.
While he will always be known for his anthem “American
Pie,” my favorite song by him is his beautiful ballad about Vincent van Gogh. Lyrics
go something like this:
Starry starry
night, paint your palette blue and grey
Look out on a summer's day with eyes that know the darkness in my soul
Shadows on the hills, sketch the trees and the daffodils
Catch the breeze and the winter chills, in colors on the snowy linen land
Look out on a summer's day with eyes that know the darkness in my soul
Shadows on the hills, sketch the trees and the daffodils
Catch the breeze and the winter chills, in colors on the snowy linen land
Referencing one of Van Gogh’s most popular paintings, the
McLean song laments the struggles that the artist had with mental illness;
eventually McLean sings,
“Now I understand
What you tried to
say to me.
How you suffered for your sanity.
How you tried to set them free….”
Psalm 19 also refers to a starry night where “heavens declare the glory of God, and the
sky above proclaims his handiwork…”
It is hard for me to read this sentence without thinking of Van Gogh’s celebrated
beautiful painting. As much as he
struggled, his painting reveals that God’s handiwork is there to see no matter
where we are in life, and whatever we may be suffering through.
No one has said life is easy. If we’ve lived at all, then we’re all damaged
goods in some way. Truth is, as a long dead rock singer once sang, “No one here
gets out alive.” But even as we
struggle, we do so not as people without hope.
We have a grand hope, found in the one who “day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.”
Do you know who that is?
Here are some clues. It’s not Vincent
van Gogh, nor Don McLean.
He is the author of the ultimate Starry Night.
And he is yours for the asking….
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