Frontpiece from Martin Luther's translation of the Bible
(Wittenberg, Germany: Hans Lufft, 1534)
"Scripture simply says that the moon, the sun, and the stars were placed in the firmament of the heaven, below and above which heaven are the waters... It is likely that the stars are fastened to the firmament like globes of fire, to shed light at night... We Christians must be different from the philosophers in the way we think about the causes of things. And if some are beyond our comprehension like those before us concerning the waters above the heavens, we must believe them rather than wickedly deny them or presumptuously interpret them in conformity with our understanding."
- Martin Luther, Luther's Works. Vol. 1. Lectures on Genesis, ed. Janoslaw Pelikan, Concordia Pub. House, St. Louis, Missouri, 1958, pp. 30, 42, 43.
"God said, 'Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters,' and God made the firmament, and separated the waters which were below the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament... Then God made the two great lights...(and) the stars also. And God set them in the firmament to light the earth."
- Genesis 1:7,16-17
"Praise the Lord!...Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him stars of light! Praise Him highest heavens, And the waters that are above the heavens!"
- Psalm 148:1,3-4