Skip to main content

Majestic


                                                                     Lord, our Lord,

    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory
    in the heavens.
Through the praise of children and infants
    you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
    to silence the foe and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens,
    the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
    which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    human beings that you care for them?

You have made them a little lower than the angels
    and crowned them with glory and honor.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
    you put everything under their feet:
all flocks and herds,
    and the animals of the wild,
the birds in the sky,
    and the fish in the sea,
    all that swim the paths of the seas.

Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8)

 

          I love this psalm, but I suspect I love it for all the wrong reasons. I enjoy stargazing, and admittedly don’t do enough of it. But when I consider God’s heavens, it’s often a consideration of them more than of Him. With David, I ask “what is mankind that [He] is mindful of [us]?” but with the misanthropism that seems epidemic in our world, I don’t follow up with praise because God has made us a little lower than angels but rulers over the works of His hands. It’s closer to “Yeah, God, because we are a “piece of work.”

          Whether you face those struggles or not, I’m going to issue two challenges for us for the week. The first is to read this psalm aloud, putting the dramatic emphases where they belong. Read if like you mean it! The second is to spend at least 5 minutes, at least twice this week contemplating the wonder of the natural world and thanking God for it. If you want to go for “extra credit” learn something about how nature and how God created it. I’ll help you with that one if you haven’t already done it. The Pink Moon is on April 12th. It is called that because it’s April is when some phlox known as moss pinks bloom.

          The moon is getting farther from Earth, but it is just the right size and just far enough from both the earth and the sun that scientists were able to use observations made during an eclipse to learn about the sun. And scientists were at the point where they could benefit from what they saw. The earth is located on the edge (comparatively) of one of the spiral arms of the Milky Way, which allows us to see more of the universe than we could packed in among the stars in the arm or core, and we are protected from the harmful effects we might face if the stars were closer. You can read more about some of these things in The Privileged Planet by Guillermo Gonzales and Jay Richards.

          God didn’t just give us a rather amazing world. He created the universe and put us in a spot that allows us to see it.

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen!

  While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)            Do you like roller coasters? I don't. You spend forever climbing a hill. You get to the top and have half a second, then you race down to a low point. Sometimes the racing down involves tying your insides into knots. At the bottom, you either have to be dragged up another hill or you get off the ride. Peter's life was a roller coaster from the time he met Jesus. There would be miracles, and then Jesus would teach things that didn't always make sense, and then they'd go out and perform miracles, and return to be taught. Peter was praised for giving the right answer to "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus said that said answer came from God. Peter was at the top of the hill.            ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prayer Lists

                 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (I Peter 2:2-3)   In connection with what I wrote yesterday about the possibility that I’m wrong, I’m feeling the need to go back to basics - craving spiritual milk because somehow, I missed something. It’s a little embarrassing, craving milk like a newborn, but the truth probably is that we are newborns many times in many ways in our lives. From God’s perspective, we may never be anything more than newborns, forever needing that milk. On the other hand, being a newborn can also be exciting because so much is new. My mind is playing pinball - ricocheting from one idea to the next and through six more before it happens to hit the third again. The main topic is prayer. I have at least seven organizing structures all somewhat influenced by the movie War Room , which I’v...
Post a Comment
Read more