Psalm 8 - February 1

Ps 8 “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” NIV

The majesty of God is shouting forth over all of the earth. Man stands in wonder at such beauty as the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone park, the Swiss Alps, and Mount Everest, yet each one is but a tiny fragment of the majesty of the one who created them. Each one of these masterpieces of creation was but one small thought in the infinite mind of the creator God and yet each one leaves man staring in wonder. Do we truly understand the measure of God’s greatness? His is set above the highest heavens calling out to man night and day saying, “Who will acknowledge me? Who will confess that God is all and is over all?”
The psalmist declares that the praises of children are ordained by the Lord. It takes a child’s simplicity to freely acknowledge the depths of the wonder of God. The psalmist paints such a contrast between God and man through the revelation of God’s works. “When I consider the heavens, the works of your fingers… what is man that… you care for him… ?” Why would such a powerful creator have us on his mind? The answer is a simple one. He did it for love! The creator of all of the heavens and the earth is in love with you!
Crowned with glory and honor, ruler over the works of God’s hands, this is who we are to God. In all of his creation he has set his Spirit within man to mark him as the capstone of all of his works. No other part of creation has God’s breath, God’s very essence living in us. This is the ultimate statement about God’s majesty. He is so far above, so glorious that he could make man in his own image, entrust him with all of his creation knowing that man would abuse this trust, and yet be perfectly secure and loving in relationship to mankind that he has created, having already provided in his plan from the creation of the world for every man who is willing to return to him in voluntary affection. He could have demanded our allegiance and yet he gives each man freedom to choose him or to reject him. This is the ultimate statement of his glory and great power.