Psalm 8 (NRSV)
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Verse 1O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
Verse 2Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger.
Verse 3When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established;
Verse 4what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?
Verse 5Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.
Verse 6You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet,
Verse 7all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
Verse 8the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
Verse 9O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Devotion
I had a toy telescope in my youth and with it saw details of birds and other objects observable only from a distance. One day I looked at the moon. Wow! I didn’t know anything about lunar land forms, but I saw things that escaped me when looking at it with my bare eyes. What if I could have a Hubble Space Telescope lens implant? I could look up into any clear night sky and see things that only the privileged astrophysicists see every day. But now I am limited to the technical books and articles they publish to get a glimpse into outer space. I am confident these technicians are not feeding me science fiction.
Psalm 8 is like a Hubble Space Telescope lens implant. It not only helps me see more clearly what is around and beyond me, but also the majestic Sovereign One who created everything.
Prayer
O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! Thank you that we are able to see you through the lens of your Word. And thank you that you honor us with recognition and responsibility. Amen.