Psalm 8 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 8 on biblegateway.com
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
With great power comes great responsibility. Whether you have the voice of Jesus (a la Luke 12:48) or Spider-Man echoing in your head, this saying neatly ties together Genesis 1 and Psalm 8. That amazing creation we read of yesterday is not left alone to care for itself. Though Genesis 1 doesn't give responsibility for tending creation to the man and woman (that vocation comes in Genesis 2), Psalm 8 reminds us that being "just a little lower than God" (v. 5) means nurturing and sustaining all God has made. The choices we make can affect our planet for good or for ill. Do you reach for a plastic bottle of water or use a refillable one? Are you investing in social purpose funds supporting companies that follow environmentally-conscious business practices? Have you written your Congressional representatives encouraging them to adopt legislation that addresses climate change? You have great power. How will you use it to care for God’s creation today?
Prayer
Creator God, forgive us all the ways we neglect and abuse the earth and its creatures. May we be caretakers worthy of the esteem you bestow on us. Amen.