Weekly Devotion no 54
13 August 2021
Bible reading – Psalm 8[1]
Lord, our
Lord,
how majestic is your name in the whole earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
2 You have made sure that children
and infants praise you.
Their praise is a wall
that stops the talk of your enemies.
3 I think about the heavens.
I think about what your fingers have created.
I think about the moon and stars
that you have set in place.
4 What are human beings that you think about them?
What is a son of man that you take care of him?
5 You have made them a little lower than the angels.
You placed on them a crown of glory and honour.
6 You made human beings rule over
everything your hands created.
You put everything under their control.
7 They rule over all flocks and herds
and over the wild animals.
8 They rule over the birds in the sky
and over the fish in the ocean.
They rule over everything that swims in the oceans.
9 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in the whole earth!
Reflection
At the moment, the circumstances of lockdown may be consuming us, leading us to have an insular focus. If our perspective remains insular for too long, it could lead to depression, anxiety and other challenges.
This psalm reminds us to look out from ourselves to God, the creator of this earth. He is glorious and majestic! He is worthy of our praise. We stand in awe of Him. It is right that we respect God, but sometimes we can view Him only as distant or lofty – too grand and important to be concerned about us. And yet, as we recall from Genesis, God made each one of us in His image. He values each and every one of us.
God chooses to reflect His dominion over His creation through mankind, giving us responsibility for everything that He has created. As He values us, He also expects us to value His creation. He does care for us in the midst of lockdown, as we experience the challenges of loneliness and separation from loved ones. But He also expects us to care for the world He created: to care for other human beings created in His image; to care for our environment; to care for the animals, birds of the air, and fish in the sea. Whilst we remain on this earth, He gives us purpose.
But this psalm also looks forward to Jesus: He who has the victory; He who is given a crown of glory and honour; He who ultimately rules over the heavens and the earth; He who sits at the right hand of God the Father. In Ephesians 1:22 we read that ‘God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything.’
As we can see in our
world currently, we do not yet have all things that have been created subject
to us, and there continues to be tension in our world between the created and
the creator.[1] But God is indeed worthy of our praise for He
has given us a saviour and redeemer who will rule with authority and dominion.
And so we have hope for a future where the creator and created are reconciled
and a new heaven and a new earth enable us to live in harmony with the Almighty
God.
Hymn
Verse 1
O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works thy hands hath made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy pow'r throughout the universe displayed;
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee:
How great thou art, how great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee:
How great thou art, how great thou art!
Verse 2
When through the woods and forest glades I wander,
I hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze;
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee:
How great thou art, how great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee:
How great thou art, how great thou art!
Verse 3
But when I think that God, his Son not sparing,
Sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin;
Then sings my soul,
my Saviour God, to thee:
How great thou art, how great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee:
How great thou art, how great thou art!
Verse 4
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration
And there proclaim, "My God, how great thou art!"
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee:
How great thou art, how great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee:
How great thou art, how
great thou art!
Prayer
Mighty
God and ruler of all creation,
give
new strength to our faith,
that
we may recognise your presence
even
when all hope seems lost.
Help
us to face all trials with serenity
as
we walk with Christ through the stormy seas of life
and
come at the last to your eternal peace.
We
ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who
lives and reigns with you and the holy Spirit,
one
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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