Look And Marvel

Psalm 8:1-4

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.

1O LORD, our Lord, the majesty of your name fills the earth!

Your glory is higher than the heavens.

2You have taught children and nursing infants

to give you praise.

They silence your enemies

who were seeking revenge.

3When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—

the moon and the stars you have set in place—

4what are mortals that you should think of us,

mere humans that you should care for us?

On a clear Judean night David could probably see five thousand stars. Today with a four-inch telescope a person can see more than 2 million stars. Even more amazing than that, using the two-hundred-inch mirror on Mount Palomar, California, astronomers can see more than a billion stars! We have dispatched the Voyager II spacecraft to send back photographs of our solar system. It sent back photos of Neptune at the speed of light, and they still took four hours to reach us! Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is merely one of 100 billion or more galaxies, each between a million and 10 million light-years across.

David didn’t know all those facts, but he still marveled as he gazed at the sky. Like David, when we get a glimpse of the vastness of God’s creation, it overwhelms us! All this wonder at the greatness of God, however, did not cause David to speak of God’s remoteness from us but of his great care for us. The universe is indeed vast, but God is near. He thinks of us and cares for us, and this should cause us to marvel all the more. In Isaiah the Lord told his people, “I set all the stars in space and established the earth. I am the one who says to Israel, ‘You are mine!’ ” (Isaiah 51:16).

Let us give praise to the God who has created such a magnificent universe and who still cares for us.

Lord, what is worthless man

That you should love him so.

Next to the angels he is placed

And lord of all below.

ISAAC WATTS

A Word on Words

The words translated “LORD” and “Lord” in verse 1 are different in Hebrew. The first is Yahweh, the sacred, personal name of God that is often associated with his covenant with his people. The second is Adonai, which means Sovereign or Master, emphasizing his dominion.