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
Psalm 8 reminds us of the awesome grandeur of our world and our universe, recalling for us how small and insignificant we should be in the grand scheme of things.
“What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” With all our modern knowledge of the vastness and age of the universe, the Psalmist asks a poignant question that resonates through time and space.
Are we not mere specks in the vastness of God’s creation, mere blips in the history of the universe? Yet, for reasons known only to God, humans are the vessels through whom God has made Himself known, has chosen to have relationship with and has given us dominion over the earth to care for, not destroy.
As the caretakers of the creation, we are entrusted with immense responsibilities not only to our fellow human, but to all that God has made.
Prayer
Lord of the Universe, it is by your Word that life springs forth. Make us wise and careful stewards of all that you have put under our dominion. May we care for the waters, vegetation and all animals of the earth, protecting and renewing them according to your will. Amen.