Read
(A psalm by David for the music leader.)
The Wonderful Name
1Our Lord and Ruler,
your name is wonderful
everywhere on earth!
You let your glory be seen
in the heavens above.
2 With praises from children
and from tiny infants,
you have built a fortress.
It makes your enemies silent,
and all who turn against you
are left speechless.
3I often think of the heavens
your hands have made,
and of the moon and stars
you put in place.
4 Then I ask, “Why do you care
about us humans?
Why are you concerned
for us weaklings?”
5 You made us a little lower
than you yourself,
and you have crowned us
with glory and honor.
6 You let us rule everything
your hands have made.
And you put all of it
under our power—
7the sheep and the cattle,
and every wild animal,
8the birds in the sky,
the fish in the sea,
and all ocean creatures.
9Our Lord and Ruler,
your name is wonderful
everywhere on earth!
Reflect
This is a well known psalm, and perhaps you are already familiar with it. But familiarity may blind us to things that make the psalm stand out against the poetry of the ancient Near East, our own instincts, and some views of other religions today.
The psalmist has stood outside on a starry night and looked up at the night sky. There wouldn’t have been any city lights in his world, and we need to get out into the country to experience what he saw. I remember a spectacular view of the Northern Lights one evening when we were driving through rural Saskatchewan. While all the rest of us got out of the car to marvel at this display, one person with us refused to look. She found it too terrifying, and it made her feel too small.
It is easy to understand why most ancient cultures worshipped the stars. And now notice what the psalmist says. He turns to the Lord – our Lord – and thinks of the heavens that he has made, and the moon and stars that he has put in place. Yes, the night sky moves us to worship, but to worship not the heavenly beings but the Lord who made them. Our Lord.
The psalmist’s reaction is the same as that of my friend. “Why do you care about us humans?” When I think about the billions of galaxies in the universe, each with billions of stars, my mind reels. Why would God even care about us?
There is no answer to this “why?” question. We just know that he does, and that he has put this whole creation under our rule. Not ours to exploit, not ours to destroy, but ours to take care of.
Let the night sky move you to worship. Not to worship the creation itself, but the creator who made it all.
Respond
Creator God, we stand in awe of all that you have made, too big to get our minds around. And we stand in awe that you made us, and love us. Thank you for sending Jesus to be one of us, to love us, and to die for us. Amen.
Annabel Robinson
Annabel was born in Kew, near London, England. She committed her life to Jesus Christ at a Scripture Union camp when she was 16, and immediately found joy and peace. At Oxford she was active in the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, where she met her husband, Reid. They emigrated to Canada in 1965, where she taught Classics at the University of Regina until 2007. She has two children, Heather in Oslo and Alasdair in Calgary.