WHEN I CONSIDER THE HEAVENS

Psalms 8:1–9 “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”

This is a beautiful psalm of praise from the pen of Israel’s shepherd king, David.  As a shepherd, he spent many nights under the stars of heaven and recognized that they gave but a glimpse of the glory of their Creator.  I can certainly relate to David since I love to “consider the heavens.” 

David recognizes that the stars and planets are God’s artistry, his craftsmanship, “the work of His fingers” set in place according to His plan and purpose for our benefit.  He placed them in position and set them in motion in such a way as to be dependable and predictable. By considering the heavens we can learn to navigate the oceans and predict the weather.  The rising and setting of the sun and the phases of the moon enable us to define time and chart the seasons.  It’s just amazing to me to know that the same stars and planets that I see were the very same as those seen by Abraham, Ruth, David, Esther, Peter etc.

As David “considers the heavens,” he begins to feel very small and insignificant.  How can man occupy a position of any consequence in the mind of the Creator?  How does man even come to His remembrance in comparison to such beauty and majesty?  More to the point—how does David rate any type of personal recognition from God, let alone His pointed care and provision?

David’s thoughts mirror those of every person who comes to know God intimately through relationship and the study of His word.  You can’t help but wonder why He cares about us so much!  We have continually rebelled against His authority and taken His provision for us for granted.  Still He provided His Son as the sacrifice for “my” sin and continues to reach out to us in love.  It’s beyond my human understanding!

Order and authority are part of God’s plan.  Man occupies a position “a little lower than the angels.”  There seem to be different “levels” of responsibility and authority assigned to angels—archangels, seraphim, cherubim, etc.  God has also delegated “levels” of authority for man—husband over wife over children; kings and rulers over government leaders over citizens, etc.; and each of those of authorities are answerable to the LORD.  Man was created to be the delegated authority over all the creatures on planet earth.

Genesis 1:26-28 “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

I think the crowning glory and honor of man was to have been created “in the image of God.”  The angels cannot claim this privilege.  Being created in the image of God has placed man in a unique position to enjoy fellowship as part of a family relationship with the Creator that no other creature of His creation can experience.

David closes with the words of praise with which be started this song.  It’s an exclamation point on the glory, power, and majesty of the Creator.

What an amazing Almighty God I serve!