Psalms 8:1
“O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens!”
Webster defines glory as “Great beauty and splendor, even magnificence.” David is declaring things about the magnificence of God. It seems this Psalm was penned as a result of looking at the beauty of creation, in light of the Creator. He realizes that as glorious as creation is, it pales by comparison to the Creator.
How sad, that we often neglect to consider the creation’s glory. We seem to be surrounded by the works of men. We live in a manmade house, drive a manmade car, on manmade streets, to a manmade office, eating manmade food, from manmade packages; and wonder why we have lost sight of God. What if we took time to consider the works of God’s hands? We are, after all, surrounded by it. It was designed to reveal His glory.
When was the last time you went outside, looked up at the vastness of the heavens, and considered the power of God? That can be a very humbling experience. A few years ago, I walked across the tarmac in Accra, Ghana, to board an A380 Airbus; the world’s largest commercial aircraft. It was an amazing sight. With each step toward the airplane, I felt smaller and smaller. I was dwarfed by this massive machine. It amazed me that something so large would ever be able to get off the ground. Soon the engines fired up and we began to race down the runway. Moments later, we were in the air. I looked out the window and watched as the city of Accra seemed to get smaller and smaller. My attention was soon taken to the vastness of space. This giant airplane, that only moments before, had seemed so great, was now just a tiny dot in the air. I pondered the vastness of space. There I was, a speck of dust, traveling on a speck of dust, in the limitless heavens. Rather than feeling insignificant or unimportant, I began to think of David’s words recorded here. “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?”
Although creation is great and glorious, God’s glory outshines it all. Perhaps the most glorious thing about Him, is that He loves us, and wants to meet with us. Rather than feeling insignificant, the greatness of God’s glory should fill us with wonder that He loves each of us so deeply. Take some time, not only to consider the glory of creation, but to consider the glory of God.
Pastor Jim
Psalm 8
- The heavens are glorious, what sits even higher in glory than that?
- David seems to be sitting outside at night contemplating creation when he pens this psalm. Sadly evolutionary theory has caused many to look at nature wrongly. We should look at the vast beauty and detail of nature and be filled with greater praise for our Creator. Take some time to go outside and look at the world your heavenly Father created for you. Praise Him!
- David writes that although man is lower than the angels in glory and strength. The Lord has visited us. That visitation includes the work of Christ upon the cross. Have you received Christ as your Lord and Savior? Ask Him into your life right now and watch the amazing work He does in you.
Israel faced a constant threat from the Philistines. They had come into the territory promised to Israel, taken land, and threatened the people. Earlier in 1 Samuel, the nation mustered all its strength to drive the Philistines out of their territories, only to suffer a devastating loss. In that earlier battle, the people gathered around a religious artifact, went forth in all the strength they had, and were defeated. Now, some years later, we find them once again facing the same threat. This time, however, their efforts resulted in a great victory. What was the difference? How were they able to defeat an enemy which had plagued them for so many years?
Samuel was given some very bad news. He was informed that the people no longer wanted to be governed by God, and personal responsibility, but wanted to have a king to lead them. We read, their actions displeased Samuel and his displeasure drove him to pray. It was in prayer that he was able to hear the word of the Lord.
On a regular basis, how would you describe your mornings? Do you wake up grumpy, dreading another day? Or late, rushing to get your responsibilities done? Or perhaps you arise and rush to get the morning paper, check the news, or peruse Facebook, or the web.
Tucked away in the story of the Philistines return of the Ark to Israel, is this powerful exhortation regarding the danger of hardening our hearts to God. We are reminded of the difficulties Pharaoh endured because of his refusal to humble himself and obey the Word of God. The lessons from this exhortation are twofold.
The Philistines mustered all their courage as they confronted Israel on the battlefield. They soon overpowered the Israeli army and took the spoils of war. In this battle, the spoils included the Ark of the Covenant. Upon returning to Ashdod, the Philistines placed the Ark in the their temple, and found themselves facing an interesting predicament; they now had two gods. As night fell, so did Dagon the Philistine god. When morning’s light appeared, they discovered the image of Dagon had fallen before the Ark of Jehovah. Their reaction was to help Dagon back to his feet. However, the next morning, they found Dagon had once again fallen, and this time, been destroyed. Realizing Jehovah would not share His position as God, the Philistines had a decision to make. Which God would they serve? Sadly, they rejected the true and living God and selected a man-made god.
We go through seasons in life. Some are calm and pleasant, while others seem to be like violent storms, with waves crashing upon us from almost every direction. While we may feel as though we are under assault, this is not a new phenomenon. King David, Israel’s most godly king, was no stranger to difficulty. He faced the same struggles we face, and perhaps a few more. At this point in his life, he was blindsided when he learned that his own son had turned against him, organized an army, and was attempting to overthrow the kingdom. His response to this hardship is filled will practical examples for us to cling to, in the midst of our own trying times.
As A child, I spent a lot of time on the ocean. My dad loved sailing and we would spend time every summer living on the boat. I can remember times when the seas were so rough that we had to put anything breakable on the floor of the cabin, so it would not be knocked down and broken. In seas like that, it became very difficult to walk. I can remember grabbing hold of anything solid to keep me from falling overboard. When we reached the shore, even the solid ground seemed to move under my feet. Emotions are like that. They often seem like a turbulent sea; when we let them control us, we find that life is a pretty unstable place.
Long before Jerusalem was established as the capital of Israel, Shiloh was the ancient location of the Tabernacle. It was at Shiloh, where the High Priest would meet with the LORD on the Day of Atonement. It was there, where the glory of the LORD would fill the Holiest place like a cloud.
When establishing the government of the United States, the founding fathers saw that man was created with certain inalienable rights. They believed it is the right of every person to be able to pursue personal happiness. They were not alone in this thinking. Many philosophers spoke of happiness as the chief goal of life.
Jim Gallagher 