Creation is simply a means to a very majestic end: to tell you of the God who is mindful of you.
Psalm 8 (ESV) To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? 5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. 9 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! |
Listen to passage & devotional:
Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 2: The Means by Which We Know God
We know him by two means:
First, by the creation, preservation, and government
of the universe,
since that universe is before our eyes like a beautiful book
in which all creatures,
great and small,
are as letters to make us ponder
the invisible things of God:
his eternal power
and his divinity,
as the apostle Paul says in Romans 1:20.
All these things are enough to convict men
and to leave them without excuse.
Second, he makes himself known to us more openly
by his holy and divine Word,
as much as we need in this life,
for his glory
and for the salvation of his own.
Summary
On one hand, people don't use the adjective 'majestic' very often, but on the other hand, it still gets overused! A stunning view of a sunset, a snow capped mountain, or the Grand Canyon might be described as 'majestic.' As awesome as these things are, the reason they can be designated 'majestic' has nothing to do with their beauty in and of themselves, but only because they're a reflection of the One who made them.
The reason the word 'majestic' shouldn't be used as often as other adjectives is because in order for something to truly be 'majestic,' it must have a royal aspect. That's why David bookends this psalm with the phrase, "LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth."
Every aspect of creation, from the moon and stars in the heavens, to the praise of children and infants is a royal procession paying homage to its King, our Father, the LORD Almighty, who created, preserves and governs the universe. He made all of these things to make us mindful of, as our Confession states, "the invisible things of God: his eternal power and his divinity."
But the primary message of Psalm 8 is what God is mindful of. At the center of all that God created are you and me, having been given "dominion over all the works of His hands (v6)."
That's not at all an overstatement. After creating all that is, and setting His glory upon the heavens, God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over all the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground (Genesis 1:26)."
Dig Deeper
Talk about an idea that runs totally contrary to the contemporary narrative! Society has flipped the script, making creation the center and mankind subservient to it.
The problem, of course, as is always the case, is sin. We took God's good creation, and instead of managing it for God's honor and glory, we grabbed ahold of it to take it as our own. Now most of the very people that God created to govern what He made don't even recognize Him as the creator.
Certainly environmental challenges abound and solutions are needed, but solutions that ignore or reverse God's design will never cure creation. Understand that as majestically beautiful as what creation is, it's simply a means to an end. It's purpose is to communicate the power, goodness and benevolence of its Creator so that the son of man might glorify Him through it.
It's good to be mindful of the environment. Steward it well, for you've been given the awesome responsibility of dominion. Keep in mind the created order revealed in passages like Genesis 1 and Psalm 8, as you care for the King's creation so that all people can see His majestic glory through it.
Remember, the amazing message of God's Word is not just that you are to mindful of creation, but that the Creator is mindful of you!
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God that crowned you with glory and honor, and that He's given you dominion of the works of His hands, but above all, that He's mindful of you and that He sent the Son of Man for your salvation;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Mark 12
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