Thoughts for the Day

O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens....

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?

Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
and crowned them with glory and honour.
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under their feet,
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

The first seven psalms in our Psalter are prayers by those who are suffering, but Psalm 8 is a hymn. Indeed it is the only hymn that is spoken completely to God. Written apparently by David, it is addressed to the chief choir director to be played on an instrument called a Gath or Gittith, which seems to have been a stringed instrument originating from the Philistine city of Gath.

Psalm 8 proclaims God as Sovereign - the Supreme Ruler - over all. All that He has created is evidence of His Kingship and authority. It emphasises God's majesty, the beauty of everything that has been created, and perhaps the order that has come out of chaos. It also announces that humans are God's agents on earth, with legitimate authority under the rule of God. Perhaps we might think of this psalm as a charter to care for the world.

If we are given stewardship over the earth and all that exists then it is up to each one of us to look after God's creation with infinite care. Psalm 8 is also a hymn of praise that we can make to God!

Lord God, ruler of all,
we praise and glorify Your name.
We acknowledge You as our Sovereign Lord
and accept the charge to care for our world.
We have too often made mistakes
and damaged what You have created.
Help us to be more mindful of the challenge,
and in our own small part of this world
to work to put things right.
Amen.