Reading and Reflection

When I look at the sky

Reading Psalm 8:1-9

Psalm 8

For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David.

1Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory in the heavens.

2Through the praise of children and infants

you have established a stronghold against your enemies, 

to silence the foe and the avenger.

3When I consider your heavens,

the work of your fingers, 

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

4what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

5You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honour.

6You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet:

7all flocks and herds,

and the animals of the wild,

8the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea,

all that swim the paths of the seas.

9Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Reflection:   Psalm 8 is a short but profound reflection on the majesty of God in the context of the created world, and on the surprising dignity of human beings. It is surprising, because in the light of God's awesome power shown in creation, we barely register at all. But we have an eternal significance and an honoured place in God's great and ordered universe, not earned because of our abilities but given to us by his grace.

The psalmist is struck with awe when he looks up and sees the stars – much easier then than now with our polluted atmosphere and over-illuminated cities. Nowadays we can see even further – the Hubble space telescope has shown us astonishing images of galaxies and nebulae thousands of light years away. But rather than being overwhelmed by a sense of the insignificance of human beings in the face of a universe too vast for comprehension, believers are overwhelmed by gratitude that we are still known and loved by God. We are, as the psalmist says, 'crowned with glory and honour', with the great responsibilities that come with such a great position.

This reflection was written by Mark Woods, Bible Society's Editor