“Whoa, Lord”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Sunday, June 4, 2023
Psalm 8 (Forward, p. 37) CEV p. 559
Our psalmist is absolutely spellbound by the glory of God, a glory that is seen so vividly in the starry heavens and even here on earth. He asserts that it silences God’s enemies and even brings forth praises from the youngest of humans, those that can barely talk.
But this alone isn’t what totally amazes and astounded our psalmist. It is the fact that God has a strong and positive regard for His fickle and weak human creatures. There are two things that amaze him initially, firstly, that He has a regard for us, and secondly, that He cares for us. No wonder the psalmist exclaims, in effect, ‘whoa, Lord, this is way too much!’ He finds al this to be simply mind-boggling.
After all, the psalmist hypothesizes, God has so many things to concern Himself about, so ‘why us’? Why remember us, we who are so weak and unworthy of His attention? Afterall, as it is frequently picked up elsewhere, we are not only separated from God, and sinful, but also rebels against His rule and His person.
But then, it isn’t enough for God simply to be aware of us: necessarily, given His very nature, He has to ‘do’ something about it. He cares for us and does so in a multitude of ways. God is always intentional and practical in His caring. Again, we might be inclined to say, ‘whoa, Lord, this is too much.’
But that is not all: He has bestowed upon us some of His own glory and honour and has actually given us authority and responsibility over His earthly domain. So, we are environmental stewards after all, but always under His wise and beneficial rule. We are always to remember that all of this is His and belongs to Him.
And so our psalmist repeats the refrain that he began with, “Our Lord and Ruler, your name is wonderful everywhere on earth!” He is our Lord and our Ruler, and we must take pains always to remember this. And, not only to remember, but also to praise Him. For, after all, we are but His creatures, albeit the subject of His mindfulness and care, but still just His creatures. He is Lord over all things and all people, including us. Amen.
Forward notes: “Out of the mouths of infants and children your majesty is praised above the heavens” (verse 2).
“At the church where I serve as youth minister, the confession of sin is always followed by a sung call-and-response kyrie eleison (‘Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy’). his past Sunday, one of our littlest absolutely belted out the response part, easily out-singing everyone else in the room. I couldn’t help but giggle and beam at not only the vocal power and adorable timbre of this child but also the personal ownership they clearly had over that expression of worship and faith.
“This psalm draws a contrast between our creaturely lowliness and the glory God bestows upon us. And the reference to children is so apt—we as adults with children in our lives can see the unique glory each one has, not in spite of but rather by virtue of their youthfulness. We can see the glory of ingenuity, or of guilelessness, or of imagination, or of self-disclosure, or any of the many respects in which children surpass us. A God who is known, loved, and praised by these remarkable beings is a great God indeed.”
Moving Forward: “What lessons have children taught you about loving God?”