". . . what are mere mortals that you should be mindful of them . . ."

Wednesday, June 11

Scripture

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars you have set in their courses, what are mere mortals that you should be mindful of them, human beings that you should care for them? (Psalm 8:3-4)

Reflection

Every night that we can during our short summers, Lynn and I sit on the flat roof outside our guest room and gaze at the stars. The Big Dipper is over our heads, and if we stay there long enough, we can watch it move across the sky. With the aid of giant and sophisticated telescopes, astronomers tell us that our galaxy contains billions of stars and that the universe contains billions of galaxies. If our world seemed small in comparison to the universe when our psalmist penned these words, how much smaller do we seem now?!

Yet our psalmist continues: “Yet you have made them little less than divine; with glory and honor you crown them” (vs. 5). We remember God’s declaration at the conclusion of Creation: “God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). Humanity created in God’s image is the “crown” of God’s creation (see Tuesday’s reflection).

Prayer

O Lord our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8:1, 9)