Liturgy for Life : WK 1 - TUE
Psalm 8:1-9
O LORD, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens. You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you. When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers- the moon and the stars you set in place- what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority- the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents. O LORD, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
Psalm 8 actually has directions given to it before the first verse. It says, “For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David.” It is believed that gittith means celebration. This is not the only psalm with this term; there are several others. This is a song that David wrote for the people of God to sing and worship God with great celebration.
Celebration is a crucial part of a liturgy for life. It seems so easy sometimes to get so focused on all of the problems in our world and life that if we aren’t careful, we can lose our focus on God and His love and goodness. We can forget in our technological age and driven lives to celebrate the life and created wonder all around us and in ourselves.
In his celebration of God, David draws our attention to some specific areas of wonder and awe of God in our lives. He reminds us that God’s majesty fills the entire earth. He invites us to turn and look at the sky and remember how small we are compared to the vast solar system and universe we live in that God merely spoke into existence, according to Genesis 1. I’ve always been enamored with the solar system, the planets, stars, galaxies, and nebulas. Several years ago, I bought a decent telescope that would give me a better-than-average night sky view. Whenever I would go out in the backyard to look at Jupiter and its moons, Saturn and its rings, or the Orian Nebula, I would tell my wife, “I’m going out in the backyard to get small.” I always had this sense of looking at something even grander and vaster than the Grand Canyon right in my own backyard. As a result, I often found myself celebrating God’s majesty and creative brilliance.
O LORD, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens. You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you. When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers- the moon and the stars you set in place- what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority- the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents. O LORD, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
Psalm 8 actually has directions given to it before the first verse. It says, “For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David.” It is believed that gittith means celebration. This is not the only psalm with this term; there are several others. This is a song that David wrote for the people of God to sing and worship God with great celebration.
Celebration is a crucial part of a liturgy for life. It seems so easy sometimes to get so focused on all of the problems in our world and life that if we aren’t careful, we can lose our focus on God and His love and goodness. We can forget in our technological age and driven lives to celebrate the life and created wonder all around us and in ourselves.
In his celebration of God, David draws our attention to some specific areas of wonder and awe of God in our lives. He reminds us that God’s majesty fills the entire earth. He invites us to turn and look at the sky and remember how small we are compared to the vast solar system and universe we live in that God merely spoke into existence, according to Genesis 1. I’ve always been enamored with the solar system, the planets, stars, galaxies, and nebulas. Several years ago, I bought a decent telescope that would give me a better-than-average night sky view. Whenever I would go out in the backyard to look at Jupiter and its moons, Saturn and its rings, or the Orian Nebula, I would tell my wife, “I’m going out in the backyard to get small.” I always had this sense of looking at something even grander and vaster than the Grand Canyon right in my own backyard. As a result, I often found myself celebrating God’s majesty and creative brilliance.
- Does celebrating God come naturally for you? If so, why do you think so? If not, why do you think it doesn’t?
- When you think about God and all that He is and has done, what inspires you to celebrate Him?
- What could you do today to celebrate God?
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