Slices
Prepare
‘Join with all nature in manifold witness to thy great faithfulness, mercy and love’ (Thomas Chisholm, 1923). Use this or another hymn or worship song to come before God today.
Bible passage
For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David.
1 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
5 You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honour.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Explore
I and a few friends once spent several hours on a very mild, clear November evening somewhere up on Dartmoor in Devon. We stopped to gaze at the stars. There was no light pollution and the longer we looked up into the night sky the further into the heavens it seemed we could see. More stars became visible and the immensity of space seemed both vast and very close. It was a wonderful experience.
In this psalm, David expresses that awe and wonder in direct praise to God. The majesty and power of the Lord is extolled. It leads David to ask, ‘Why do you bother with us?’ (v 4, The Message). It seems overwhelming to him that the Lord should be mindful of us and care for us.
Having seen the power of God acting on their behalf, Moses and the Israelites might have answered that question differently – but they stood, and we now stand, in awe of the name of the Lord, and in awe that he knows and loves us.
Respond
We have let God down in the responsibility of caring for the earth and all its inhabitants (vs 5–8). What opportunities do you (or your church) have to encourage people to care for the earth, not just because it’s a good thing to do but because it’s God’s creation?
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Jeremiah 19,20; John 8
Pray for Scripture Union
In Vietnam there are two SU movements, one based in Hanoi and the other in Ho Chi Minh City. Pray for SU Vietnam Hanoi as they reconnect with church leaders and expand their ministry with daily notes for young and adult readers, as well as introducing SU Vietnam HCMC to materials for children.
