April 24th, 2016
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Majesty and Dignity

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Great and Mighty God, our names and needs are known to You. You alone are God and I bless Your holy name.

Read Psalm 8:1-9

[1] For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David. 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 honor. [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!

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Meditate

Reflect on God’s glory and the dignity he has given you by making and remaking you.

Think Further

This psalm brings us to the creation account in Genesis 1 and 2. God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1) and his glory and majesty can be discerned in both. His greatness is evident “in all the earth” (1). The universe with its hundreds of billions of galaxies testifies to the splendor and awesomeness of God–but the universe itself is not God and therefore should not be worshipped. God’s glory is “above the heavens” and there is none like him: surely God is greater than his “throne” in heaven and his “footstool” on earth (Isa. 66:1). God’s greatness is unreachably lofty but he also touches tiny infants and children (2), who have little understanding and are often considered insignificant. Just considering how a tiny infant is knit together fills us with wonder (Psa. 139:13-14).

We all reflect God’s glory–we are not the products of chance and accident but the handiwork of Almighty God. Herein lies our dignity. We have been made “a little lower than the angels” and crowned by God with glory and honor (5). God has given us dominion over the earth’s creatures (6-8) and made us his divine representatives. We have dignity because God, our Creator, is glorious and majestic.

Yet, we are puny when compared with God. How can the creator of this great universe be concerned about individual human beings like us? Nevertheless the Bible confirms that God loves individuals and died for individuals on the cross (Gal. 2:20). We have dignity, but we are also sinners. We have forgotten God’s majesty and our dignity and we have fallen into idolatry and sins (Rom. 1:18-32), but when we remember God’s glory and our dignity, then we can truly worship God and treat others (even our enemies) with respect and love (Matt. 5:44; 2 Tim. 2:24).

Apply

Do you feel important to God? Why or why not? How can this psalm help you feel significant?

Closing prayer

Sovereign Lord, I thank You for everlasting love and care of me.

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