QT 2/19/2024 Ps 8:3-9, God's Majesty is beyond our ability to grasp

Psalm 8:3–9 (ESV) —

3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

4 what is man that you are mindful of him,

and the son of man that you care for him?

5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;

you have put all things under his feet,

7 all sheep and oxen,

and also the beasts of the field,

8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,

whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

 

NOTE: Majesty is a term reserved for kings. Usually, there is the association of grand castles, lands, and finely arrayed armies. It is a human attempt to beautify rulership with the best that human hands, minds, and strength can do. God's majesty is beyond description. His work -- the heavens, the moon, and the stars defy our imaginations. We can see it but we cannot grasp it, because it is beyond our ability to truly appreciate. It is too great and too amazing. Our finite minds reach a limit, and so we begin to compare to things we can grasp, like a castle, a painting, or a vast army. The comparisons are incredibly weak, but because both fill up our mind, they seem similar.

 

God's majesty is beyond what we can understand, see, or grasp. It is a beauty that would fill an infinite amount of lifetimes just to see it all. And in the midst of all this majesty, is man, created by the infinite God. Man is small and lowly, and yet given dominion over his creation. How amazing that God has lifted man up so high on earth. And how unworthy we are for this honor.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I truly understand how little I understand?
2. Have I ever thanked God for how he has lifted me up (in the recognition that I am so unworthy)?

 

PRAYER: Father, you are unmeasurable. Your majesty is beyond my grasp, and as great as anything I have ever seen or imagined. I am nothing, and yet I am a son of the King, with a glorious inheritance and role in your kingdom. I am so unworthy of the grace and mercy extended to me.