March 9 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

Even though we have great love and appreciation for the entire collection of Psalms, certain ones stand out as favourites. Psalm 8 is one of those songs.

We usually have a picture of David composing this psalm during the night. In our minds we put him out on a roof top or in an open field, gazing at a star-studded sky and then exclaiming, “O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth.” Yet that is not the real focus of the psalm. David’s eyes are not fixed on the heavens but on God’s people. When he sees the marvel of God’s people he exclaims, “O LORD, our Lord, how excellent...”

In all God’s works His almighty power, wisdom, goodness and truth shine forth. It’s in the stars, the moon and the sun. It’s in the flowers, the plants, the birds, the bees, the waterfalls and the mountains. Yes, the works of the Lord God are splendid. The immeasurable expanse of the universe made by the finger of God leaves one speechless.

And yet Psalm 8 pulsates with wonder for something that goes beyond the glory of the heavens. Do you know what is even more astonishing than creation? The recreation of mankind! The Lord could have left us in our sin and misery. But He does not. David teaches Israel to praise the Name of God for the grace He grants His covenant people. He speaks of how the Lord restores His children to their original office and how He gives them victory over their foes. That victory is not granted without a fight. Ever since the fall into sin, and right to the close of the age, the seed of the woman battles against the seed of the serpent. God’s people fight on God’s side against the devil and his forces.

In our daily work we are to focus on the task the Lord has given to us. The Lord keeps His creation intact “according to His eternal providence and by His infinite power in order to serve man, to the end that man may serve his God” (Belgic Confession, Article 12).