What is Man That You Are Mindful of Him
How stars and babies are proof that God cares for you
I love looking out the window on takeoff. The thrill of speeding down the runway is matched by the awe of seeing the landscape quickly shrink out of view below. First, the runway disappears, allowing my eyes to stretch as I try to identify familiar landmarks before climbing into the clouds. I see mountains and rivers speckle the landscape that once imposed themselves in my limited view. It only took 35,000 feet of distance to give me the perspective I often lack; which is I am small, but God, and the glory of his creation, are not.
King David didn’t travel into the clouds but gazed up into them when he came to the same conclusion. He wrote of his insignificance and God’s glory in Psalm 8. It begins…
“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.”
Psalm 8:1
David was awed at creation and the character of the one who made it all. He used twin nouns to describe this Creator God. The first “O LORD” is in all caps indicating the revealed covenantal name of God as the great “I AM” or, “Yahweh” (Exodus 3:14). The second “Lord” emphasizes his sovereignty and Lordship over all things.
This “LORD, our Lord,” to whom David directs his praise, is Master and Lord over all creation. His works are majestic, but his name, and his character, are even more glorious. It’s the glory of his name that reaches beyond the highest heavens, which he made.