Consolation Series - Part 17


Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens!
From the lips of babes and infants you have established strength,
because of your adversaries, that you might silence the enemy and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have ordained;
what is man, that you think of him?
What is the son of man, that you care for him?
For you have made him a little lower than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You make him ruler over the works of your hands.
You have put all things under his feet:
All sheep and cattle,
yes, and the animals of the field,
the birds of the sky, the fish of the sea,
and whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
Yahweh, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Psalm 8

As the Book of Job closes, God reminds Job just how extraordinary God is: 

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Declare, if you have understanding!
Who determined its measures, if you know?
Or who stretched the line on it?
What were its foundations fastened on?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
when the morning stars sang together,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:4-7)

This Psalm reminds us of the existential shock that this extraordinary God Who has every reason to ignore us nonetheless has promised His everlasting, unflagging love and attention to us.  And unlike the deities of mythology who attended only to the strong and powerful, in God’s case, the more sick, poor in spirit, and forgotten you are, the more attention God lavishes on you.