Bridging Times: An Eclipse Observed with Grandchildren and Ancient Verses
A Reflection on Psalm 8
Like many who found themselves in the path of the total eclipse on April 8, I witnessed a celestial event I had never seen before. It was special in an of itself, but the experience was even more profound because we shared it with one of our daughters, her husband, and our four granddaughters, ages 9, 8, 7, and 6. I actually found more enjoyment in watching them look at the eclipse than the eclipse itself.
Of the 150 ancient hymns of Israel, Psalm 8 is among my favorites:
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are humans that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?
Yet you have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under their feet,
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
When I was in Haiti almost forty years ago, I was in the mountains on the eastern side of the island near the Dominican Republic. It was a place with no electricity for miles and thus no light pollution—no street lights, porch lights, and no headlights from cars. It was so dark that as I stood outside, I could not see my feet on the path. I had never before in my life viewed the night sky in all of its glory! The night tapestry above me was so spectacular and the stars were so large, it seemed as if I could reach above my head and touch them. It truly was a mystical experience.
I had the same feeling last week when the moon completely covered the sun leaving only the corona—the solar edges—visible. In those brief moments, when we could look at the sun directly without the aid of cardboard framed glasses, I felt the same mystical awe I sensed those many years ago. For a few minutes, the world around me took on a surreal hue that made creation seem larger than it is often conceived in life’s daily routine.
In Psalm 8, the writer who did not know everything we know about the universe today, nevertheless could look at the pristine night sky just beyond his fingertips and marvel at a creation that made him seem small, and wonder whether its creator could care for him. “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are humans that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” The largeness of things can make make other things of little to no account.
And yet, when the writer remembers that the same creator who hurled the planets into their orbits and hung the stars in place was the same God who led his people out of captivity in Egypt and into a land flowing with milk and honey, he could claim that the insignificance of a vast universe did not, could not overshadow—eclipse—God’s love and care for what God had made. “Yet you have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.”
For Christians, that sense of mystical awe is even more pronounced; for we believe that the God of this vast universe has entered into human history in Jesus Christ. The Creator has become in some mysterious way the created—a mortal—in order to redeem what is passing away. In love, God has given life to all that is. That same love means that God will do whatever is necessary to save that lif.
Such awe must give way to worship. A favorite praise chorus of mine says it well.
Majesty, worship his majesty;
Unto Jesus be all glory, honor, and praise.
Majesty, kingdom authority,
Flow from his throne unto his own, his anthem raise.
So exalt, lift up on high the name of Jesus.
Magnify, come glorify Christ Jesus, the King.
Majesty, worship his majesty,
Jesus who died, now glorified, King of all kings.
O Lord, our Lord. How majestic is your name in all the earth!*
After many centuries, like the Psalmist we still proclaim, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”
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*https://www.songlyrics.com/bill-gloria-gaither/majesty-lyrics/
Check out my podcast and YouTube video on the question of whether a scientist can believe in the resurrection of Jesus here and here.