Words mean Things

Psalm 8: 1-9

“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.  Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.

 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon, and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?

 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, 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!”

Words mean things, will you stop for just a few minutes and ponder on what the Psalmist is proclaiming?  The word majestic is referring to the Creator of all that has been or will be created.  Sure God is stately, magnificent, but does that give you an understanding of His character?   Do you understand the Psalmist would never have compared the Creator with a word used to describe such things as a hotel, buildings, opera house, theatres, not even the most amazing part of God’s Creation?  But we do, and when I say we do I mean people who go by the name Christian or followers of Christ.  Why do we, could it be we have grown lazy with the way we use our words, for Jesus tells us no one is good but God, have we become gods in our thinking of ourselves?  We use the word love, and like so many words it has little meaning, for Jesus tells us God is Love, yet we love colors, and dresses, and dogs and cats, cars, and houses and our children, how do we distinguish between dresses, and children, and God?

Maybe our problem is turning off the noise and learning to sit quietly and ask our infinite God whose wisdom is infallible to explain our understanding of Him.  As a follower of Christ, where is your dependence, on others, or God? I am so guilty of getting upset about this world’s foolishness, but when I read Scripture, often I find peace and realize that the days are short and God is still in total control.  Has our Eternal Father, not shown amazing love, by sending His Son to take our punishment, and left His Spirit to guide, teach, and bring comfort to those who come with a repentant heart, seeking His Son?  Who else but a loving God would enter into covenant with people whom He knew would break them?

How convicting this is to my life, and as I’ve looked at the Puritan prayers in “The Valley of Vision” I’m confronted with my lack of understanding of how majestic is the name of my God.  My faith should always be rooted in God’s Word, looking to the Spirit to guide, comfort and teach me His attributes and Character.

My prayer is that you and I will learn to sit quietly in a room and worship, asking the Holy Spirit to guide us in our understanding of the ways of our Father.

From the Back Porch

Bob Rice