“O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens. You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you. When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers— the moon and the stars you set in place— what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority— the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents. O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!” (Psalms 8:1-9 NLT)
There is some pretty significant good news to share today. I hope you’re settled in and ready for this because this is the kind of news that causes reactions. Are you ready? Here it comes…He is STILL risen! It is still Easter. The grave is still empty. The stone still remains toppled over. He is Alive.
I had to chuckle quite a bit over the past several weeks as I read reports from the media claiming that Easter wasn’t going to happen because of a pandemic. Bad news for those whose job it is to report that story – Easter not only did happen, it has happened, and it will not stop happening. Easter is more than a day to get dressed up and drag our non-attending church friends, neighbors and family members to our sanctuaries. Easter is the event that resuscitated a dead creation and breathed a new breathe of life into a world full of dry bones.
Easter certainly took place on Sunday, and yes it was different that most of us could have ever imagined, but declarations of hope were proclaimed louder than ever. Even in the midst of so much death, fear, and loss; Easter broke out in untold ways. And, Easter will continue to do so in the lives of praise you and I walk, talk, and share throughout this valley.
During this Easter-tide season, I thought it would be helpful to spend time with what some folks call the Easter Psalms. Oh, I realize that the psalms pre-date the story of Jesus, they were the prayers of Jesus. The psalms also continued to be used by the early church to declare the praise of God. They had found a new life, or maybe better stated, a deeper fulfillment because of Jesus.
In chapter 8, we are introduced to the first praise hymn in the book of Psalms. Some Bible scholars believe that Psalm 7 offers a vow and Psalm 8 the fulfillment to that vow. What is it that happens? The author breaks out in an energetic string of words that not only show a deep amount of trust and joy, but makes me as a reader experience something I deeply need right now. The praise is so compelling, it fills me with a deep sense of peace.
How is that so? How can 3000 year old words of celebration and praise make me feel peace? How is that reading these words when the world seems so chaotic and out of control offer a sense of calm that feels unexplainable? Can I let you in on a secret that this psalmist clearly had figured out? When faced with the uncontrollable chaos of the universe, it’s a good idea to remember the One who holds it all in the palm of a hand.
This psalm of praise is a “psalm of perspective.” It invites me to see wonder and awe instead of panic and dread. It reminds me of the greatness of God. Just look at the opening line – “Oh, our LORD God, how majestic is your name! Your glory is greater than all!” Get this, the majesty of God is God’s reputation – this royal splendor goes before God. God’s glory is something that dwarfs anything else we could comprehend.
Those aren’t words we use all that often. It’s a shame. It’s a shame we don’t experience or see theses words more often, because they are really good ideas. They paint a picture in our minds, and almost make you stand straighter as you say them. They are words that elevate your mind beyond the mundane and ho-hum.
I think that’s what the psalmist is trying to do – get us to see beyond. After majestic and glorious, the psalmist says of God that praise is the natural language of children and infants – it is what they are born speaking. It’s that kind of praise that displaces the worlds madness and power grabbing – it upends the enemies of God. Praise becomes a powerful “counter testimony,” to all the claims of chaos.
Looking at creation, the author is in awe that God chose humanity – those made in God’s very own image, and who God gave charge, dominion, authority over everything else created. Think of that, God made us to care for the created order—to rule as he would rule. I mean, goodness, if that doesn’t make us stop of a second and say wow, I’m not sure what will.
But that’s the point of this hymn. A lot of the dominion we experience is broken and seems wrong somehow. Why? Is it because it doesn’t start with the majesty and glory of God, but with our own self-importance? That’s the secret of the Psalmist; it’s the focus of wonder and awe that changes the perspective. I can almost hear the author saying – having a bad day, or a bit of a pity party because things look cuckoo, remember the majesty, and glory – the beauty and wow-ness of God and watch what happens! Choose instead to live from the perspective of praise and watch how peace settles into our souls.
On this week after the yearly festival of Easter, in the middle of a pandemic the likes of which we haven’t seen since the Black Death of the 1300s, with death rates rising and fear gripping so many lives – let’s take a page from the Psalms of Easter. Let’s praise. Let’s pause and stare at the beauty of creation – a night sky, a spring breeze whipping across the trees, the chirps of birds, the joy of neighbors walking the neighborhood. Let’s notice the creation we’ve been given responsibility for and as we do, let’s remember the stunning creative God who gave it to us.
“LORD our Lord, your name is the most wonderful name in all the earth! It brings you praise in heaven above. You have taught children and babies to sing praises to you because of your enemies. And so you silence your enemies and destroy those who try to get even. I look at your heavens, which you made with your fingers. I see the moon and stars, which you created. But why are people even important to you? Why do you take care of human beings? You made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You put them in charge of everything you made. You put all things under their control: all the sheep, the cattle, and the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that lives underwater. LORD our Lord, your name is the most wonderful name in all the earth!” (Psalms 8:1-9 NCV)
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