Who Am I?

When I look up at your skies,

 at what Your fingers made - 

the moon and the stars 

that You set firmly in place - 

what are human beings that 

You think about them;

what are human beings that 

You pay attention to them?

You've made them only slightly

less than divine,

crowning them with glory and grandeur.

You've let them rule over Your handiwork,

putting everything under their feet -

all sheep and all cattle,

the wild animals too,

the birds in the sky,

the fish of the ocean,

everything that travels 

the pathways of the sea.

Lord, our Lord, 

how majestic is Your name 

throughout the earth!

                                                                                                 Psalm 8:3-9 (CEV)

David wrote this Psalm. He went from a young, humble shepherd-boy, to a mighty warrior, to the King of Israel. He had times when he was hunted, times when he failed and times when he was victorious.

 I'm now taking a Philosophy class on Worldviews. We were assigned to read this Psalm and describe how David's view changed. As I read through Psalm 8, I realized that David's view began as mine often does: in awe and wonder at the world God has created. Even without all the scientific knowledge that we have today on the universe and its vastness, David knew that it was greater than what he could even begin to imagine. That wonder at the world, the heavens and all the intricacies of the species and inhabitants of earth would make anyone wonder how God could begin to take notice of one as small and finite as man.

But I believe he makes a turn when he realizes that in all of what God did create, the vastness of creation that makes us feel so minute, God created man just a little lower than the angels.

 “You’ve made them only slightly less than divine, 

crowning them with glory and grandeur.

 (Psalm 8:5 CEV). 

God created us in His image to rule and reign over all else that He created. We were not created as just another species, but as children of God . . . almost, but not quite, divine. We are hand crafted from the dust, but it was the breath of God that gave us life.

“Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground 

and breathed into his nostrils the breath or spirit of life . . . “

(Genesis 2:7 AMP).

In the middle of this short Psalm, David went from asking "Who am I? I'm just a speck in the universe!" to "Who am I? Why, I am the one God created and put in charge to rule and reign over the earth! I am a child of the King! And I am who I am because God made me this way and put me in this place." 

Who are you? Lift your eyes and look at all that God has created. And as you get lost in the wonder of it all, remember that you are a child of the King! And you are who you are because God made you that way and put you in this place!

Blessings!