Partners with God

We are partners with God - when you consider the Bible, with all the stories that are in it, you can see that it is all about God’s relationship with humanity and we are God’s partners.

The Psalm today is Psalm 8, it is the first of the psalm that are known as the praise psalms and it is standard material for those that are looking for biblical explanation for what humanity role is in the world.

But this has not also been the case. Historically this psalm has been interpreted in a few key ways, each focus has been a dominate approach for an era.

The first way of viewing Psalm 8 was to view it as worship to God, it was written by King David and understood to be David contemplating the majesty of God and questioning humanity in a comparison to God’s omnipotent / omnipresent / all power full glory.

Then in New Testament times it was seen as referring to Christ. In Hebrews 2 it is directly quoted - and in the questioning of Man created just lower then the angels is seen as foreshadowing of Christ. Wondering in amazement that God would send his only son to become a man and questioning and marveling at the value that God places on mankind as a creature to do that for.

The patriarchs, the early fathers of the church, understood that there might be many layers to the psalm, and saw it’s prime focus to be a statement on creation theology. Saw the statements of God’s creative work, as God revealing through David a statement that it was God that created everything on the earth and in heavens.

The contemporary focus of the psalm is now on the understanding of who man is and what humanity’s place is in creation. Most of the commentaries that you will see now-a-days that comtemplate humanity, look to Psalm 8 as a prime biblical source for laying out a structure for our existence.

Some focus on the parts of the psalm that speak of our dominion of all creation. That all creation is put under our control and this line of thinking has pointed the finger of blame over humanity’s role in abusing the environment. An interpretation that states that bible is a prime source for God-ordained abuse over creation for man’s use.

Others see Psalm 8, while still focusing on humanity’s dominion, but see it as a prime biblical prescription for stewardship of creation. The understanding here, is a seen in a different light - dominion is seen as responsibility.

I think that there is much to consider of each of the focuses of this psalm. Each era has gone to this short psalm and come out with unique importance. Each layer of understanding is valuable to our full appreciation.

However I believe that that most appropriate focus of psalm 8 is blending of the first and the last. This psalm is known by a few titles, the two that stick out most to me in keeping with the original purpose are: Song of the Astronomer; or an evening hymn -- a vesper song. King David when he wrote this psalm of praise was certainly in awe of God’s majesty.

Imagine a time when there was no TV, no movies, no electric light. In fact no street lights on every corner or city lights. Imagine also that you work outside of any town or village, you live in the countryside. You watch over a flock of sheep or goats, you are a shepherd. To this life David is raised, to this life there are many opportunities to look up in the heavens and consider the lights in the sky. Maybe this psalm was written by David then. Maybe parts of it was inspired by his boyhood occupation and written later once he becomes a king and fills out the rest of the psalm, now with the authority over a nation which give him a more full understanding of dominion over other creatures - yet dominion held in balance, held in contrast this to the vastness of all creation under God.

In this psalm of creation there is no mention of the sun or really of much activity during the day. There is no mention of agriculture life outside of man’s dominion over the beast of the field. There is no talk of planting, sowing, growing or harvesting.

This psalm is a psalm of awe - This is a psalm of questioning in the midst of that awe. The questioning is certainly of humanity’s place in creation. But As I understanding it, David is not questioning whether humankind has dominion over creation. But is in Awe of a God that would put humankind in that role.

For me the verse “What is man that you thought of him” I finish the sentence with my own words in that role in your creation.

Certainly there are wonderful statements which outline God’s creation. Certainly there are statements that put into question humanity’s role in dominion over creation.

But this must be seen in the understanding of how the psalm opens and closes. To this end, with the help of others we will read the psalm putting added focus on what David repeats and used as book-end to the psalm

(five readers of the psalm)

So the question is, what are we to do with the psalm, how are we to respond.

I believe that we are to do two things,

We are to worship God and his creation. We are to do as David did. And look up at the stars is awe and wonderment. We are to consider the life all around us, the plants the animals and look to God in thanksgiving and amazement. Just consider how many scientific disciplines there are, each devoting an entire life and building on the works of others before them, to try to get an understanding of some narrow aspect of God’s creation.

I know that when I consider the complexity of life that is a new born baby. The stages of development in the womb. How cells produce over and over again to create the fragile yet intricately developed life 9 months later. I am amazed at God’s handiwork.

Do you know that if we were count the stars in the sky - counted one per second - as if in an eternal night - it would take 300 years to count all those in the Northern Hemisphere only.

Or if we were to view creation as a Geologists and work out cosmic calendars, that if the measurable course of earth's career were reduced to a year, the history of our civilization would occupy only the last minute of that year.

While this type of thinking can make us feel small and insignificant. We are to remember the other half of the psalm. The part where David is marvelling at how despite the vastness of creation God is mindful of us. Beyond mindful, God has giving dominion over creation to humanity. 

I think that a clear reading of this dominion and in keeping with Genesis 1:26 is that we are to be stewards of creation. No where does it say that we are owners of anything. No where does it say that we should exploit creation for our means. In the creation account when God finished creating something, the finishing statement is “God saw it and it was good” - this is not to be mutated to say “God saw it and it was good leaving mankind to abuse it into something else”. Dominion is a responsibility. It is as a steward to maintain and partner with God.

This is the second thing that I believe that we are meant to see from the psalm - that we are partners with God. As you consider the meta-narrative over all of the bible it is a story of God’s relationship with humanity.

A wise professor of mine once said that God doesn’t do anything himself directly that He can’t first do through mankind.

We are God’s Plan A - The story of the bible is a testament to that. Through-out God is working through people. God does not often simply do things himself, but works through man as an intermediator.

God so value humanity that he came as one of us to share in our existence, to model to us how we are to live and to suffer for each and everyone of us that calls upon Him.

So today, January 1st - also known as the naming of Jesus. Let us consider how each of the readings highlights the importance and relationship of God’s name in our life:

In Numbers reading we have “24 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. 27 So they shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them. (Num 6:24-27 ) A model prayer asking for God’s involvement and his name to be on them.

And in Philippians - “Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father  (Philippians 2:9-11)

In Luke’s Gospel “21 After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. (Luke 2:19&21) How Mary and Joseph, obedient to God and in participation with God, named the baby - Jesus

Finally in the repeated lines that opening and close the psalm “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” We look at God in two ways - in Awe and amazement and thanksgiving and wonder - yet the Lord is our Lord, a personal, intimate companion, a partner that works in relationship with us to steward his creation.               

Let us pray…Lord may we be close enough to you to glow as Moses did, with our faces shining from being in your presence, and may your name be written on our hearts. May we understand how to take up the role of stewards - to be partners in your creation. May we worship you in awe and thanksgiving. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen