Being Wonderful
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Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?
5 You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honour.6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their[g] feet:
7 all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! -
Worship
" Do you ever look up at the sky at night and see millions of stars, ever seen a shooting star? Awesome!.
Psalm 8 was written by David, perhaps from looking up at the night sky his heart overflowed with awe and wonder at the vastness of it all and the smallness of us all.
The definition of Wonder is ‘to marvel, be filled with amazement or awe’ wonder is, ‘involuntary praise.’
We have all experienced an uncontrollable outburst of praise or deep gut-felt amazement at something. Perhaps, the birth of a baby, a goal scored, a sunset, a wonderful piece of music. That spontaneous overflow is ‘wonder’ and that is what is going on in this reading we have today; Psalm 8. How can we be more full of wonder? Today we are looking at being wonder-full people. Pardon the profuse use of this as a pun today. Three things to challenge us in Psalm 8
To….
1. Develop a wonder-filled attitude.
2. Become Wonderful Stewards.
3. Cultivate Wonder-full Praise
Today we can rediscover our sense of wonder. We can become Wonder-full people!
Psalm 8:3 "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what are we that you are mindful of us, mere mortals that you care for us.’
Develop a wonder-filled attitude
We can allow another attitude choke God’s greatness and God’s goodness. E.g. how tough our lives are, how lonely life can be, how painful life can be. Listen to the News and it is true there are troubles, wars and hard times. But we don’t have to allow that to rob us of giving thanks and worshipping God. If we develop a ‘full of wonder’ attitude we praise and thank God for Jesus’ life death and resurrection, for beauty, for the seasons and our Harvest to meet our needs.
Russell Schweikert, one of Apollo X1 astronauts.. after a space mission said, "...[You see] the earth not as something big...[but] …... It is so small and fragile and such a precious little spot in the universe ….and you realize that …little blue and white thing, is everything that means anything to you - all of history, and music and poetry & art & birth & love & death, all the tears, the joy, games, all of it on that little spot out there ..”
When we hear a Psalm like Psalm 8 we realise the writer is finding wonder in God’s greatness and in our smallness and he overflows with praise and worship and wonder. I hope that overflow enthuses you to develop a wonder-filled attitude today!
The world’s population totalled 8 billion on 15 November 2022
Did you know the world’s population hit 8 billion on 15 November 2022. In the eyes of the world, you are just one of 8 billion!
But the wonder of it all is that God is mindful of us, knows everything about you, you are important, and valued, God cares for us so intimately that even the hairs of our heads are numbered (a figure that changes by the hour for some of us).
God longs for us to know him personally, to call him - ‘our father in heaven.’ That is also a wonder-filled attitude!
‘You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen,….and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea’
Psalm 8:6-8
Become Wonderful Stewards
In this Psalm David (the writer) is asking us to be Wonderful Stewards.
Psalm 8v6 says God has made us rulers over all other creatures and creation. But to be the rulers doesn’t mean we over-rule. When we fly by aeroplane, the Stewards welcome us and look after all the people on the flight and deal with rubbish and the baggage on the plane.
If we are God’s wonderful stewards in the world we will look after “all creatures great and small – and pay attention to cleanliness and waste in our world."
There is a challenge here for us to be wonderful stewards in God’s world.
Cultivate Wonder-full Praise
This service today is about thanksgiving. Even when we are struggling, we do have things to be thankful for. We can cultivate an ‘attitude of gratitude’ that will release joy in our souls and healing too. What do I mean by that?
When I was a hospital chaplain I noticed that the people who, despite their illness, expressed their gratitude gained strength for their ordeal. It may have been praise and thanksgiving for flowers they received or a card a grandchild had drawn or some grapes to eat. They were grateful.
If we cultivate a full of wonder and praise mentality (giving thanks and praise to God), even in our trials (not for our trials), God will ‘turn our mourning into dancing’ (Psalm 30:11)
“Isn’t she lovely, isn’t she wonderful” Stevie Wonder
CS Lewis, who wrote the Narnia Chronicles noticed something else about full-of-wonder praise and thanksgiving.
Bible verses like Psalm 50v23 ‘who so offers praise glorifies me’ troubled CS Lewis, it sounds like God is a glory seeker.
But loving, praising and glorifying God is not for God’s benefit. It is for ours. It does something in us, draws us near, heals, restores, values and affirms us – brings joy to our souls it completes us.
Stevie Wonder wrote, ‘Isn’t she lovely, isn’t she wonderful’ about his baby daughter Aisha.
He didn’t write she is wonderful, ‘isn’t she wonderful’ he spontaneously wants to share it with us.
When we delight in someone our outburst of praise and worship doesn’t just express our joy but completes it. It does something in us, heals us, completes us.
When you enjoy something, you want to shout and share it. The wonder of it, it could be a sunset, or pet-love, a favourite piece of music, a goal scored in football or a penalty saved. We erupt with, spontaneous praise, wonder - involuntary joy.
George Beverly Shea sang about the greatest wonder of it all, ‘is to think that God loves me.’ Psalm 8:2 What is man that you are mindful of him? God is far far more than mindful of us, he loves us so so much.
In the world’s eyes, the cross was just another crucifixion (there were thousands of them at that time). Through the eyes of faith, it was God loving the world so much that Jesus his only son came to pave the way for us to know him, personally, intimately to be his family. Think of it, you can be a child of God if you let him in (Revelation 3:20)
Let us leave this place with a wonder-full gratitude! There is a huge difference between knowing about God to Knowing him personally. Trusting him with your life. When you do that you will experience his love and beauty - it overwhelms our hearts, and completes us. That is what you need today.
There's the wonder of sunset at evening,
The wonder as sunrise I see;
But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul
Is the wonder that God loves me.Chorus
O, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all!
Just to think that God loves me.
© George Beverly Shea