Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory in the heavens. Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.  When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?  You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.  You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: 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. Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! – Psalms 8:1-9

What an interesting and unexpected riffle here in the Psalms…”You have set your glory in the heavens. Through the praise of children and infants”.  I am surprised and just a little bit confused by this statement.  What do children and infants have to do with the glory of the Heavens?

As I have prayed and reflected about this passage the only way I can make sense of this is if God is referring to all of us when He says “children and infants”.  Perhaps He is plumbing the depths of the complex and dynamic relationship between us and Him.  We are but children and infants to Him but yet we are somehow also able to participate in the Glory of the Heavens.

I guess when I think about it that was the essential message of Jesus.  We are to become as children, and God wants us to come join the Kingdom of Heaven and be with Him forever (i.e. become part of the Glory of Heaven).  “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 18:3.

It seems like God is reminding us that the only way we can contribute to His Glory is by approaching Him, and the Kingdom of Heaven, like Children.  We cannot approach it with a posture of pride – thinking we are all that…and that we are going to bring our own intelligence and mature spirit to contribute to Heaven.  Heaven does not need it.  What Heaven needs is humble hearts able to acknowledge God’s Majesty.

With great power comes great responsibility…God has made us”a little lower than the angels” and given us great power to rule over the things of this earth….flocks, fish, birds, animals, everything…but we must do it with humility and prayer.

This verse begins and ends with a recognition of God’s majesty.  That seems like a good model for life.  If we begin and end each day with this same recognition it may go a long way toward maintaining a proper posture and perspective.

Prayer: God help me to start and end each day with a recognition of Your majesty and become as a child to join your kingdom.