詩編8:1-10 Psalm 8:1-10,

The long summer is over and autumn has come. Autumn is a season when many kinds of food are delicious. In autumn, chestnuts and walnuts grow. We can also pick pears, grapes, apples, mandarin oranges and other fruits. Sweet potatoes are also harvested in autumn. Above all, in autumn, rice grows and we can eat the new rice of the season.

The reason why we are able to enjoy such delicious food every year is because God grows various plants and makes sure they bear fruits. Of course, we must not forget that the farmers also work hard to look after the plants and make sure they bear good fruits. However, it is the heavenly God who shines the sun to give light, makes it rain to give water, and gives life to the plants to make them grow.

It’s not just plants. All kinds of living creatures have been created and are kept alive by the God. What kinds of living creatures live in this world? There are birds in the sky, such as sparrows and swallows. On land, there are animals such as raccoon dogs, foxes, wild boars and monkeys. If you go to the zoo, you can see all sorts of animals from other countries. There are herbivores like elephants, giraffes and zebras, and carnivores like lions, tigers and wolves. There are lots of different kinds of fish in the sea. There are mackerel, horse mackerel, bonito and tuna that we eat. There are also scary sharks. In addition to this, there are also mammals such as dolphins and whales in the sea. If you think about it, there are countless other creatures on earth, including reptiles such as snakes and lizards, amphibians such as frogs, insects such as butterflies, bees and beetles, and even tiny plankton. And all these creatures live in a state of balance with each other, eating and being eaten. How mysterious! This is because God created all these creatures on earth and gave them life.

If you think about it further, the fact that there is a planet called the earth, the sun, the galaxy with many stars, and many other galaxies, and a universe that is so vast it makes our heads, is all because God created them. In Psalm 8:2, which we read today, a person who was moved by God’s great power says, “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” “Your name” refers to God’s name. The Old Testament calls the God who created this world “Lord.” And it is powerfully expressed throughout the world that there is the God called “Lord” who created the world!

The writer of this poem is amazed to learn that humans have been created as something special among the creatures of this world. In verses 6 and 7, he says, “Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet.” If you read the story in Genesis, it tells that God created humans in his own image. This means that humans were created as creatures who could talk to God, understand God’s will, and rule over the world according to his will. But what have humans actually done so far? We have killed many other living creatures, causing them to become extinct, and we have also destroyed the natural environment, making it difficult for other living creatures to survive. We must remember that we too were created by God and are sustained by God, and we must try to govern this world in accordance with God’s will.