Lord, your name is so great and powerful!
People everywhere see your splendor.
Your glorious majesty streams from the heavens,
Filling the earth with the fame of your name.
You have built a stronghold by the songs of babies.
Strength rises up with the chorus of singing children.
This kind of praise has the power to shut Satan’s mouth.
Childlike worship will silence
The madness of those who oppose you.
–Psalm 8:1-2, The Passion Translation
I have for many years been drawn to the Psalms in my summertime devotions. I’m not sure why. Perhaps they invite me to bask in poetry, the luscious sensory images and complex emotional themes pouring out in the spiritual cries of the psalmists.
Psalms seem to fit the different feel and rhythm of the summer for me. Psalms invite us to bring heaven down into our full awareness and can bring color and life to the most ordinary of days. If you’ve never allowed this portion of Scripture to pour over you in its richness, I recommend it highly!
Psalm 8 is what has impacted me most this week. I can’t miss the message of the interchange of heavenly majesty with the fragile simplicity of praise from the mouths of children. The revelation is this:
Majesty streams down from heaven and fills the earth with God’s manifest presence. When God’s children encounter his majesty, they begin to praise him. The praises connect us directly to his infinite strength and give us power over the enemy.
David introduces his theme with a declaration of the greatness of God’s name, and the reality that anyone anywhere can bear witness to it. God is always speaking–through his creation, through his Word, through his Spirit, and through his people. God makes himself constantly, unceasingly available to us. He volunteers to participate in our daily experiences as much as we will open ourselves to him. Then entire Bible attests to this.
This is why Paul boldly states that there is no excuse for missing the reality of God all around us (Rom. 1:20).
In real, everyday life, we acknowledge God’s presence both consciously and unconsciously in the never-ending interchange between heaven and earth. We can become conduits of a flow of energy, majesty, love, and praise, from heaven to earth and back again.
We breathe in, we breathe out…constant communion with him with every breath. Our limited, broken thoughts can be directed toward and influenced by his perfect, wholesome thoughts.
We don’t have to be literal children to join the chorus that sings with heaven. We can all be immersed in the flowing current between God and his world. Have you noticed that we are never called “adults of God” in Scripture? We will always be children in relationship to God.
God delights in our childlike efforts to connect with his majesty, because he is the kindest of fathers. We build our bond with him through our praises and we stay attuned to the larger and higher realities of his kingdom.
Jesus told us to keep it simple (Matt. 18:3; 19:14), to be like kids who haven’t been taught NOT to believe and trust him.
Psalm 8 goes further and bolder. David declares that the sincere praise coming from our flawed and fragile souls carries great power.
This kind of praise has the power to shut Satan’s mouth.
Childlike worship will silence the madness of those who oppose you.
These days, many of us have a silent scream inside of us as we read about atrocities of human behavior happening around the world. If we choose to release words of anger, criticism, opinion, or judgment, we may get a momentary catharsis, but it will not soothe our souls for very long.
Maybe this psalm gives us another way–exuberant praise and worship to God. In its many forms, praise itself shuts down the advance of the enemies of God. It’s like a system override.
The god of this world has established systems for exploiting and deceiving human beings, stealing, killing, destroying, and robbing the true God of the worship he deserves. When we lift our hearts in praise and worship to heaven, we flip the override switch. Destructive powers shut down and the creative, constructive power of God goes to work. Madness is silenced.
This isn’t a one-time fix for us as individuals or as communities. It is a constant way of living. A life of breathing in and breathing out this exchange of heavenly majesty and earthly praises.
Lord, please remind us throughout our days that we can stay connected to you in your power and majesty by giving you praise. Help us with our praises to conquer and disable the madness of the world. You alone, Lord, truly understand these mysteries. Thank you for revealing enough for us to find you and live as your blessed children.
