Psalm 8: Congaree National Park
1 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? u
5 You have made them a little lower than the angels v
and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
8 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!
The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ps 8:1–9.
Theme: Natural Revelation
Best Verse: 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
Command to Obey: --
Sin to Avoid: --
Promise to Claim: --
Application to Make: Worship God!
Something New About God: God is all powerful and the creator of everything.
Reflection: Psalm 8 makes me think about natural revelation, that the magnificence of nature reveals God. I experienced this in a powerful way in Afghanistan when I would stand in the middle of Forward Operating Base Salerno at night and stare at the stars. They seemed so close, like I could reach out and touch them, and I felt like I could touch the face of God. One of the reasons I take my family to national parks and camping in general is to re-create that feeling: to worship God in his creation. It is also the goal of the Monument Hiking Hub: To partner with God in what he's already doing through national revelation to introduce people to God.
Congaree National Park: Congaree National Park was fantastic! Don't get me wrong, the mosquito meter was severe, but the wildlife was awesome. As we entered the park four small armadillos were crossing the street. Then we saw a fox squirrel which I thought was a skunk until it ran up a tree. There were a ton of salamanders, lizards and bugs. And cool birds, but the highlight for me was an owl. We saw it three times (or three owls!) at a distance of about 10 feet. Eva had the pleasure of seeing the owl fly next to her and snag a lizard, then return to its perch and gobble it up. We just did the board walk trail, wihich took about 2 hours, but our trip to Congaree may havee been the most concentrated 2 hours of animal encounters we've had at a national park.
