Heaven's Temple

Meaning in Psalm 8

Alfred D. Byrd

WHEN I GO outdoors when Your sky is clear,
The daystar, Your work, bedazzles my eyes
With light that's darkness compared with You.
At night, the moon and the stars reveal
To all with eyes to perceive Your glory
Smallness of humans, but greatness of God.
The sky that we see is just the floor
Of heaven's temple, where You reign unchallenged,
Maker and Master, by all that You've made—
Yes, even by us, who mirror Your image,
Thinking and dreaming of things on high.

The proud, my God, who look at themselves
As wise and mighty, just mock Your Name,
But those who've kept the hearts of children,
Looking with awe at wonders around them,
Never forget their coming from You,
The One Who will make the proud bow down,
But will raise the humble to sit at Your side.

You have made us humans near equals of angels,
Heavenly creatures of wind and fire,
And put us in charge of the earth and its wealth
Of lives from the sky to the depths of the sea.
Both the plants and the beasts that You made and called good
Depend on us for health and hope.
If we waste the earth, we'll lose Your blessing;
Owner of all, You will guard what's Yours!
If we tend with wisdom the works of Your hands,
We'll know Your favor, the light of Your face,
Which smiles at children who love their God.

Your Name, Eternal, is greatest of all
Of the names that You spoke to make the worlds;
Let all who love Your Name proclaim it,
Endless reminder to all who hear
That we come to nothing without our God.

If this poem spoke to you, you may enjoy my Biblical epic poems

A Song of the One, the age-old account of Creatlon, Fall, Redemption, and Glory retold in verse for a new millennium, and

The Stars Bow Down: An Epic of Joseph, the timeless tale of a favorite son whose brothers sold him into slavery, but whom God raised from a prison to save the known world from famine.