DAVID’S WONDERMENT!
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Readers Representing the Pastor
September 2 – 8, 2024
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I’ve always seen David as an extraordinarily complex man—boyishly enthusiastic and generous vs. selfish and conniving…and everything in between.
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In Psalms, Chapter 8, I get a sense of David’s enthusiasm, as follows:
???PSALM 8 ???To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of David. 1??O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. 2??Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. 3??When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 4??What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? 5??For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. 6??Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: 7??All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; 8??The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. 9??O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
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In this week’s Christian Science Bible Lesson, titled, “Man,” we find verses 1, 4, and 6.
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FLY ON THE WALL
Trying to get a feeling for how David is feeling and what his voice would sound like if he were actually saying this aloud to us, I used one of my favorite Expressive Reading Tools for Understanding: the “FLY ON THE WALL.” If I were in David’s presence when he is sharing his thoughts out loud, I can imagine him standing outside in the middle of a field on a clear, starlit night, gazing at the thousands of stars in God’s vast creation. I can imagine him thinking, “I’m such a tiny, insignificant speck in God’s immense, wonderful creation. Why in the world would God give me a second’s thought, much less give me dominion over all His works?!!”
I can certainly associate with the sheer wonder David might have been feeling.?
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DAVID’S VOICE
If that picture resonates with you, as well, we can imagine David’s voice expressing that wonderment as he shares his thoughts with whomever might be with him at that moment.
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READER’S DELIVERY
It seems to me that these verses demand an exclamatory delivery—not just because of my interpretation, but because of the exclamation marks that punctuate verses 1 and 9.
I’m inclined to continue with the exclamatory energy—together with a tone of wonder and revelation—throughout the subsequent verses, as David proceeds with sharing his thoughts and feelings.
Such wonderment will cause the listeners to share David’s wonder—to feel it more strongly—to be grateful and awed that God has created themselves as wondrously and with the same dominion that David acknowledged.
In the following examples, note that words in ALL CAPS are emphasized; words [within square brackets] are subdued; words within ?!exclamation marks! are exclaimed with a tone of wonder; slashes / / represent pauses; and.dots.between.words.when.I.want.to.read.something.slowly.
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???PSALM 8 ??? 1??O Lord ?/ OUR LORD, / how !EXCELLENT is THY NAME in ALL the EARTH! who hast SET ?!thy GLORY ABOVE the HEAVENS.! 2??Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ORDAINED STRENGTH BECAUSE of thine ENEMIES, / that thou mightest STILL [the enemy] / AND the AVENGER. // 3??When I CONSIDER [thy heavens], / the !WORK of THY FINGERS!, / the !MOON and the STARS!, / which !THOU hast ORDAINED!; // 4??!?WHAT . is . MAN,?! / that thou art !?MINDFUL of HIM?! / and the !SON [of man, that thou] VISITEST HIM?! 5??FOR / THOU hast MADE [him] a !LITTLE LOWER than the ANGELS!, and hast !CROWNED [him] with GLORY and HONOUR!. 6??[Thou madest him to have] !DOMINION over the WORKS of thy HANDS!; [thou hast put] ?!ALL [things] UNDER his FEET!: 7??!All SHEEP and OXEN!, / !YEA!, / !AND the BEASTS of the FIELD!; 8??The !FOWL of the AIR!, and the !FISH of the SEA!, and !WHAT . SO . EV . ER / PASSETH THROUGH! the !PATHS [of the seas]!. // 9??O LORD / !OUR LORD!, / ?!how !EXCELLENT! is !THY NAME! / in / !ALL THE EARTH! (Psalms 8:-1–9)
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PURPOSE
I’ve inserted lots of exclamation marks to remind me that I want to exclaim these glorious concepts. But that’s the way it comes to me to read it. You may feel differently. But, if you, too, are amazed at being such a tiny entity amidst the vastness of God’s universe, and having been given dominion over all of it, you’ll want to find a way to convey your wonder—for the purpose of inspiring your listeners also to feel that wonder!
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Happy reading!
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Don Feldheim
Expressive Communication Services
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