When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?– Psalm 8:3-4
In its context, Psalm 8:3-4 presents the celestial heavens and their luminaries as evidence of God’s infinite power, and wisdom. The Psalmist then contrasts this with the smallness of a single human being and marvels at how the Creator of the universe could also consider and care for someone so small as himself.
However, this same Psalm is also referenced in Hebrews 2:5-8 as a prophecy of Christ. The incarnation of God the Son fulfills Psalm 8:3-4 in a way the Psalmist could never have imagined….the infinite Creator of the stars who also cares for human beings manifests His care for us by becoming one of us and laying down His life to make us His own.
In this image I wanted to communicate the belittling glory of the heavens, but to also show that their Creator who is “mindful” of and “cares for” us, ultimately did this by becoming “a little lower than angels” (v.5), that is to say, one of us, and dying for us. The hands that set the stars in place will eternally bear the wounds of love, wounds He received when He became one of us and lived on the mote of dust we call “Earth.”
