Psalm 8
1 LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above 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 are mere mortals that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
5 You have made them a little lower than the heavenly
beings 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!
1 LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above 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 are mere mortals that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
5 You have made them a little lower than the heavenly
beings 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!
Do you remember the angel craze of the 1980s? I was a newlywed & began collecting items for our first Christmas tree. Angels were plentiful. We have angels of every shape and size. There is a baseball angel, my sons adored playing baseball for over a decade. I figure somewhere in all the celestial host, there is an angel who really does like baseball. He is one of the few males. My deepest chagrin, my angels are all women. Sure, I've added antique lace to them and gorgeous flowing mantles. Angels from the '80s are pat you on the head, beautiful women. But this is not so:
Luke 1:11-13
Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John."
Raphael is "one of the seven who stand before the Lord." Revelation 8:2 also refers to the seven angels who stand before the Lord. The seven are Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Raguel, Remiel, Saraqael, and Uriel, named in Enoch and Tobit (20:1-8), books found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and in the Bible defined by the first Christian Council - Nicaea.
Tobit 12:15
I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels, which present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory of the Holy One.
Revelation 8:2
Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and they were given seven trumpets.
Luke 1:19
"I am Gabriel," the angel answered. "I stand in the presence of God, who sent me to speak to you and tell you this good news."
All of the angels, named by the Lord God Almighty, end in -el. Messengers of God. I am. Abba. Jehovah. Yahweh. King of Kings. The salvation message of Jesus Christ brought to us by the angels, is God's message. It is the same for us today, as it was for shepherds.
Luke 1:37
For no word from God will ever fail.
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