Read Psalm 8:2(b)
‘You have founded a bulwark because of your foes’.
Reflect
Different translations of this verse give us different words to ponder. The New Revised Standard Version says, “You have founded a bulwark”; the New International Version speaks of “a stronghold”; the English Standard Version says, “you have established strength”; and the King James Version has the direct phrase, “thou hast ordained strength.” However we phrase it, the question remains: what sort of strength is this, and what is strength for?
When we think of strength, we may first imagine the ability to lift, push, carry, or overcome. Roger Hargreaves’ Mr Strong can lift things others cannot, apparently because he eats large numbers of eggs. In John Burningham’s Avocado Baby, a feeble baby becomes extraordinarily strong after eating an avocado and uses that strength to help the family and chase away trouble.
These amusing children’s stories remind us that strength is not only about what we possess, but what it enables us to do. Strength becomes meaningful when it helps others, protects the vulnerable, and turns worry or danger into hope.
Psalm 8 points us to a different kind of strength. It is not the strength of the powerful, impressive, or self-sufficient. It comes “out of the mouths of babes and infants.” God’s strength may be revealed through those whom the world overlooks. It may be praise, trust, or the faithful word spoken by someone who knows they are small but also knows that God is great.
Many concerns feel beyond our capacity: conflict, injustice, poverty, loneliness, environmental damage, illness, grief, and fear. We may wonder what contribution we could possibly make. We are not Mr Strong, and we cannot lift the world’s burdens on our own shoulders.
But Psalm 8 reminds us that our real resource is not eggs, avocados, status, confidence, or human muscle. Our resource is our relationship with God. However prayer happens for us — in words, silence, worship, stillness, a cry for help, or the steady offering of the day — it resources us with strength beyond ourselves.
With God’s help, we may do what we could not otherwise do: offer kindness when tired, speak truth when afraid, keep going when weak, forgive when resentment would be easier, and hope when the world feels heavy. This is a different strength: not strength for showing off, but strength for faithful living; strength received from God and used in love.
Pray
Loving God, resourceful God, empowering God, make me strong to be a bulwark against all that is hard, unworthy, and hurtful in the world. Make me strong to be there for the people around me and help me never to forget to turn to you for strength. Amen.