A Shepherd's Sky

Adonai Elohei David

‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears"   Isaiah 38:5

I don't remember anything about J.B. Phillips' book Your God is Too Small except its title. I read the book about 45 years ago as a teenager living with my family in Enterprise, Alabama. 

I want to suggest that no matter how big you perceive  God to be, your God is still too small. When the early Hebrews contemplated that God was the God of the heavens, they considered "the stars in the sky", the stars that they could see. They had no telescopes on Mount Palomar. They had no Hubble. They had no books of astronomy to reference.  Their God was only as big as the the heavens that they could see with the naked eye. We know the universe to be much bigger. Much, much bigger. It is estimated that in our average sized galaxy there are 100 billion stars.  Some estimate that there are as many as 400 billion stars. Then can't we conclude that nobody really knows how many stars are in the Milky Way? It is also estimated that there are more than 100 billion galaxies in the known universe. The "known universe." Then how many are there?  Nobody knows. We also know by observation that these galaxies are separated by tens of millions of light years. If you then attempt to calculate the size of the universe, you'll need a scientific calculator to do the math. Then isn't God at least this big?  If we believe that the heavens can't contain Him, then how big is He?

I also want to suggest that God is much bigger than the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  God is much bigger than the God of David. As important as the Judeo-Christian account of God is, this world view is a minute fraction of the size and person of God. In American Indian myth and folklore alone, you will find hundreds of names and attributes for God. When you include the world's religions, these names and attributes are staggering. 

It is said that in the world of Hindu that there are as many Gods as their are worshippers. Before you criticize this religion for this conjecture, consider that this is true for anyone of any religion. The God you worship is the God of you and no one else. Your God is as big as you comprehend.  Your God is as kind or as judgmental as you perceive. If your God is the God of the Bible, then your God is only as big as the Bible you know. Taoist thought says that if you can define the Tao, then it's not the Tao.

For me, the God of David, Adonai Elohei David, is not the God of the Psalmist King, but the God of me. I can only assume that my God is much bigger than his. "When I consider the heavens, the work of Your hands, what is man that you are mindful of him?"  A shepherd sees a lot of stars. A shepherd's perception of the size of the sky must have been quite immense. But would he have considered billions times billions of stars? Would he have imagined a God that big?

Because of the lights in my world, I have never seen a shepherd's sky. But I believe what I read about the universe to be true.  I believe that this David's God, my God,  is bigger than that one. I predicted that the highlight of my recent visit to Bryce Canyon, Utah would be the star gazing experience.  Bryce actually protects its darkness for this very reason. I was prepared to at long last see a shepherd's sky. And with the large telescopes see the edges of the galaxy. What I didn't predict was a full moon. So I still have never seen  the psalmist David's sky. But I don't have to accept on faith that there's more. I believe modern astronomy to be true. I see what the telescopes see.

And if the God of the psalmist David "heard his prayers and saw his  tears", then how much more can my God hear me?  I hope to return the Bryce Canyon on a dark, clear night. I hope to see a shepherd's sky. Until then I will be content with the God of Hubble, the God of David. As big as He is, I believe that He is mindful of me.