Dwell in the Word: Psalm 8

Consider these questions as you dwell in Psalm 8 today:

1. How does Psalm 8 emphasize the contrast between the majesty of God and the apparent insignificance of humanity in the grand scheme of the universe? How does this realization impact our perspective on life?

2. The psalmist acknowledges that God has crowned humanity with glory and honor, giving them dominion over creation. How does this affirmation of human value and purpose relate to the Christian understanding of redemption through Christ?

3. In what ways does Psalm 8 serve as a reminder of the dual purpose of humanity: to glorify God and to enjoy a Him forever? How does this understanding influence the way we navigate life and interact with the world around us?

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Transcript:

Of the psalms we have looked at so far it is likely that Psalm 8 is the one that we are most familiar with. It is one of the psalms that you come to and you read through it and discover that several phrases that are used in prayers and songs come from this Psalm. And of course we do, this is a psalm of praise with majestic language not only about the glory of God but it also sets out how amazing it is that the maker of heaven and earth cares for us.

‌Right away with the first verse we see a statement that we say in praise along with the Psalmist: O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. As we read this you may have notice that in the original language this isn’t repetitive like it is in the English. As you’ve heard me mention before in our English bibles we get an indication of when the proper name of God is being used in the Old Testament. When we see all caps used for the word Lord it means that in the Hebrew it is the proper name of God, Yahweh, being used. You may have also noticed that the second time the word lord is used in English it isn’t in all caps. There in the original language it is not the proper name of God but the Hebrew word for lord, which is adonai.

‌So, after our short little Hebrew lesson here, let me say that sentence for us mixing the little bit of Hebrew you know with the English. O Yahweh, our Adonai, how majestic is your name in all the earth. It is clear that this praise is being ascribed to the God who has revealed himself to his people and he has revealed himself to be the majestic Lord of heaven and earth. David says that his glory is above the heavens. It is far beyond our understanding and isn’t something we could ever hope to reach on our own.

‌And, we get this idea as we jump down to verses 3 and 4 we see this idea spelled out for us. David is ascribing praise to the infinite God and then he acknowledges his finite nature. This is one of the phrases that we know so well from this psalm: 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? I think that we completely understand this statement from David here. I’m guessing there isn’t a one of us who hasn’t stood outside and looked up at the stars on a clear night and realized just how small we are. In our minds we are pretty big stuff but looking at the heavens causes us to realize just how inconsequential we are in the grand scheme of things.

‌It is my hope that in those moments you don’t end up at a point of nihilistic despair but instead answer in a manner similar to David. Yep, compared to the scope of the universe it might seem like we are insignificant but yet, God has created humans a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned them with glory and honor. He gave humanity dominion over creation to care for it. Humanity is not a blip on the radar of history, God created us on the sixth day in his own image. We can look at creation and know that God has created us to bring glory to himself and there is even better news because the story of the gospel unlocks this Psalm even more for us.

‌We know that we were created to glorify God but as we say in Westminster Catechism Question and Answer 1 we know that the chief end of man is to glorify God AND enjoy him forever. We have value and significance because Christ took on our flesh and suffered and died to rescues us from sin, death, and hell. When we have thoughts that we are insignificant we can know that because we are in Christ, God was mindful of us and rescued us that we might bring glory to his name and enjoy him for all eternity.

And so, as we step out into God’s world may this Psalm be in our hearts and on our lips as we say with David: O Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.