By Faith McCray ~ Copy Desk Chief
Psalm 8 is a Psalm of David. 1 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in 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 is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? 5 You have made them a little lower than the angels 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!
David tells us in v. 1 that the Lord’s name is majestic in all the earth.
The word “majestic” is from the Hebrew ad’dir, which is translated to be “wonderful”, “great,” or “exalted.”
David views the Lord’s creation and is so astonished by how wonderful, great and exalted God is.
In v. 2 the Bible explains that God is so strong that he can obtain praise from children.
However, there are many reasons why God is worthy of this praise. An example is because of how God accomplishes his will.
He uses the weakest voices of the earth – “the praise of children and infants” – to show off His glory.
Vs. 1 and 2 points back to what is written in Genesis. The first two verses remind believers of God’s creative works. He created all before you, and said that it was good.
David scans the night sky in v. 3. He takes into account that God created all the heavens and the earth as the work of His fingers, and He has put into orbit the moon and the stars.
In v. 4, David wondered how a gracious and all powerful creator would give a crap about him.
However, God has shown that he cares for us in so many different ways. For example, He created out first parents, after making sure they would have a world that He created for them.
The Lord has also shown that He cares by sending His Son as our Redeemer.
V. 5 focuses on David’s reflection of the creation of man.
God created heavenly beings, but none of them could do what Jesus did.
Jesus chose to become a man to die in the place of sinful men.When Jesus did this on the cross, He paid the penalty for all past, present, and future sins of those who put their faith in Him (Hebrews 2:9).
V. 6 refers us back to Genesis, where we are informed that God created Adam and Eve to be co-regents with Him (Genesis 1:26-27).
However, they were given rules to follow and they failed to follow those rules. They had given into temptation and they sinned against their Creator.
David continues to mention the animals where mankind had received dominion.
He talks about the “flock and herds” in v. 7. Flock refers to sheep, which herd refers to oxen, which were both two very common animals in Israel’s agricultural economy.
While David continues to move forward and mention the birds and fish in v. 8.
The final verse in Psalm 8, v. 9 is a repetition of v. 1. David addresses the Lord and shouts “How Majestic is your name in all the earth!”
Today, Christians wonder how beautiful nature was before the curse. However, they know that one day Jesus will come back to restore God’s creation to what it was before sin entered the world.
Are you looking to become involved in the Christian community on campus?
- Delight Ministries has a weekly meeting on Mondays at 8:00 p.m.
- Cru has a weekly meeting on Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m.
- Campus Outreach has a weekly meeting on Thursdays at 8:00 p.m.
Delight Ministries weekly meeting is located in Schewel Hall in room 229. While Cru and Campus Outreach meetings are both located in the Hornet Hive on the bottom floor of The Drysdale Student Center.