Psalm 8
Psalm 8
For the director of music. According to gittith. 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!
Background
Psalm 8 doesn’t ascribe to any particular event. It is a song that wants to express the greatness and glory of God’s power and transcendence. This psalm tries to paint a picture of how mankind is small in front of an unfathomable God. Matthew Henry breaks down the psalm into a following structure.
I. Making God know his great name to us – Vs. 1
II. For making use of the weak people to serve God’s purposes – Vs 2
III. For making heavenly bodies useful to man – Vs. 3, 4
IV. Dominion over creatures but little lower than angels – Vs. 5-8
The Psalm
Vs 1
The psalmist starts the psalm by exalting the name of the Lord and describing how glorious he is. As humans it is difficult for one to figure out who God is. This nature of God makes him God. He is transcendent above everything and unknowable. His glory is in the heavens. Such a glorious God’s name is majestic all over the earth.
Vs 2
The world of God is very different. In the eyes of man the most powerful people are the ones with great wealth, knowledge and power. But God uses the weak, poor, dumb people to defend his glory against the enemies of God. God has the power to quiet the sound of the foe and the avenger by using the voice of children and infants who are weak and vulnerable in the world.
Vs 3, 4
The psalmist in verse 3 tries to think about the creation of God. He is meditating on the wonder that God has made. He looks in to the sky and the spatial bodies and he is in awe. He is so shocked and surprised by the order of creation. The heavens and the work of his fingers are so great.
In verse 4 he reflects on the love of God towards mankind. Though God is so big and his creation is unfathomable, he cares for human beings and he is mindful of man. This indeed is a wonderful expression of humility. You are such a great God whom I cannot understand and fathom. But it is so great that you have time for human beings that are so small and live finite lives.
Vs 5, 6, 7, 8
Though the finitude of man is so great, the generosity of God is so big that he crowned man with glory and honor. He is just a little smaller than the angels.
Though God has made everything with all sweat and pain, he generously gave everything to humans to rule and He put everything under the feet of man to rule, this is love and great grace.
Verses 7 and 8 lists the objects that are under the rule of man. It includes flocks and herds and animals in the wild, birds, fishes and all sea creatures. Though all these are created by God, he let man rule over all this.
Vs 9.
The psalmist ends the psalm by praising God as he begins the psalm with praise.