April 14, 2020 – The Majesty of God:
Today, we turn our attention to the Majesty of God. We focus on the only God there is and whose handiwork is all around us. Today, we look at Psalm 8 and look to follow the example of David by acknowledging God and His majesty:
1 O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- The majesty of God
- The word majestic suggests splendor and magnificence. It is a fitting note of praise for the Lord of Creation.
- We are created as majestic creatures
- We and all other human beings are valuable because God Himself created us in His own glorious image
- God’s plan
- God can use all of us no matter how strong or weak to silence evil
Context/summary:
Psalm 8, a psalm of praise with wisdom connections, is a poetic reflection of the great creation account of Genesis 1. This psalm expresses wonder at the majestic and sublime nature of God. However, the center of the psalm focuses on human beings, a rarity in Scripture.[1] But even this focus leads to the praise of God, the Creator of humanity. Thus the psalm sets to music the significance of the phrase “in His image” in Genesis 1:26-28. In this psalm, David marveled that the glorious Lord of heaven, whose name is excellent, should graciously use people in the earth’s dominion. The passage considers the dignity of mankind as God’s representative on earth, without noting the Fall’s consequence of chaos and rebellion. The structure of the poem is: (1) a prologue in praise of God’s excellent name (v. 1); (2) the praise of God from children (v. 2); (3) the praise of the Creator of humanity (vv. 3-8); (4) an epilogue in praise of God’s excellent name (v. 9)
DEEPER EXPOSITION:
Verse 1: The name of God and the glory of God are alternate ways of describing who He is. This psalm ends with the same words it begins with. These words of praise to the name of God form a frame for its central subject the praise of man as male and female, whom God has made to reflect His majesty.
The name, that is, the revealed character of God, is exalted above all Creation. The word majestic suggests splendor and magnificence. It is a fitting note of praise for the Lord of Creation.
The vocative O Lord, our Lord is important in this idea. Addressing God by His personal name Yahweh (“Lord”), David then identified Him as “our Lord” (’ăḏōnay), the Sovereign or Master. “Lord” stresses God’s dominion over His Creation.
Verse 2: Jesus quoted this verse to the priests and scribes (Matt 21:16) who wanted to squelch the people who were speaking the words of Psalm 118:26 in praise of Jesus. David marveled that God uses strength from children to silence His enemies (and the foe and the avenger). The idea is that the Lord has ordained that the weakest shall confound the strong (cf. 1 Cor. 1:27). Mankind, even weak children, and infants represent the strength of God in the earth
Verses 3-4: David is in awe at the splendors of creation; the wonders of nature lead him to praise its Creator. Even the universe with its infinite distances was the work of the Lord’s “fingers” (cf. Ps 19:1). Given the vastness of creation and the surpassing glory of God the Creator, who are we to presume upon Him? Here “man” (’ěnôš) refers to all human beings regardless of gender.[2] The rhetorical questions in verse 4 emphasize that man is an insignificant creature in the universe (cf. 144:3). Yet God cares for him immensely. It amazed David that the Lord of the universe even thinks about mankind.
Verses 5-8: The response to the rhetorical questions of verse 4 is stunning. Man (again as male and female) stands at the peak of God’s creation. The Hebrew text is “You have made him to lack little of God.”[3] The Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the OT) translates the Hebrew word meaning “God” as angels. The author of Hebrews bases their argument in Hebrews 2:5-9 on the Septuagint reading. So, both readings are true.[4] Hebrews quotes this psalm to contrast man’s failure with his exalted destiny. Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, is the last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45, 47); all things will be subjected to Him when He comes to fulfill God the Father’s intended plans for the Creation.
The words “crowned him with glory” fill out and explain the parallel phrase “a little lower than the angels.” God created human beings as majestic creatures who were to rule over His creation. But in our fallen state, we are profoundly disfigured, a perversion of the majesty God has intended (Ps 9:20). However, Jesus restores those who put their trust in Him. In Christ, we recover majesty; in Him, we become the people that God wants us to be. Whenever we feel worthless, the words of this psalm should encourage us. We and all other human beings are valuable because God Himself created us in His own glorious image.
Verse 9: in the phrase, “O LORD, our Lord,” the first word is the divine name Yahweh. The second Hebrew word translated “our Lord” speaks of the One in control, “our Sovereign.”
Footnotes:
[1] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald B. Allen, H. Wayne House, eds., Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: Nelson, 1999), 652.
[2] Strong 582, TWOT 136a
[3] Ibid.
[4] Though in some cases ’ělōhîm may refer to angels, this is not its main meaning. Man was created as God’s own representative on earth, over the Creation, but lower than God. David was amazed that God should exalt finite man to such a place of honor.