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For the director of music.
According to gittith. A psalm of David.
1O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is Your name in all the earth!
You have set Your glory above the heavens.
2From the lips of children and infants
You have ordained praise
because of Your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
3When I consider Your heavens,
the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars,
which You have set in place,
4what is man that You are mindful of him,
the son of man that You care for him?
5You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6You made him ruler over the works of Your hands;
You put everything under his feet:
7all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,
8the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
9O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is Your name in all the earth!
Psalm 8 concerns the majesty and greatness of God, as well as His grace in caring for man. This is a psalm of pure praise; it differs from the previous few psalms in that it contains no petitions to God. One might get the idea from the previous psalms that God's people are always burdened with affliction; however, we have ample opportunity to praise the Lord for the blessings that He has bestowed upon us. We must be careful not to only come to God in times of affliction with petitions, but to also come to Him in times of blessing with praise.
According to the inscription, this psalm was a piece of music written by David. The inscription also tells us that the psalm was written "according to gittith". This apparently refers to a musical style. We are not exactly sure what "gittith" means. Some think that the word is related to the area of Gath, because people from Gath are referred to as "gittith" and David spent some time in Gath (cf. I Sam. 27:2); others think that the word is derived from the word for "winepress", because the words in Hebrew are similar and this psalm is a joyful psalm. In fact, all three psalms that are designated as "according to gittith" (psalms 8, 81, and 84) are joyful psalms, so we can infer that this designation in some way defines a joyful style of music.
The psalm begins and ends with the same statement of praise, that God's majesty is manifest throughout the earth. In between, David proves these statements of praise by speaking first of God's majesty that is visible in His creation in general, and then of the work that God is doing through feeble man in particular.
1O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is Your name in all the earth!
David begins the psalm with a statement of praise, declaring God's majesty "in all the earth". David addresses God in two ways: "LORD" and "Lord". These are two different words in Hebrew. As mentioned before in these pages, in the NIV translation, the name of God ("YHWH" in Hebrew) is translated as "LORD" using SMALL CAPITAL LETTERS (see last month's Study in Psalms for a discussion of the name of God). The second designation, "Lord", is the Hebrew word "Adonai", which literally means, well, lord (ruler and master). David's addressing God as "Lord" is appropriate for this psalm which speaks of the glory of God. Our recognition of the glory of God and His creation should cause us to bow down in reverence to Him, acknowledging Him as Lord.
Note that David calls God "our" Lord. This reflects the fact that this psalm is a general psalm. It does not deal specifically with a particular event in David's life, but is a psalm that everyone could and should sing out. Thus, David says "our" Lord. The Lord is "our" Lord--not only David's Lord, or even only the Lord of those who believe in Him--but the Lord of all mankind and all creation. He is the Lord of all, whether acknowledged as so or not.
David's statement of praise, and the theme of the psalm, is: "How majestic is Your name in all the earth!" Now, in Hebrew, one's "name" is more than just a designation; it represents one's character, one's attributes, and, indeed, one's entire being. So, David here is saying that God's character is manifest as majestic "in all the earth". The ways in which it is manifest will be shown in the following verses.
You have set Your glory above the heavens.
2From the lips of children and infants
You have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
In this section, David points out that God's majesty is manifest from the highest heavens to the lips of infants. First, he says: "You have set Your glory above the heavens." The Bible speaks of three heavens: the atmosphere (where the clouds move and the birds fly), space (where the sun, moon, and stars reside), and heaven proper (where God dwells, thus Paul speaks of a man who was taken up to the "third heaven" in II Cor. 12:2). In all of these, God's glory is evident: the atmosphere displays God's grand design in the patterns of the weather and in the flight of the birds; space demonstrates God's wisdom and strength through His setting of the heavenly bodies in place and in motion; and, certainly, God's dwelling place exhibits His glory greater than we can imagine, glimpses of which we have in the writings of Ezekiel and John.
God's glory is, however, "set above" the heavens. Surely, God's glory as displayed in the heavens, His creation, cannot come close to His true glory. A creation can never equal the attributes of its Creator, and so, the glory we behold as we study the flight of the birds and the movement of the stars is nothing compared to God's true glory. The extent of God's glory is unimaginable to us; what we see in His creation is but a reflection of His true glory.
God's majesty is not only manifest in the heavens, but also "from the lips of children and infants." Children naturally believe in God. They often ask questions and make observations concerning why and how God created things. Children do not limit God. In faith, rightly so, they believe God can do anything. Also, children are not afraid to give credit and glory to God for what He has done.
Now, David says that God Himself has "ordained praise" from the lips of children and infants. This suggests that God has put a knowledge of Himself in the hearts of children; and, since we were all children, we all, even those who do not acknowledge God now, have at one time possessed this knowledge of God. Paul tells us that "what may be known about God is plain to [the wicked], because God has made it plain to them" (Rom. 1:19). He goes on to say that the wicked became depraved because "they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God", suggesting that they, at one time, possessed a knowledge of God. We can infer that they had a knowledge of God when they were children. But now, the knowledge of God in children is used, as David says, to silence them, "to silence the foe and the avenger". The instinctive praise of children is a strong defense against those who deny the existence of God. It silences the intellectual scientist and philosopher who has found no place for God in their studies of His creation.
Although undoubtedly these verses speak of children's knowledge and praise of God in general, they also speak prophetically of a specific event in Jesus' ministry. The day after Palm Sunday, long after the adults had ceased shouting praises to Jesus, the children were still calling out "Hosanna to the Son of David" (Matt. 21:15). The chief priests and teachers of the law were indignant at this. "`Do you hear what these children are saying?' they asked him. `Yes,' replied Jesus, `have you never read, "From the lips of children and infants You have ordained praise"?'" (Matt. 21:16). As David prophesied, the chief priests and teachers of the law were silenced by this.
Now, in a sense, when any of us praise the Lord, it comes from the lips of children and infants because we are called to have childlike faith, to be like children. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it" (Mark 10:15). At another time, Jesus prays: "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children" (Matt. 11:25). God's people are children in spirit. The potential of the faith of a child is great. If we all could but keep our childlike faith; if we all could but recover it...
3When I consider Your heavens,
the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars,
which You have set in place,
4what is man that You are mindful of him,
the son of man that You care for him?
5You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
You put everything under his feet:
7all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,
8the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
David goes on to declare God's majesty through the glory and honor that He has bestowed upon man. David begins by comparing the marvelous splendor of the heavens to the feebleness and frailty of man, in order to show what a great work God has done through man in using such a creature for His glory.
David says, "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers..." The wording suggests that David was in the habit of considering and meditating upon God's creation. We all should go out into the night, as David did, and meditate upon the glory of the heavens. In the daytime, we can only consider the first heaven--the sky, the clouds, the birds soaring through it. But at night, we can consider the vastness of seemingly infinite space, beholding galaxies and stars that are light years away. Through the vastness of space, we become aware of the vastness, the magnificence and the power of God. And these heavens are but "the works of [God's] fingers."
Clearly, David's meditation of the heavens took place at night, for he marvels at "the moon and the stars, which [God has] set in place." Quite possibly, David wrote this psalm when he still a shepherd, while keeping watch over his sheep at night. Keeping watch at night was certainly a difficult task, but David was blessed through the trial in being able to behold and meditate upon God's glory, as manifested in the heavens. Such a situation invited such a meditation. We complain about the rough lot that we've been given, but often God puts us through these rough times in order that we may appreciate His glory, His deliverance and His providence. Through these rough times, we draw closer to Him. We have more opportunity to consider the heavens, when we are watching sheep by night, as David; we can see more clearly a stairway to heaven, when we have a stone for a pillow in the open wilderness, as Jacob (Gen. 28:10-22); we can appreciate more the providence of God and say to our persecutors, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives" (Gen. 50:20), when we have been sold as a slave and spent years in prison, as Joseph.
So, study the Word of God, but also consider His works. It is good for us to consider the heavens with God in mind. Science is far-reaching, taking us to the heights of the heavens. Theology, however, is further-reaching, taking us beyond the heavens to the dwelling place of God. Also, through consideration of the vastness of God's creation, we come to realize the feebleness and frailty of man. "Meditation fits for humiliation."[Footnote #7] Through such meditation, we come to say, as David, "What is man that You are mindful of him?"
We must wonder, in view of the vastness and majesty of His creation, why God would be mindful of and care for man. Yes, man has performed great works in this world, but our grandeur is evident only on earth and reaches no further beyond. None of man's works are even visible from space, except for the Great Wall of China, and it can only be discerned at a comparably small distance from earth. Any glory that man possesses, far from being "set above the heavens", is localized to earth. As the philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal said: "What is man in nature? Nothing in relation to the infinite, everything in relation to nothing, a mean between nothing and everything,"[Footnote #8] and also, "Oh, the grandeur and littleness, the excellence and the corruption, the majesty and meanness of man!"[Footnote #9] Why does man have so much pride, fallen and insignificant as he is? "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall" (Isa. 40:6-7). Certainly, any glory that man has, in and of himself, ends at his grave, as he decomposes and joins the worms.
And "what is man" in God's eyes? Man is fallen; man is corrupt and tainted. Man is ungrateful; man is rebellious, often turning his back on God, often spitting in His face. But God "is mindful of him" and God "cares for him". Let us never forget what a great thing it is that God cares for us. There are many who say that they believe in God, but they think, at the same time, that God is not active in or even concerned with His creation. Perish the thought! On the contrary, God is "mindful" of His creation and His creatures, visiting them every day, working in their lives, influencing the history of mankind toward His purpose.
Clearly, on earth, God has given man a special place in His creation. God has made man "a little lower than the heavenly beings", as compared to rest of the creatures. Among the creatures, man has dominion; man rules over "all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas." Daily, we get our sustenance, clothing and ornamentation from the flocks, herds, beasts, birds and fish.
David also says that God "crowned [man] with glory and honor" and "put everything under his feet". These statements were true before man's fall, but man, at the fall, lost much of his "glory and honor" and much of his dominion over the animals. We all must take a large stick when we go walking in the wilderness. As the writer of Hebrews says, as he comments on this passage: "In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him" (Heb. 2:8). But what man lost through his fall, God restored through Christ. The writer of Hebrews continues: "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone" (Heb. 2:9).
What we have omitted thus far in our commentary upon this passage is how Christ fits into it. The clearest evidence that God cares for man is that He sent His Son to die for the sins of man, so that they may share in His glory. It was a great act of humility on Christ's part to condescend and become a man, to make "Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness" (Phil. 2:7). For us, He was "made a little lower than the angels", and through Him, we have been "crowned with glory and honor". All mankind was honored when Christ was numbered as a man; all mankind was greatly elevated with Christ's visitation as a man. And so, it is because Christ has "everything under His feet" that David says that man "has everything under his feet." It is because Christ is a man that man can be said to have complete dominion.
9O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is Your name in all the earth!
David concludes the psalm with his statement of praise: "O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!" David repeats his opening statement of praise, and indeed, our Lord is worthy to be praised over and over again. David ends the psalm in this way as if to say Q.E.D., it is demonstrated, case closed: God is indeed glorious and majestic.
Yes, Lord, Your name is majestic in all the earth. Let us never forget the greatness of Your glory that is manifest throughout Your creation. May Your name be greatly praised on earth! Thank You for being mindful of man, humble as he is. Thank You, especially, for caring for man so much that You sent Your Son to die for us. In His name, we pray these things, Amen.
(Our study in the Psalms will continue in the next issue with Psalm 9)
Footnotes:
7. Thomas Watson, cited in Spurgeon, A Treasury of David, pg. 86.
8. Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pensées, no. 4.
9. Pascal, cited in Spurgeon, A Treasury of David, pg. 89.
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