PSALM 8 written by David, This is a psalm of pure praise; it differs from the previous psalms in that it makes no petitions. We should come to God in times of trouble with petitions, but also come to Him in times of blessing with praise.
1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens.
2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of 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 man that You are mindful of him, the son of man that You care for him?
5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You made him ruler over the works of Your hands; You put everything under his feet:
7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!
SECTIONS:
I God’s Majesty in Creation
a)God’s name & glory
b) God’s power over enemies (able to ordain strength from the mouths of infants and silence the enemy)
Section II Man’s Dignity over Creation
a ) Man’s insignificance
b) Man’s exaltation by God by virtue of his creation (made a little lower than the angels, crowned w/glory & honor, given dominion over the works of God)
c) Man’s response (to praise God)
THEME: God’s kingship, majesty and power in creation and our response of praise.
QUESTIONS:
Decribe a time when you were most amazed by God’s creation?
What do you find espcially praiseworthy about God’s character?
What does verse 2 mean?
Why do you think David asks “What is man that you are mindful of him?”
Are people significant or insignificant? Why?
In what ways did God crown people with glory and honor?
ADDITIONAL VERSES
Corinthians 3:18 – And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit
Isaiah 42:8 – I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols
Romans 1:20 – For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse
Colossians 1:16 – For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
Psalm 144:3-4 – O Lord, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him? Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.
Studyandobey.com
The word majesty means “impressive stateliness, dignity, or beauty.” To David, God is the most wonderful and beautiful being anywhere in the universe, worthy of respect and admiration. He knows that God is Supreme, higher and more powerful than anyone. You can feel his love for God. To him, God is not a force. Neither is He an angry judge or a strict rule giver. He is someone to love and admire. People often idolize and look up to certain people. For some it is celebrities, politicians or athletes. But David knew that only God alone is worthy to be praised.
What if you spent thousands of hours to write a book and it’s very good. But before you get it published someone steals you manuscripts and publish the book in their own name. After that, they get the credit and the profit from the book that you wrote. As the rightful author, what should you do? Are you justified in taking up the case, going to the bookstores or to the court and showing proof that you wrote the book? It is your work, your creation. It is right and just that you receive the credit. Is that pride? No, that’s justice. On the other hand, the person who tried to steal the credit is sinning. He tried to take what is rightfully yours. The same is true for a painting. If you painted a beautiful picture, you wouldn’t like it if someone erased your signature and added their own.
This helps us to understand why God seeks praise and glory for all the things He’s done. He is the Creator, redeemer and King and deserves the glory. If someone else tries to take glory for themselves, it is robbing God. When we take glory to ourselves for our successes or achievements we are taking it away from its rightful owner, God.
Out of the mouth of babies and infants you have established strength – At first, this verse is hard to understand. How does He establish strength from the mouth of babies? Matthew 21:15-16 says “But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, “‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?” Jesus quoted verse 2 in this psalm.
When Jesus performed miracles, the children recognized this and praised Him, but the scribes and priests ridiculed Him. Jesus used this verse in Psalm 8:2 to show that it was being fulfilled in front of their very eyes. Children often recognize what highly intelligent adults may miss. Enemies of God often use their intelligence to attack God or mislead people with false teachings. Children humbly trust in Him with simple faith. Richard Dawkins, and atheists like him, have a high IQ. But they say in their hearts “there is no God,” which makes them fools (Psalm 14:1).
David says that people are made a “little lower than heavenly beings.” Angels are tremendously powerful, supernatural beings. People are only a little lower than that. Yet, we’re crowned with “glory and honor.” God honors people. He makes us significant. To him, we are valuable. He loves and cares for us and made us in His image. Our esteem and sense of self-worth come from God – The world looks many places to find esteem. Sometimes we’re tempted to do the same. If we get our sense of value from others, when they criticize us and tear us down, it hurts. It may even cause us to become depressed. If we get our sense of self worth from our career, when it fails we feel useless. Some get get it from their children and the success of their children. In the Bible, Rachel felt like a failure when she didn’t have any children. Walk with your head held high because you are a child of the King
blueletterbible.org
David mentions that God uses weak things to display His glory and strength. 1 Corinthians 1:27 says, “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.” Satan is filled with scorn when he looks at man and measures man with himself. But God displays His strength in unlikely vessels to silence the enemy. One example is the story of Job. God silenced Satan accusations against both God and Job by the way that He sustained Job with His unseen hand in the mist of profound weakness.
“When I consider Your heavens”-David knew what it was like to look up into the starry sky and consider what a great God had made this vast, wonderful universe. He considered the relative smallness and insignificance of man and wondered why a great God would be mindful of such small beings.
Though for a little while man is set lower than the angels, his destiny is to be crowned with a glory. The redeemed will one day be lifted above the angels (1 Corinthians 6:3, Revelation 20:5).
My reflection on Psalm 8
It amazes me when I hear of people of other religions rising up, complaining to newspapers, magazines, and stores if they see their god ridiculed or displayed in a disrespectful manner.
For instance in an AP news article titled “Wayfair pulls towel depicting deity after Hindus object,” Wayfair had to pull a towel depicting deity Lord Ganesha after a Hindu organization raised objections. The organization said it was highly inappropriate and sacriligious. Back in 2015, the muslim population was outraged by a satirical magazine called Charlie Hebdo that dishonored their prophet Mohammed. Unfortunately, some extremeists killed people because of it. But all the same, there was an outpouring from the Muslim people about their prophet being dishonored. Yet as Christians, we let people freely take Jesus name in vain right in front of us and say nothing! We see shows that make fun of him. How many of us who believe in Jesus, write the producers or sponsors. It’s sad that we quietly let this happen and don’t stand up for Jesus! I have heard of One Million Moms who are fighting indecency and that is admirable. But as a Christians we should all take a stand for our God. God is capable of defending himself in any means possible that he wants. But as his beloved children do we stand by and do nothing while his name is dishonored? Oh to be more like David!
One more thing that occurred to me when I read this psalm was of how David was in awe of creation, wondering who can say there is no God when you look up to the heavens and see what God’s fingers have made! I think of a story of a woman who visited our church one time to give a lecture on her experiences on healing from abuse and trauma, whether physical, emotional or mental. She told a story of how abused she was as a child and how this caused her to turn away from God who had allowed that suffering in her life. She became an athiest and never gave God a thought anymore. He had ceased to exist to her.
Then one night she couldn’t take the metal torture and pain anymore and decided to kill herself. She went to a graveyard, finding it the most fitting place to end it all. And as she contemplated her death, she looked up at the starry skies. The moon shone especially bright that night and the stars were vivid. Soon, she found herself taken in by the majesty of it all. Suddenly she was touched and overcome by the presence of God. She knew inside her deepest self that there was a powerful being out there. There was a creator and he had created her. Not only was she overcome by the power and majesty of God, she also deeply felt the love he had for her. He had made her and God had a purpose for her. All of this information just came on her in one fell swoop and her life was forever changed. She became involved in caring for others who had suffered abuse. I think to myself. Why do people lie to themselves and others that there is no God? Look around at the sun, moon and stars. Contemplate nature and the mystery and beauty of each creature God has created. How can people say there is no God?
Christianpost.com (Richard E. Simmons III 8/14/20
In a recent conversation with a younger co-worker, he expressed to me that many in his generation are experiencing frustration with the news media, along with feelings of uncertainty and a lack of hope for the future. How can we know which news is true, and where or in whom can we place our trust? Where can we find lasting peace in these times of true uncertainty and suffering in the world?
Whether we are aware of it or not, our worldview is constantly being shaped and formed by what we hear, read, and choose to believe. Our worldview informs our personal, social, and political lives. It helps us understand our purpose. It determines our ethics, values, and capacity for happiness. It helps us answer the big questions of life: How did I get here? How am I to live? Where do I find meaning in life? What is my ultimate destiny?
CP Reporter Brandon Showalter recently wrote that “a new survey shows that the majority of Americans no longer believe that Jesus is the path to salvation and instead believe that being a good person is sufficient.” Yet faith without a foundation is blind faith. It is blind speculation.
I sometimes wonder how well we know ourselves, particularly the deep thoughts and intentions of the heart. I don’t think we realize how feelings, desires, and emotions have such a great influence over the decisions and choices we make. They often cause us to bypass our logic and reason, and lead us away from what is true. Although our emotions and feelings may be real, they are unreliable.
As I work with people who are attempting to come to grips with the Christian faith, I often wonder what is going on in their innermost being. Are they being honest with themselves? Are they being honest with God? Do they understand the tension that exists between the mind and the heart, and that this tension often paralyzes us and keeps us from following the truth?
A choice has to be made. I learned the truth of this because you can’t remain neutral toward Jesus. To not make a decision, in the end, is to make the decision not to accept Him. At a certain point in Jesus’ ministry, He confronted His own disciples with the necessity of a choice. In the sixth chapter of John (vs. 66-69), many of His followers began to withdraw from Him and no longer followed Him. They didn’t like what He was teaching. He is standing there, with only the twelve disciples remaining. He asks them, “Do you not want to leave too and go with them?” Peter responds and says: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”
What a powerful response by Peter. If we do not put our faith in Jesus, who will we look to for eternal life? Who will we put our hope and faith in? This is the question we are all confronted with. It is the choice we have to make. If I do not look to Christ for eternal life, to whom shall I look? Who will I rely upon? Remember, faith must have a foundation, and if Jesus is not that foundation, who or what will be?
SONG: All Heaven Declare, Indescribable Chris Tomlin, Majestic is Your name by John Silver. He uses words from this psalm which are beautiful yotube:(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHQyffo2WpY) Who Am I by Casting Crowns, How Great is Our God by Chris Tomlin, Sing the Mighty Power of God, Praise the Lord..Ye Heavens Adore Him, All Creatures of Our God and King, Stand up Stand up for Jesus, We will Glorify,