PSALM 8

WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH "HIM"?

PSALM 8

 A Psalm of David.  The Majesty and Glory of the Lord In Creation

¹     O Lord, our Lord,

     How excellent is Your name in all the earth,

     Who have set Your glory above the heavens!

²    Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants

     You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies--

     That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

³    When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

     The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,

⁴    What is man that You are mindful of him,

     And the son of man that You visit him?

⁵     For You have made him a little lower than the angels,

     And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

⁶   You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;

    You have put all things under his feet,

⁷     All sheep and oxen—

     Even the beasts of the field,

⁸     The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea;

    That pass through the paths of the seas.

⁹   O Lord, our Lord,

     How excellent is Your name in all the earth!
 

 “What is the significance of (my) life?”

 Life is so uncertain that none of us know whether this will be our last day, much less our last year. And even if we live a long life, it all goes by so quickly. So I often ask myself, “What have I accomplished of any lasting value in light of eternity?”  

 

 "If the Lord gives me ten or fifteen more years of health and strength, what should I seek to accomplish?”

 “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, 

  only what’s done for Christ will last.”

The significance of our lives can only be measured in the light of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. As we seek to live in light of His purpose for our lives, we will know where we fit into His plan.


 

Worship the Lord because His name is majestic in all the earth (8:1- 2) 

 

Psalm 8 explores the theme of God’s majestic splendor and our smallness in comparison. And at the same time, God has made us to be created in His image, and graciously has crowned us with glory and majesty!  If we are indeed His children, He has assigned us the role of ruling over His creation. All of this should lead us to declare in worship, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!”

 O Lord, our Lord…

The first mention of “LORD” (in all caps) is translated in the Hebrew, Yahweh, God’s personal covenant name from the Hebrew verb, “to be.” God revealed it first to Moses at the burning bush when He said (Exodus. 3:14), “I am who I am.” It points to God’s eternal self-existence—the only uncreated being in the universe.  The second “Lord” is the Hebrew “Adonai,” meaning sovereign or lord. We could paraphrase David’s address, “O eternal covenant God, our personal Sovereign!” Although God is eternal and totally separate from His creation, He has graciously condescended to enter into a covenant relationship with His people as their Sovereign Lord.

“Majestic” implies royalty, a concept which we as Americans do not properly appreciate. For a commoner to come into the presence of a king on his throne was a frightening and awe-inspiring moment. When Israel celebrated God’s mighty deliverance at the exodus, they sang “Who is like You among the gods, O Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?” (Exodus 15:11)

It is God’s name that is majestic. His name refers to the perfection of His attributes and the mightiness of His deeds—God’s name refers to who He is and what He has done, as revealed in His Word. David also says that the majesty of God’s name is seen in all the earth and above the heavens. It is similar to what Paul states when he indicts the human race for suppressing the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18). He explains in Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

 

David also considers God’s splendor above the heavens, and he had no telescope to show him how big the universe is.  And yet some intelligent scientists see all of this and then attribute it to “nature” or random chance! 

 

Sir Isaac Newton had an exact replica of our solar system made in miniature. At its center was a large golden ball representing the sun. Revolving around it were small spheres representing the planets, attached at the ends of rods of varying lengths. They were all geared together by cogs and belts to make them move around the sun in harmony. One day as Newton was studying the model, a friend who did not believe in the biblical account of creation stopped by. Marveling at the device and watching as Newton made the heavenly bodies move in their orbits, the man exclaimed, “My, Newton, what an exquisite thing! Who made it for you?”

Without looking up, Newton replied, “Nobody.” “Nobody?” his friend asked. “That’s right! I said nobody! All of these balls and cogs and belts and gears just happened to come together and wonder of wonders, by chance they began revolving in their set orbits and with perfect timing!” His unbelieving friend got the message!
(ref. “Our Daily Bread,” 1977.) 

“From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength” (8:2)

In spite of all of the evidence of God’s glory in His creation, there are still adversaries that oppose Him. Men want to be lords of their own lives. They begin by building up materialism and continues on until they have no place for God.   

 

The Lord overcomes His enemies by the marvel of little children and the praise that they sing in their simple faith.  But science cannot reconcile us to God. So what did God do? He sent His own Son, to provide the sacrifice for our sins and to fulfill in a way that we cannot. 

Worship the Lord because His name is majestic in all the earth (8:9)

David comes full circle and closes the wreath of praise: “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!”
 

How can we apply this?

1. We should bow in awe before our majestic Creator!

This psalm should humble us and cause us to marvel at God’s grace and love in caring for us by sending His Son as our Savior.

2. We should treat each person with value and respect as beings created in God’s image.

John Piper has said, “You cannot worship and glorify the majesty of God while treating his supreme creation with contempt.”Christians must oppose all racism. We must treat all people with respect.  
(http://www.desiringod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ By Scripture/1/860_What_Is_Man/)

3. We should stand firmly against the horrors of abortion, which treats God’s majestic creation as trash.

From the point of conception, the only difference between the baby in the mother’s womb and you and I is time and nurture. To kill children simply because it is inconvenient to care for them, is a horrible sin.  

4. We should stand firmly against the absurdity of evolution, which denies that we are created in God’s image.

Evolution is simply a way for sinful people to attempt to avoid their Creator. It is one of the greatest frauds that the enemy of our souls has ever employed.

5. We should rear our children to love, fear, and serve God as the only way to make life count.

When we are rightly related to God through Jesus Christ, our lives take on eternal significance.

 

6. We should be good stewards of God’s creation.

While modern man worships the creation rather than the Creator, we should not neglect the fact that we are the stewards over it.  We should oppose the greed that often destroys creation with no regard for its beauty and preservation.

7. We should take pleasure in whatever work God gives us to do, doing it heartily as unto Him.

As the Puritans emphasized, every legitimate occupation is a God-given vocation. No matter what you do to earn a living, you can do it for the Lord (Col. 3:22-24).