Psalm Eight.
For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David.
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!
[Endnote 1]
The Background and Theme.
“In this hymn of praise, David exalts the Lord for His creation of the heavens and especially for the creation of man, giving him dominion over the creatures of the earth. Points ultimately to the Messiah [Endnote 2]”.
The Literary Structure.
A — Benediction
1 O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.
B — God's rule
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,
C — Man's unworthiness
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
C — Man's greatness
5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
B — Man's rule
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.
A — Benediction
9 O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
[Endnote 3]
The Impact.
We don’t worship God enough. Often we don’t acknowledge Him unless we are in need and know that He can provide. Too often our relationship with God is one where we beg Him for things that we want. And when those things aren’t given we turn on God telling Him how awful of a God He is.
Going through this writing challenge I can see that I don’t praise God enough. This Psalm is an attempt of David to worship God. To proclaim how awesome God is and where we fit in that picture. We exist in the world because of God and our role in the world is determined by Him.
David starts off by claiming God as “our” God. A God that wants to have a relationship with us. Then David tells us that God’s name is majestic! David uses the Hebrew word ‘addiyr that gives a notion of something big, great, full of strength, powerful, having authority and is awe-inspiring. David uses this word to describe God’s name let alone God Himself.
David uses the word 'addiyr because it is also connected to the reality that God is the Creator with the power to establish the universe. For David this requires us to praise God and honor Him with our mouths. The thought that David has in verse two is hard to convey into English. David wasn’t only telling us that we needed to praise God because He is God. David is also telling us that in our praise of God a stronghold of protection is established that in turn silences our enemies because God is more powerful than them.
As David continues to paint this picture of God’s power as Creator our role as humans is also established. Our order and lot in the universe is established by our Creator God. We are said to be lower than the heavenly beings (some translations say angels). Despite our seemingly diminished place in the universe God makes a point to be mindful of us and He also cares for us.
In Hebrew mindful or zākar means to remember and be attentive to or considerate of.
God rules the universe but
He remembers you,
Wants to be attentive to your needs,
and is considerate of you! God choses you.
Then David also us that God will care for us when he uses the Hebrew word paqad. “The verb pāqaḏ can also mean to ‘inquire about someone, be interested in someone, take care of someone [Endnote 4].’”
God is active in wanting to know who you are.
God is interested in you.
God is wants to care for you.
If you feel that the world isn’t concerned with you––this isn’t the case with God!
I’m beginning to see more and more that praise is what God deserves. Our existence is because of Him. Even though God is majestic and deserving of our praise God also remembers us and cares for us. We have a symbiotic relationship with Him. We praise and God cares. We praise and God protects. We praise and we matter because of God.
Grace and Peace,
Geraldo
______________________
Endnotes:
1. The Holy Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984. Print.
2. Dybdahl, Jon L., ed. Andrews Study Bible Notes. Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2010. Print.
3. Witthoff, David, Kristopher A. Lyle, and Matt Nerdahl. Psalms Form and Structure. Ed. Eli Evans. Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2014. Print.
4. André, G. “פָּקַד.” Ed. G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry. Trans. Douglas W. Stott. Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament 2003 : 54. Print. 15 vols.