Taking a Nearer Take a look at Psalm 8

Learn the Passage

Let’s take a more in-depth have a look at Psalm 8:

To the choirmaster: in keeping with The Gittith. A Psalm of David.
O LORD, our Lord,
     how majestic is your identify in all of the earth!
You’ve gotten set your glory above the heavens.
     Out of the mouth of infants and infants,
you could have established energy due to your foes,
     to nonetheless the enemy and the avenger.

After I have a look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
     the moon and the celebs, which you could have set in place,
what’s man that you’re conscious of him,
     and the son of man that you take care of him?

But you could have made him a little bit decrease than the heavenly beings
     and topped him with glory and honor.
You’ve gotten given him dominion over the works of your arms;
​​     you could have put all issues beneath his toes,
all sheep and oxen,
     and likewise the beasts of the sector,
the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the ocean,
     no matter passes alongside the paths of the seas.

O LORD, our Lord,
     how majestic is your identify in all of the earth!

God’s Majesty

What I would like us to concentrate to as we have a look at this passage is first the framing of it, how we start and finish with the identical phrases, “Oh LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your identify in all of the earth!” That is finally, at the start, a psalm of reward for the majesty of God. Inside that, nonetheless, we’re going to search out units of contrasts and probably even a narrative that strikes alongside. Once we have a look at the primary stanza, and certainly the second and the third, what we’re going to need to see is the methods wherein contrasts are used to indicate God’s glory and his kindness to us. Within the first we discover the excessive and the low, the nice and the small. His glory is above the heavens. We’re introduced into the realm of the entire cosmos, the celebs within the sky, and his energy is within the mouth of infants and infants. The grand stars of the heavens and the smallest toddler, each collectively present the glory of God.

Then we proceed on this set of contrasts. Once more, trying up at God’s nice works and creation. After I have a look at the heavens, the moon and the celebs, these items which can be grand and excessive above us are made to look, in a single sense, small in comparison with God as a result of they’re the work of his fingers—his nice detailed craftsmanship. However then these issues, these items which can be huge to us and small to God, are contrasted with us ourselves. “What’s man that you just’re conscious of him, the son of man, that you take care of him?” We see the grandness of the cosmos, and we’re tempted to marvel why God would look after us. This set of contrasts establishes, sure, God’s greatness but in addition our smallness, our littleness. And it’s exactly in that that we’re reminded that God will not be solely far and excessive, however he’s, in reality, close to. He’s conscious of us. He cares for us. At the same time as we see our personal smallness, we discover in that the consolation that God cares for us right here and there. And past that, he not solely cares however has exalted us.

The following set of contrasts is between mankind and the angels, the heavenly beings, after which between mankind and the remainder of creation. So, though we’re decrease than the heavenly beings, God has topped us with glory and honor. He has given us dominion over the works of his personal arms. After which he goes via a listing of the kinds of animals he makes within the creation account in Genesis, simply in backwards order—sheep and oxen, beast of the sector, birds of the heavens, fish of the ocean, to present a way of every part. Though we’re low, though we’re small, though we’re decrease than the angels, God has given us dominion over all these items, and that ought to lead us to the conclusion of the psalm: God’s greatness. “Oh LORD, our Lord. How majestic is your identify in all of the earth!”

What I now need to ask is how does this psalm comes throughout within the New Testomony? And past that, how does this psalm have something to do with Jesus? It looks as if it’s fully rooted in creation, not but in redemption. And for this, the New Testomony might help us. And certainly, we’re going to look to the guide of Hebrews to see.

In Hebrews 2, the creator can be concerned in a set of contrasts. He begins by contrasting Jesus with the angels, however by the point he will get to chapter two, the distinction now could be between us and the angels—those who God helps via the redemption of Jesus and people who aren’t in the identical approach affected. So should you had been to have a look at Hebrews 2:5, we discover, “For it was to not angels that God subjected the world to return, of which we’re talking. It’s been testified someplace”—right here comes the quotation of Psalm 8—“‘What’s man that you’re conscious of him, or the son of man that you take care of him? You’ve made him for a short time decrease than the angels. You’ve topped him with glory and honor, placing every part in subjection beneath his toes.’ Now in placing every part in subjection to him, he left nothing outdoors his management. At current, we don’t but see every part in subjection to him.”

Cease there for a second. We’re going to proceed on, however see what Hebrews is doing. Hebrews is selecting up the story of humanity that is available in Psalm 8, that though we’re small, God cares for us, and though we’re decrease than the angels, he has topped us, and he sees an issue. Should you have a look at the world round you, it doesn’t appear to be every part is subjected to mankind.

There may be struggling, there may be demise, there are pure disasters. Issues don’t go the best way that we would like them to. Whereas Psalm 8 tells us, in a way, we ought to be accountable for the world that God made as his co-regents, we’re not; issues go incorrect. And Hebrews presses into this, saying that the psalm have to be true.

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At the same time as we see our personal smallness, we discover in that the consolation that God cares for us.

So, what’s occurring? How can God have subjected all issues to us, floor us with glory and honor, however we discover ourselves within the place that we’re? We don’t see every part in subjection to him, to humanity, Hebrews says. However Hebrews 2:9 says, “we see him who for a short time was made decrease than the angels, particularly Jesus, topped with glory and honor due to the struggling of demise, in order that by the grace of God, he may style demise for everybody.” Hebrews reads the set of statements within the psalms as a sequence: man is made, lowered, after which topped.

Whereas this was true in creation, it’s true in redemption. One of many themes all through the guide of Hebrews, and in some ways all through your complete New Testomony, is that Jesus is our forerunner. The place he goes, we will probably be, and what occurs to him will occur to us. And whereas we don’t but see every part in subjection to mankind, what we do see is every part in subjection to Jesus, who’s seated on the throne. Due to that, we could be assured that within the redemption that he brings, we are going to get pleasure from that too. What Psalm 8 says about mankind and about our relation to creation will probably be true as a result of it’s true for Jesus. There may be redemption not simply within the forgiveness of sins, as nice as that’s, however within the restoration of what it means to be human and what it means to be human in God’s world.

Having seen the psalm and having seen Hebrews, what occurs once we return to the psalm now? Is there something new that we see? The chief factor that we discover is that though this psalm begins and ends in the identical place—“Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your identify in all of the earth”—we discover that those self same phrases come to us in numerous keys, because it had been. At the start of the psalm, that is clearly God’s glory in creation. He has set his glory above the heavens. He’s nice, and he has made all issues. However as we learn via the psalm and we see in it not solely the human story however the story of redeemed humanity in Christ, we are able to know that this final assertion—“Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your identify and on the earth”—isn’t merely for making mankind above these items within the pure order, however for restoring us in Christ, for placing us again to the place we should be and certainly greater than the place we had been within the backyard. He seats us with Christ over all issues as a result of he’s over all issues.

After which as we go from there to the middle of the psalm, this query that echoes via our minds—“What’s man that you’re conscious of him, the son of man, that you take care of him?”—we see a higher sense that God cares for us, a higher sense that he’s conscious of us. He’s made us in his picture and seated us in an exalted place. He has redeemed us, joined us to Christ, and offers us all that he has. That ought to lead us to see his great look after us, and it ought to lead us to ask why he would grant us such issues out of his merciful grace. And eventually, it ought to lead us to declare, “Oh LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your identify in all of the earth!”

Daniel Stevens is the creator of Songs of the Son: Studying the Psalms with the Writer of Hebrews.

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