Psalm 08

What is your favorite psalm? The most popular is the 23rd Psalm, but I think Psalm 8 is mine. Perhaps the reason I like it so much is when I was in the choir at Johnson we sang a song written to the words of this psalm. I remember Christy sang the same song when she was in the choir at Milligan. We have an ending to the song in our hymnal that Sandy occasionally plays as a prelude or offertory. The music is great, but so are the lyrics.

One commentator described the psalm this way:

This psalm is an unsurpassed example of what a hymn should be, celebrating as it does the glory and grace of God, rehearsing who he is and what he has done, and relating us and our world to him, all with a masterly economy of words, and in a spirit of mingled joy and awe.

As I mentioned before, there are many types of psalms. Some, as we’ve seen so far, ask God for help. Others, as Psalm 8, simply give praise to God. But none offer worship better than Psalm 8.

Turn with me to Psalm 8. This too is a psalm of David. Let’s read the psalm and then go back and discuss it.

For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David.

1 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. 2 Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against 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 mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? 5 You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. 6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, 8 the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8)

We’re told the psalm was to be played on a gittith. This is another uncommon word found in the title of a psalm. Most believe it to refer to a stringed instrument. Some have supposed this psalm to have been used by the people of Gath. It seems ironic that David would use an instrument of his enemy that had ridiculed the name of God to sing a song of praise to God. In this psalm, David draws us to join him in worshiping God because of his glory shown in the creation and especially in how God loves his people.

David begins by talking about the glory.

1 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. 2 Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. (Psalm 8:1-2)

Notice first the words “Lord.” The first “Lord” is in all caps, but the second one isn’t. The second “Lord” is from the Hebrew word Adonai which means lord or master. It is a common name for God and the word lord is used for Jesus as well. However, the first “Lord” is not Adonai, but Yahweh. We can see that because it is in all capital letters. Jews never pronounce God’s name – Yahweh – out of reverence for the name and fear of using it in vain. You can’t use it in vain if you never use it. Instead, whenever they come to God’s name they say “Lord.” In deference to the Jews, most English translations use the word Lord in caps, hence our translation, “Lord, our Lord.” A literal translation would be, “Yahweh, our Lord.”

What does David say is majestic? God’s name, Yahweh, is majestic. There is power in the name of the Lord.

I know you remember the story of David fighting Goliath. Do you remember what David said as he approached Goloaith?

45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. (1 Samuel 17:45-46)

David never made mentioned the sling he was carrying. Nor did he mention the rocks he’d carefully chosen to put into the sling. Instead, David tells Goliath that all of his faith is in the name of the Lord of Hosts. There is power in the name. How majestic is the name of the Lord. How excellent is his name in all the earth. And there is still power in his name.

When you began to look through the New Testament, there are very powerful associations that come with the name of Jesus. Here are a few verses that talk about his name.

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12)

23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. (John 16:23-24)

Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” (Acts 3:6)

In Philippi, there was a young woman following Paul and continually shouting. We read:

She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her. (Acts 16:18)

And perhaps the most powerful passage expressing the power of Jesus’ name:

10 Then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10-12)

There is power in the name.

If God’s name is that powerful, who do you give that name to? God gives his name to children. God’s excellence and praise are established in the mouths of children. Through their praise, choosing his enemies are silenced. God uses that which is weak to overcome that which the world sees as strong. Similarly, Paul talked about God chooses those things the world considers foolishness to spread the good news.

27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. (1 Corinthians 1:27–29)

There is power in the Lord’s name when his people, weak and strong alike, begin to praise his name.

David then turns his attention to God’s goodness for his people.

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 mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? 5 You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. 6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, 8 the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. (Psalm 8:3-8)

David is amazed by the Lord’s goodness. God’s goodness is even greater when David thinks about all that God has made. As a shepherd, David would no doubt have had many opportunities to lie on the hillside and look up at the stars above. Perhaps it was this that led him to the inevitable conclusion that the stars do indeed declare the glory of God.

David only mentions what God created out in space. He doesn’t mention the varieties of trees, flowers, and animals. He doesn’t mention the mountains and flowing streams. David is only considering the moon and stars and is overwhelmed by them. Think about how the creation of them is described in Genesis 1.

God made two great lights – the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. [Oh, and] He also made the stars. (Genesis 1:16)

It almost sounds like the stars were an afterthought. By the way, God also made a few hundred billion stars. Concerning the stars, Psalm 147 says:

He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. (Psalms 147:4)

Scientists just guess at the number of stars in the universe. Pick up an issue of National Geographic and start reading about how big the universe is and all of the stars that compose it. It will put incredible awe in you when you consider that God not only knows how many stars there are but has named each of them.

Consider some of these facts.

Light travels at 186,000 miles per second. If God turned off the sun each evening and turned it back on in the morning, if God turned it on at 7:00 it would be 7:08 before we saw the sun turn on. It takes about eight minutes and twenty seconds for light to travel from the sun to the earth. Of course, the sun doesn’t turn off and on. Instead, the earth revolves and every morning the sun comes up over the eastern horizon and every evening it goes down in the west. God has established that it would happen like that every single day. God’s mercies are new every morning and sadly we hardly even notice. We come to a place where we just expect it.

When Voyager II reached Neptune and started sending back images to NASA, radio waves were traveling at 186,000 miles per second. It took four hours to get back to them. It takes about eight minutes for light to travel to the earth from the sun, but it took four hours to get a signal from Neptune and Neptune isn’t even the farthest planet in our solar system. When you consider our solar system is only a small speck in the Milky Way Galaxy and it’s estimated there are 200 trillion galaxies. In Isaiah we read:,

This is what the Lord says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.” (Isaiah 66:1a)

How great must God be? And yet, God know each and every one of us. God wasn’t content with just creating this universe for his glory alone. David says God placed man in the middle of it and crowned him with glory and honor.

Scientists say that 154 different factors that would need to be in play in order for life to exist on any planet. For example, scientists have determined we are in “goldilocks” region of our sun. We’re not too far away, and we’re not too close, we’re just right. If we were much closer the sun we would be cooked to death. If we were much farther away, we would be frozen solid. I think God knew what he was doing when he created the world.

Kepler, the 17th-century astronomer, was troubled by one of his friends who denied the existence of God and took the view of the universe that it came into being of itself by mechanical methods. Kepler, in order to convince his friend, constructed a model of the sun with the planets circling round it. When his friend came into the observatory and saw the beautiful model, he exclaimed with delight, “How beautiful it is! Who made it?” Kepler carelessly answered, “No one made it. It made itself.” His friend looked at him and said, “Nonsense, tell me who made it.” Kepler then replied, “You say that this little toy could not make itself. It is but a very weak imitation of this great universe which, I understood, you believe did make itself.”

We believe in the God of creation who flung the stars into the universe. It didn’t happen by itself or by some cosmic explosion. It was all made by God. And God, who is in charge of it all remembers us. David wonders why. When he looks at the glory of what God has done, who are we in comparison? We are nothing but dust, here today and gone tomorrow. Yet God crowns us with glory and makes us rulers of his creation.

In his book, “The Joy of Fearing God,” Jerry Bridges tells a story of an eighteen-year-old high school graduate who joined the Marines just before the start of WWII. He calls it a parable by which he means the story isn’t true but has an important spiritual lesson.

The story began when Butch McGregor was only eighteen and stood trembling as the drill instructor screamed in his face. Butch hadn't done anything seriously wrong; he had just somehow managed to get out of step with the rest of his platoon as they marched across the drill field. But the slightest infraction, the most insignificant mistake, could cost Butch fifty push-ups or ten laps around the drill field in full combat gear. Butch learned very quickly who was in command – the drill instructor.

At boot camp drill instructors take on an aura of being just less than God. His every word is law and the slightest mistake or infraction is caught and punished. Very quickly the new recruit learns to stand in awe of this man who wields such authority and power over him.

However, Butch soon learned there was someone even the drill instructors were in awe of. Near the end of his basic training something completely out of the ordinary happened, something that didn’t normally occur during basic training. The commanding general decided to conduct an inspection of all recruit platoons. A sort of disciplined pandemonium broke out among the drill instructors as standards were pushed to even higher levels. So when General Collins entered the barracks, Butch stood stiffly at attention, gripped with dear.

Following basic training, Butch was assigned to a divisional motor pool and was eventually selected to be the general’s driver. Butch had mixed emotions about this new assignment. Fear and awe once again gripped him as he reported for duty the first day. In the course of time war broke out, and Butch’s division was shipped overseas. As the general’s driver, Butch was never involved in actual combat, though they often traveled in dangerous territory.

Then one day the car struck a land mine. General Collins was thrown clear of the car but was seriously hurt when his body slammed to the ground. Butch, meanwhile, remained trapped in the front seat of the burning vehicle. Despite the general’s own injuries, and at the risk of his life, he managed to pull Butch out of the car to safety. Both men were quickly evacuated to the field hospital.

General Collins soon recovered sufficiently to resume his duties, but Butch remained in the hospital for weeks. Despite the pressures of commanding a division in battle, the general often stopped by to see Butch and check on his progress. Butch was surprised at the general’s obvious concern, but what really astounded him was the realization that at the scene of the accident, the general had literally risked his life to save him. And then, as he lay in bed over the weeks, Butch frequently recalled with amazement the general’s continued visits. It made him realize the rescue was not simply a spur-of-the-moment heroic act but was prompted by the general’s heartfelt concern for him.

Butch often pondered the question, “Why would a two-star general, in command of a marine division in battle, risk his own life to save a mere sergeant?” He could readily understand one enlisted marine risking his life for his buddy on the battlefield—but a general for a sergeant? How could this be? He slowly came to the conclusion that, despite their vast difference in rank, the general genuinely loved him.

I think this is a good picture of the awe David felt as he wrote this psalm. He marveled at the relationship God has with his people.

Finally, the psalm ends where it began.

9 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8:9)

Like a final chorus, verse 9 repeats verse 1. As we understand our divine purpose and destiny we will participate in making God’s name known and worshiped in all the earth. And one day it will be. As Paul wrote to the Philippians, one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Compared to God, who are we?

Louis XIV ascended to the throne of France at age four and ruled for the next seventy-two years, enjoying the longest reign in modern European history. But he was intoxicated with his own power. This self-consumed emperor called himself the “Great Monarch” and declared, “I am the State!” But in 1715, King Louis XIV, like every ruler before and after him, abdicated his throne to death.

His funeral, just as he had prescribed, was nothing short of spectacular as the great cathedral was packed with mourners to pay final tribute to their king in his solid gold coffin. To dramatize the deceased ruler’s greatness, a solitary candle burned above his jewel-laden casket. Thousands waited in hushed silence, gazing at the solitary flame.

At the appointed time the funeral service began. Bishop Massillon, who presided over the state funeral, stood to address the mourners, which included the assembled clergy of France. When the bishop rose, he did something that stunned the nation. Bending down from the pulpit, he extinguished the lone candle that represented the greatness of Louis XIV. The people gasped. Then, from the darkness, echoed four gripping words, “Only God is great!”

In 1905, on the campus of Harvard University, Emerson Hall was in the process of being constructed as the new home of the philosophy department. The architect’s plan included an inscription that was to be chiseled over the main entrance. After much thought, the professors in the department of philosophy decided that the engraving should read, “Man is the measure of all things.” But such a man-centered worldview didn’t meet with the approval of Harvard’s president. When the professors returned from summer vacation they found the building complete, but cut into the stone was an entirely different philosophy: “What is man that thou are mindful of him?”,

Regardless of man's inflated view of himself, God alone is truly great. Not only is he the Creator of all; God is the sustainer of all and thus sovereign over all. God, not man, is great, so he alone is to be praised. This psalm testifies to the majesty of God’s name. Throughout all creation, God’s unsurpassed greatness and glory are clearly seen. The vastness of the universe testifies, “Only God is great.” With humble hearts we too must bow before the greatness of God.

9 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8:9)