I love to look at photos of the universe taken by both the Hubble Space Telescope and also now the more advanced James Webb Space Telescope! Prior to these two telescopes, we had photos of our solar system and galaxy, but nothing nearly so spectacular. Some of you might have your own telescopes, but for many people, we are limited to just what we can see with our eyes. Naturally, that is all that David, the author of our psalm for this week, had. Yet, even with his limited view of the sky at night, David felt the need to praise the Lord for His wonderful creation in the heavens.
As a youth, before he came to serve as King Saul’s musician and serve in his army, David had spent years as a shepherd of his father’s flock of sheep. This involved spending many a night awake keeping the flock safe, with little to do but watch the stars cross the dark sky. David probably wrote this psalm during that time, or perhaps later while thinking back to his days of watching both his flock and the skies. This psalm exalts the majesty of God in His creation, and that such a magnificent God would even bother with mankind.
Our psalm begins with a declaration of praise to the Lord God (vs. 1). I am not sure how this reads in other languages, but in English the word “lord” is written two different ways in the King James version. In that version of the English Bible, when the word LORD is written with all capital letters it refers to God’s divine, personal Name (Yahweh). When the word is written Lord, in small case letters, it is the Hebrew word “Adonai”, which means “master” or “lord”. David is calling Yahweh his master and lord. He begins his worship, like we all should, by recognizing God’s greatness. His glory is proclaimed every night as we look at the sky, especially today with our extremely advanced telescopes.
David acknowledged that even little children and babies just naturally praise the Lord (vs. 2). They may not understand a lot of things, however their childlike nature just naturally gravitates towards God, and their praise for Him comes forth. After being reprimanded by the chief priests and scribes, Jesus applied this verse to the children praising Him in the Temple (Matthew 21:15-16). God uses the weak to silence the strong. He delights in simple, sincere praise. It is only as they get older, and their sin-nature grows that this changes, and children become cynical towards God.
On those long nights, gazing up at the moon, stars, and planets crossing the sky, David marveled at how wonderful God’s heavenly creation was (vs. 3). When looking at the beauty and order of the universe, how could people believe that it is a result of millions of fortuitous accidents, and that it came about by chance? No, the heavens declare the glory of God (Psalm 19:1).
David marveled at the glory of heaven, and he wondered why such a marvelous and magnificent Creator God would love sinful mankind (vs. 4). Most people shake their fists at God, demanding that He do this or that for them. David was awestruck that the Creator of the moon and stars would love him! You and I are tiny specks on planet Earth. Earth is one of the smaller planets in the solar system, which is just a speck in the Milky Way galaxy, which is only one of billions of galaxies in the universe. Despite being the Creator of such grandeur, God sent Jesus to become a man and die for our sins! It is a demonstration of His grace that God cares for us in such a personal and intentional way.
Mankind was created a little lower than the angels. We are beneath heavenly beings in nature, but above all earthly creatures (vs. 5-8). We were created with dignity and dominion (Genesis 1:26-28). Man’s dominion is real, but it has become incomplete because of the Fall. This is why when Hebrews 2:6-9 quotes today’s psalm, it applies ultimately to the Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect Man. Jesus was made “a little lower than the angels” in His incarnation, and through His death and resurrection He regained the dominion that Adam had lost. During His Millennial Kingdom, and then throughout eternity, all things will be visibly under His feet. Psalm 8 is not only about what man was meant to be, but also about what Christ will restore.
As we look back upon this week’s psalm, this should stir us to awe and worship of the Lord our Creator, removing all inclinations to self-importance. It also shows us, though, that we are immensely loved by God. We are small in the scope of creation, but we are not insignificant to God. Knowing that, we should praise His excellent Name in all the earth!
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