November 10
Reading: Psalm 8
To the choirmaster: according to The 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 Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I look at 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,
and the son of man that you care for him?
5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
This is one of the great worship songs in the Bible. It warms my heart to think that it was probably written by David to the leader of his choir.
Right away we get a lesson in Hebrew and names and God. In English the first line of the first verse sounds repetitive. It is not. The word “Lord” is not used two times. You may have already noticed that, in the ESV above the first LORD is in all capitals while the second is capitalized like a normal proper noun. This follows an important convention in most good English translations.
In these translations “LORD” indicates the special divine name “Yahweh.” This name for God uses the same Hebrew consonants at the verb “I Am.” And, as there are no vowels in Biblical Hebrew, God uses a play on words in Exodus 3:14 when He identifies Himself by name saying “I Am that I Am.” God is emphasizing His eternal nature and self-existence by connecting His name “Yahweh” with the Hebrew verb for existence in the present tense.
The next word “Lord” used in verse 1 is simply means “master” or “sovereign.” It is a word used for a king. Thus, this Psalm really begins praising God by declaring, “Yahweh, our sovereign, how majestic is Your name!”
And, why is His name special, magnificent, majestic? Well we have already seen how the name “Yahweh” displays God’s independent, timeless nature. Yahweh simply exists. No one made Him. He doesn’t get old. Everything depends upon Him. His name displays this truth about Him.
In verse 2 we see the power of praise, even out of the mouths of children and babies. The praise of the young and helpless is ultimately stronger than the tyranny of the wicked and vengeful.
Then David turns his attention to the heavens and marvels at the majesty of Yahweh on display. When is that last time you have done that? In these troubled times when so many of us are shutting ourselves in our homes it is still important to get out and look up and see the stars and the moon and the birds and the animals running about. God made them all for you to look at and marvel.
We can see in the psalm that God has made us His special caretakers of His creation; not to destroy it but to worship Him as we see and enjoy His handiwork.
Is there anything in all the earth more majestic than His name?
How can you say so to Him today?