Psalm 8

When I was a Student Pastor, we would take our Juniors and Seniors away to the beach every other year for a leadership retreat. One year, our retreat fell on a weekend where there was one of those crazy meteor showers. It was late, probably around midnight, and most of us went down to the beach, to get as far away from light pollution as possible. Laying there in the sand, looking up, I’m not sure I’ve seen that many stars so clearly. We did see a lot of shooting stars that night, and I can remember being struck in those moments at the immensity of space.

In an article written in 2014, a scientist by the name of Daniel Barker said that “Cosmic Inflation Theory suggests that the universe beyond the observable universe is 3x10^23 times larger.” That is 3 with 23 zeros. Other scientists suggest that it is infinite.

The scope of difference isn’t even one we can wrap our minds around, yet David, in Psalm 8, attempts to paint a picture of human significance in a universe with that kind of magnitude.

Read Psalm 8

I’m going to give you a bit of Bible study help here. We have before us what’s known as an “inclusio.” An inclusio is “repetition of the same language at the beginning and end of a section of literature forming bookends. It tells the reader that what is in the middle of the two bookends is support or an explanation of the words making up the bookends.”

We find this often in Hebrew poetry, but our inclusio is word for word. “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Everything in between these 2 bookends speaks to the majesty of the Lord.

Big Idea: The Name of the Lord is Majestic in All the Earth

And we have 3 ways that His majesty is revealed. It all starts because it’s who He is. It’s His nature.

1. The Lord is Majestic (1, 9)

Right away, David is setting the stage for what’s to come. He says “our” Lord. There is a personal relationship that is implied. He doesn’t say, O Lord, THE Lord. He right away brings the mind of the reader to an understanding of the intimacy of our relationship with God.

The Hebrew word for “majesty” is one that authors often used next to the word “glory”, and it implies that something is excellent, beautiful, or splendid.

So, the name of the Lord, the character and nature of the Lord, the reputation of the Lord is beautiful, excellent, carrying with it glory. And everything else in between is justification for this truth.

Let me ask you a question: How have you experienced the majesty of God? Let me help you out a little bit. There are 2 different ways in which the Lord reveals Himself to us. One is called Natural Revelation, and the other is called Special Revelation.

Natural Revelation

This is exactly what it sounds like. The Lord revealing Himself in nature. Creation begs for a creator. Think back on one of the most beautiful places you have been. For each of us it’s different. It could be the beach, looking watching the sunrise over the massive expanse of ocean. Maybe it’s the mountains, standing at an overlook across hills full of trees. Maybe it’s somewhere like Yosemite, or the Grand Canyon. Maybe you’ve had the privilege of traveling internationally, and have seen God’s creation in other parts of the world.

One of those places for me is the Grand Canyon. I’ve seen it a few times, but when I was about 22 I drove across the country with some friends, and we made sure to get there when the sun was rising. It’s amazing because in the darkness you can’t really make out much of anything, but then as the sun starts to come up, and begins to paint the landscape, it quite literally takes your breath away. And we stayed there for hours. I remember finding this one outcropping, with a sheer drop to the bottom. And we sat there right on the edge just in awe. And if you are quiet in that moment, there’s no other explanation but the beauty and majesty of our Creator.

Special Revelation

This type of revealing comes supernaturally, directly from God to us. In the Old Testament, we see God speaking directly to some, and to different groups of people through different prophets. God sent Jesus, and His life and words would be considered special revelation, direct communication from God.

I was in the Middle East on a trip and had the privilege of preaching at a church, many of which were refugees, and after the service, they got in a circle and shared updates and testimonies. One girl who was there for the first time shared that she had a dream and a man in the dream told her to come to that specific building to that specific room to find answers. Countless others talked of their conversion from Islam to Christianity because a man appeared to them in a dream.

Another form of special revelation is God’s revealed words to us through the Scriptures. The authors wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and we have those words accessible every second of every day.

So, let me ask you again: How have you experienced the majesty of God?

Listen, when we experience the majesty of God, it changes everything. It influences the way that we worship on a Sunday morning. It changes the way we look at and interact with the world around us. It changes the way we read. It changes the way we pray. It changes the way we treat our spouses, our children. It causes everything else that this world throws at us to pale in comparison.

How majestic is your name in all the earth.

After making this statement, David proceeds to make some comparisons that are quite polarizing, but yet somehow speak to the intimacy and love that the Lord has for His people.

2. Majesty Revealed in a Baby (1b-2) 

So as David is looking up, reflecting on the greatness of God, His glory on display, he takes a really sharp turn to talk about the small, fragile innocence of babies. See anyone can look up into the night sky and see the beauty of our Creator. It’s like an obvious reflection of His artistic creativity. But, says David, you know what else reflects the majesty of God? The praise of children, even infants. Now, can this be literal? I mean can babies truly praise God?

One commentator says that “even at the stage of being sucklings, when they open their mouths to cry or coo or babble as a human being, they are bearing witness to their unspeakable dignity in creation and therefore to the majesty of God’s name in all the earth. God does not wait until a suckling babe is rational and independent to ascribe to him the glory and majesty of verse 5.”

See there are some who refuse to admit, refuse to see God in creation. There are some who deny the existence of a God even while they walk on land that He created for them to walk on. Not only do they refuse to believe, but they actually become hostile and forcefully oppose God. They are considered enemies of God.

But, God is so great, God is so glorious, God is so majestic, that even praise from the smallest baby can defeat the enemy of God. Here’s the lesson behind it, that which is by nature weak can become powerful because of the glory of God.

This is one of the reasons why David is so confident in the name of the Lord! Because that which is weak can be used to show how powerful and glorious is the Lord!

3. Majesty Revealed in Humanity (3-4)

David again tries to get our finite minds wrapped around the immeasurable God that we serve. Again, as David is observing the heavens, he attributes their beauty to the fingers of God. He picks the smallest, more fragile part of our bodies to personify the Lord. If you have kids, surely you have, at some point, done finger painting with them. Or, perhaps they’ve brought an art project home from school. Try and do this with me. Picture the universe as like, a giant canvas. Zoom out so that you have just kind of this big rectangle containing the universe. Remember, 3 with 23 zeros. God is so powerful, that He created that canvass with just His fingers. He set the moon and stars in their place. We read of this in the creation account in Genesis 1. So that’s the magnitude of our Creator.

So who are we, piddly ole humans, that you would care about us? “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”

In Hebrew, “son of” often means “a member of group x.” Man and Son of Man are parallel, and are similar in meaning. Now, in Hebrews 2 this is applied to Jesus, and we’ll get there when we wrap up here in a few minutes, but for now, David is speaking of all humankind.

And not only does God care, but look what He did for us. Read vs. 5-8.

Made him a little lower than the heavenly beings – Positionally, we are lower than the angels. And positionally, we are higher than the rest of creation. But even in our position, lower than the angels, Genesis 1 tells us that we are the created beings that most resemble the image of God. And, 1 Peter tells us that we have a salvation and understanding of Jesus that even the angels long to look. And just like God is glorious and worthy of honor…

Crowned him with glory and honor – So we, the image bearers of God, reflect the glory of God. It’s like the moon that reflects the sun. We don’t really see the full power of the sun, but we get a glimpse of just how beautiful it is. And just like the praise of a fragile baby can reveal the majesty of God, so can a weak vessel like us reflect the glory of God, and be honored by a position in the family of God.

The glory of God displayed through human weakness.

And while we walk this earth, we have been given great responsibility to care for the rest of God’s creation.

Given him dominion over creation – And this, again, speaks to the position that the Lord has given us. There is this hierarchy that God established in His created order.

Now, I want everyone to turn over to Hebrews chapter 2. Another little Bible study hint for you guys: ALL of Scripture points to Jesus. From the very beginning to the very end, the gospel of Jesus as central. Sometimes it’s harder to see how things point to Him, but sometimes it’s very clear. And Psalm 8, maybe you’ve picked up on it, is one of those passages that is very clear.

Read Hebrews 2:5-9

There’s a slight variation that the author of Hebrews makes, when he says “for a little while lower than the angels.” David doesn’t say that in Psalm 8 when he speaks of humanity, but the author here is making a clear distinction.

Jesus stepped out of His heavenly position in humility, placing Himself below even the lowest of society. He walked this earth, to experience it as a man, to be able to feel what we feel, to know first-hand the struggles that we face. He walked this earth to show us what true love looks like, how to love the stranger, how to love our neighbors, how to pray for our enemies. And then He suffered excruciating physical pain. He endured mental and emotional berating. He hung on that tree and died a sinner’s death in perfection, tearing the curtain of access between us and the Father in two.

And then, He rose to life, ascended into heaven, and was crowned with glory and honor, and took His deserved seat at the right hand of God. And everything is in subjection under His feet. Even the realm that we cannot gaze into, He is in control.

So we can celebrate with David the name of our Lord. We can sing with certainty, “how majestic is your name in all the earth! How majestic is the name of Jesus in all the earth.”

We don’t deserve it, but yet God loved us enough to crown us with His glory, and His honor, so that we can show a dying and desperate world how majestic is His name.

Big Idea: The Name of the Lord is Majestic in All the Earth.