Meditations on the Psalms #19

Day 19

Psalm 8: Read here – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%208&version=NASB

—The Glory of God in creation. 

This psalm begins and ends with the same refrain. The Lord, our God is the covenant Name. It was a simple, straightforward, and common way of saying that ‘Our God is our Master.” “Excellent” in all the earth, not just Israel. Seen also in babes and infants (v2) Significantly, Jesus quoted this passage to His indignant accusers in Matthew 21:15-16, as He did wonderful miracles in the temple area, and as He received the praise of children who cried out Hosanna to the Son of David! In quoting this passage Jesus told His accusers who He was and who they were. Since the babes and nursing infants praise God in Psalm 8, Jesus identified Himself as God. In doing this Jesus also identified the indignant scribes and teachers as the enemy and avenger described in this Psalm. 

Considering the greatness of the heavens (v3-5) also made David consider the relative smallness and insignificance of man. David wondered why a big, great God would be mindful of such small beings. Indeed, using the poetic method of repetition, David repeated the idea in a stronger way. ‘Son of Man’ is a title that emphasizes the “humanness” of man. 

In Hebrews 2:5-9 Psalm 8 is used to show that Jesus really did add a genuinely human nature to His divine nature and thus also became a little lower than the angels. 

It is the destiny of redeemed resurrected humanity to one day be lifted above the angels (1 Corinthians 6:3, Revelation 20:5). The dominion of man extends to all things, (v6) Jesus demonstrated this dominion, as the second Adam, when he turned water into wine, healed the sick, raised the dead, gave sight to the blind, calmed the storm, and walked on water. We were created to have dominion over the creation not to be in bondage to the things of this world. 

The most striking feature of this Psalm is its description of man and his place in the created order. But the psalm does not begin by talking about man. It begins and ends with a celebration of the surpassing majesty of God.

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