"O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Thy name in all the earth. Who hast displayed Thy splendor above the heavens!
From the mouths of infants and nursing babes Thou hast established strength, because of Thine adversaries, to make the enemy and the revengeful cease.
When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; What is man, that Thou wouldst take thought of him? And the son of man, that Thou dost care for him?
Yet Thou hast made him a little lower than God, and dost crown him with glory and majesty!"
Psalm 8:1-5
Notes:
1. This Psalm, as most others, is written to a specific beat. You can clap out the beat like so: From "O Lord" to "heavens!", the beat (or pentameter) is 2:3:3. The pentameter is 3:2:3 from "From the mouth of infants" to "the revengeful cease". The beat is then 3:2 throughout the remainder of the verses shown.
2. The word for "displayed" literally means "set". The Lord "set" His "splendor" in the heavens (sky) for all of the generations to see. Every time we look up into the sky and see the sunrise, sunset or the clouds, etc., we are witnesses to the glorious "splendor" of The Living God.
3. "Thou hast established strength" literally means "Thou hast established a bulwark". In a moment of prophetic utterance, King David gave a picture to the Hebrew people of the coming Savior; a "bulwark" or unmoving Rock of their salvation! David probably didn't even realize the prophetic nature of his words as he was moved by God to write these verses. Many years later, God would empty Himself into the Person of a "nursing Babe", born in Bethlehem.
4. The literal word in the Hebrew text for "consider" is "see". When David "considers" or "sees" the sky he realizes the glory of God. He cannot help but to do so. Nor should we be able to not see the glory of God in His majestic creation.
5. "Thou hast ordained" literally means "appointed" or "fixed". Cross-reference this to Psalm 89:11. God has created the heavens and they are His to maintain. We do nothing to maintain the heavens; we just are to enjoy them and see the signs of God's communication with His creation; i.e., the coming of a thunderstorm, for example.
6. When we see and "consider" the power and majesty that is displayed above the earth in the skies, we should be humbled and ask, "What is man, that Thou dost take thought of him"? This is the proper attitude of the believer; an attitude of dependence and gratefulness. Our God; the Lord God of the universe looks upon us with compassion and mercy. God cares about every minute detail of our lives. Why? Because of His enduring, undying love for us.
7. King David then writes, "Thou hast made him (man) a little lower than God". While the King James Version translates this to "a little lower than the angels", the word used is "Elohim", or "God". Everywhere in the Bible that "Elohim" is used, the reference is to God Himself; not the angels. "Elohim" is a plural word, denoting the eternal plurality of God; God The Father, God The Son, God The Holy Spirit. The root "El" is "God".
8. Cross-reference this entire study to Psalm 82:6, Genesis 1:26, Psalm 103:1-4 and Psalm 21:5.
