For the choir director. According to the Gittith. A Psalm of David.
1 O Yahweh, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who displays Your splendor above the heavens!
2 From the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have established strength
Because of Your adversaries,
To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.
3 When I see Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have established;
4 What is man that You remember him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
5 Yet You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen,
And also the animals of the field,
8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
9 O Yahweh, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8, LSB)
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A NOTE ON NAME
As I mentioned in the study of the previous psalm, English translations of the Bible have used the word “LORD” (all capital letters) to translate the Hebrew word יְהוָֹה (Yahweh/Jehovah). This is the covenant name of God revealed to Moses when the angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of the bush.
Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am about to come to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ And they will say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” And God furthermore said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name from generation to generation. (Exodus 3:13-15, LSB)
We will see more on this idea of name as we walk through Psalm 8.
INCLUSIO
The word inclusio is a Latin word meaning “enclosure” or “confinement.” It refers to a literary device that brackets or bookends a passage by beginning and ending with the same or very similar words or phrases. Psalm 8 begins and ends with the same phrase, “O Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.” Thus our inclusio.
The inclusio serves to highlight for us what the psalm is about. Our attention is pointed to God’s majestic name and His power over all of His creation.
PSALM 8
O Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth, who displays Your splendor above the heavens! The opening of the psalm is not so much a call to praise as much as it is a declaration of praise. Of course, there is an implicit invitation and calling to join in the praise of God, but the statement itself is declarative. The name of Yahweh is majestic in all the earth and all the earth praises Yahweh. Additionally, Yahweh displays His splendor, or glory, above the heavens. The heavens will be brought up in verse three but first, verse two.
From the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have established strength because of Your adversaries, to make the enemy and the revengeful cease. Here we have one of the interesting juxtapositions put forth in this psalm. Infants and nursing babies are weak and helpless. Yet, from their mouths Yahweh establishes strength. A strength that deals with His adversaries and makes the enemy and revengeful cease. It is a declaration. Yahweh is praised in His creation. It must be so. Jesus spoke of it. He refers to Psalm 8 during what we commonly call His triumphal entry.
Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” (Luke 19:37-40, NKJV)
Do you see? It cannot be otherwise. God is praised. If the people had kept silent the stones would have immediately broke out in praise to Yahweh. By the way, this means that Jesus is Yahweh. More on that later.
For now, a little more context and a more explicit reference to Psalm 8. Luke has referenced “all the mighty works they had seen.” Those mighty works were displays of Yahweh’s authority and power. Specifically, it was the cleansing of the temple and healings. Matthew gives us more details.
Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ” Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read,
‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have perfected praise’?”Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there. (Matthew 21:12-17, NKJV)
Jesus has cleansed the temple of the greedy and money hungry. Then the blind and lame came to be healed by Him. The Jewish chief priests and scribes, who knew the scriptures and should have rejoiced, instead became indignant. Rather than praise Yahweh, they showed themselves to be adversaries, enemies, and revengeful. They were faithless and believed that they were strong in themselves, strong apart from Yahweh who stood before them healing the people. Jesus points them to Psalm 8 and instructs us that “the mouth of babes and nursing infants” is a metonymy for human beings. Relatively weak and helpless human beings that Yahweh uses to establish strength. The next several verses of Psalm 8 deal with that juxtaposition.
When I see Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have established; what is man that You remember him, and the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You crown him with glory and majesty! You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, All sheep and oxen, and also the animals of the field, the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
The psalmist looks to the skies and sees the vast expanse. He sees the brightness of the planets, the stars, the moon, and the sun. Then he asks, how is it that you, O Yahweh, our Lord (our Master), remember us creatures made from the dirt? How is it that You care for us? Then we have the juxtaposition of lowly man and his glorious exaltation.
Man, created from the dust of the earth, is made a little lower than the angels. but it is man that Yahweh crowns with glory and majesty! Yahweh has given to His people the authority and power to rule over the works of His hands. He has put all things under his feet.
The creation account in Genesis can be broadly categorized as Yahweh creating the categories of sky, sea, and land, and then filling those categories. The psalmist here uses those same categories but in reverse order. The point is the same. God creates the universe, then gives it to His people. And just a sidenote, the word Yahweh first appears in the Bible in the creation account.
These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that Yahweh God made earth and heaven. (Genesis 2:4, LSB)
Yahweh created man “a little lower than the angels.” The word used here in the LSB is the Hebrew word “elohim.” It is a word used for spiritual or divine beings. It sometimes refers to Yahweh, but is also used in reference to false gods, to angels, and to human rulers. The writer of the New Covenant book called Hebrews quotes this passage of Psalm 8 in reference to the work of Christ.
[H]ow shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will? For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. But one testified in a certain place, saying:
“What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You take care of him? You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet.”
For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:3-9, NKJV)
The fulfillment of Psalm 8, and all of scripture, is Jesus. The fall of man in Eden left man broken by sin. The Father sends the Son, who takes on human nature and is full of the Holy Spirit. With Jesus there are signs and wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit. The incarnate Christ is obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Then He is exalted.
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11, NKJV)
Jesus is exalted by the Father and given a name. Do you remember that I began with a note on name? Here we return to the idea.
Jesus has a name. His own name, Jesus. But now Jesus is given a name above every name. What is that name? Well, the passage just quoted says that every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that “Jesus Christ is Lord” to the glory of God the Father. The name above every name is “Lord” meaning “master.” And who is our Lord/Master? Jesus. How does Psalm 8 begin and end?
“O Yahweh, our Lord/Master, how majestic is your name in all the earth.” Jesus, the Lord, is Yahweh. It’s in the name. What is God’s name? God uses many names to reveal Himself to us, and with the fuller revelation of the New Covenant we can say that God’s name is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The triune God.
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20, NKJV)
The name. Oh what a glorious name!
Jesus has received all authority in heaven and on earth. Psalm 8 speaks of God’s authority and power over earth and heaven. Jesus is Yahweh. Moreover, Jesus identifies with His people just as Yahweh sets His name upon His people under the Old Covenant through the Aaronic blessing.
So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them. (Numbers 6:27, NKJV)
Let’s return to the passage in Hebrews 2, where I quoted verses 3-9, and continue with what it says, where we will see this identification. Where we will see that Jesus who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one.
For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying:
“I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.”
And again:
“I will put My trust in Him.”
And again:
“Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.”
Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted. (Hebrews 2:10-18, NKJV)
Jesus and His people are all of one. He is not ashamed to call us brethren. And what does Jesus say? He says that He will declare “Your name” to my brethren. Name. Furthermore, Jesus says that He will do something in the midst of the assembly. What is it? He says, He will “sing praise” to God. God must be praised. It cannot be any other way. We believers partake in that very praise. We partake in the very life of God. This is reality.
THE REALITY
The Father, through the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit, brings us to Himself. God makes us partakers of the divine nature. The Apostle Peter wrote of it this way:
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2 Peter 1:2-4)
What Psalm 8 speaks of concerning God crowning man with glory and majesty, and man ruling over the works of God’s hands, is fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ who then makes us partakers with Him in that glory, majesty, and authority.
Do you see your position in Christ? Do you see the reality? In Christ we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3). Because of God’s great mercy and love, in Christ we are made alive together, we are raised up together and made to sit together in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:4-6). This is the reality. It is reality right now.
We reign in the world and in life because Jesus identifies Himself with us and He has all authority in heaven and on earth. He doesn’t horde it. He shares it with us. He has given us authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, meaning He has given us authority over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). This is the power to go out and make disciples. The power to go out baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. It is the power to heal the sick and say to them that the kingdom of God has come near to you (Luke 10:9).
Saints, there is so much more to say about this. So, so much more. My prayer is that this short piece edifies and encourages you. I pray that it helps you to build up your faith as you see the promises of God in scripture and to know those promises belong to you. I pray that the Holy Spirit is opening your eyes to the many, many more connections in scripture.
Returning briefly to the second chapter of Hebrews, verse 16 says, “For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham.” This is the believer in Christ. We are the seed of Abraham.
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus … And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:26,29, NKJV)
In Christ you are Abraham’s seed. Yahweh delights in you. Praise His name today. It must be so. In Christ we are crowned with glory and majesty. It is through and for us that God, from our praise, establishes strength. Through us, through our praises and petitions, the kingdom of God goes forth conquering through salvation, healing, casting out demons, and taking our authority over all the power of the enemy. This is what we learn from Psalm 8, and indeed all of scripture. With that in mind, I close this study of Psalm 8 with a different psalm. But nevertheless, a psalm that also teaches us of praise, of the glory and majesty that belongs to us in Christ, and of the authority and power we receive from God to advance His kingdom. It is another example of the endless connections about Christ and who we are in Him.
1 Praise Yah!
Sing to Yahweh a new song,
His praise in the assembly of the holy ones.
2 Let Israel be glad in his Maker;
Let the sons of Zion rejoice in their King.
3 Let them praise His name with dancing;
With tambourine and lyre let them sing praises to Him.
4 For Yahweh takes pleasure in His people;
He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.
5 Let the holy ones exult in glory;
Let them sing for joy on their beds.
6 Let the exaltations of God be in their throats,
And a two-edged sword in their hand,
7 To execute vengeance on the nations
And punishments on the peoples,
8 To bind their kings with chains
And their honored men with fetters of iron,
9 To execute on them the judgment written;
This is the majesty of all His holy ones.
Praise Yah! (Psalm 149, LSB)