Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Psalm 8 is a beautiful hymn authored by David, the skilled musician of Israel. He has written several psalms as praises to God. Here, he is praising God for his majestic deeds and creations. Let's walk this Psalm along with David and understand the message he wants to communicate.
From the heading, it is clear that this Psalm is written after David has become the king of Israel. He is wondering at the marvelous creations by God and His amazing grace towards Man.
Verse 3: When I consider Your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place...
The sights he describes here (the moon, the stars, etc) may probably have been his all-time favorites right from the time he used to shepherd his sheep along the pastures and wildernesses. One thing to be noted is that his favorite sight is of the night time. During the day, he might be very busy with the sheep and may not get enough time to appreciate nature's beauty. But at night, after bringing the flock into the sheepfold, David lies out in the fields and look up to see the moon and the stars and their transformations. Each night he sees a different sky. This might have intrigued him. He thought about the creator of these wonders. After becoming the king of Israel, he remembered those old days when he used to praise God during the nights.
How many of us reflect our past days and praise God? Some of us deliberately forget the past because we think that it will affect our current status! David always remembers that he was a shepherd before becoming the King of Israel. He remembers that he had a history when no one, not even his own father, remembered him during auspicious functions. Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. (Isa 51:1).
Message: We need to reflect the old days of life when we were not as wealthy, not as healthy, not as happy, not as peaceful as we are today, and praise God for the deeds God has done for us. We need to be as humble before God and man, as we were then. God doesn't want us to be proud about what we have today and forget the days we were very much needy.
Verse 3 also acknowledges that the wonderful nature is God's creation. Back then, sky, moon, and stars were pretty much 'black box' for mankind. They did not know whats going on in the sky that makes it look different every night. However, they acknowledged the creator. Today we know much more about the sky and the nature. Interestingly, the more the man knew the nature, the more he questioned God!
We should praise God more when we know more. The more we uncover the mysteries about nature, the more we establish the existence of God, and the more we need to Praise God.
This psalm starts with an exclamation and ends with an exclamation. LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth (v1 and v8).
Usually we describe something and then exclaims about it. Here psalmist cannot describe the glory of God with mere words. He exclaims about it and then tries to describe God's Majesty and realizing that it is unsuccessful, he ends the psalm with another exclamation.
God's Glory is beyond description. Even then, he is mindful of man and he cares for man. [Verse 4] This verse also reflects David's humility before God. He is being thankful to God for the fact that God considered all the disqualifications of Man as the qualification to crown him with glory and honor. Let us be more humble to God since He created us in a majestic way. Let us honor His Majestic Name more since he made all these just for us and as if it is not enough, he gave us eternal life and the glorious position as His own children. Praise the Lord since His name is so Majestic in all the earth.
