Psalm 8
Pastor David Groendyk

Psalm 8 is surely many Christians’ favorite psalm. Allen Ross summarizes this psalm well: “The psalmist marvels that the glorious Lord of heaven whose name is excellent in every way should even give thought to a human let alone exalt him and give him dominion over all creation.” Psalm 8 highlights both God’s greatness and man’s importance.

First, God’s greatness bookends this psalm in verse 1 and verse 9. Above all, God deserves all the praise, thanks, honor, power, strength, and glory. Particularly we are to see God’s glory in his Creation. When was the last time you went outside during a clear night and looked up at the sky? Psalm 8 makes me think we have a responsibility to do that often. I don’t know a single person who can look up at the stars and puff out their own chest. Seeing the galaxies millions of light years away and the incredible expanse of space is profoundly humbling. It would be good while we still have a bit of warm weather in Michigan to make it a habit of going outside at night to spend time in awe and being humbled. God flexes his muscles, so to speak, in the heavens. More than that, he flexes his muscles in the praise of babies and infants. (Jesus quotes Psa. 8:2 in Matt. 21:16 which shows that the ‘strength’ the psalmist is talking about is synonymous with ‘praise’.) Far more so than kings and rulers, when the weakest of the weak praise God, it packs a punch, and it shows how glorious our God truly is.

Second, interspersed with these tales of God’s greatness, we see man’s importance in verses 2–8. This whole section drives us back to think of Genesis 1–2 in which God created the heavens and the earth, and mankind was made in the image of God and given dominion over the earth. Although this psalm is something only God’s people would sing or pray, the truths apply to every human being. All of mankind, although they may be horrible sinners, still have something of the image of God in them. However, Israel, as the ESV Study Bible points out, was supposed to be different. They were the firstfruits of a redeemed and restored humanity. They were meant to set the pattern for the rest of the world when they repented of their sins, turned to God for mercy, and sought to live in his commandments. Of course, Israel failed time and time again. They simply couldn’t live up to the perfect standard of Genesis 2 or Psalm 8. With this in mind, the author of Hebrews quotes Psalm 8 when talking about Jesus. Jesus is the ideal Israelite and perfect human being who was temporarily made lower than the angels and was crowned with all glory and honor. He is the ultimate man of this psalm for us to meditate on.

Taking into account the wonderful Creation from Psalm 8 and also the atoning cross of Christ from Hebrews, Christians should be able to gladly and humbly confess, “Who am I that you are mindful of me?” Yes, humans are endowed to rule over Creation, and we have a divine right to do so, but that should never ever lead us to a spirit of entitlement or arrogance. Our specialness as humans ought to lead to even more humble praise and glory of God himself. Praise him for his greatness, his care, and his salvation!