Psalm 8 O LORD our LORD how majestic is your name

Comment

You have only to gaze at the stars to be filled with awe and wonder. Some secular scientists will of course try to explain the existence of galaxies from a merely naturalistic perspective. Believers however, like the psalmist, and incidentally a large number of modern scientists too, have come to realise that the night sky, in all its staggering immensity, is just a part of what the Creator God has made. When children gaze at the stars in the sky, they have no idea how they got there or what precisely they are, but a sense of dazzled delight is produced by their beauty. They praise the magnificence and sing “Twinkle twinkle little star how I wonder what you are.” God’s creation includes much more than stars and planets, of course: the flocks and herds; the eagles and reed warblers; the whales and plankton in the sea. Every creature on this amazing planet is an expression of God’s Lordship. David knew that these things, by their very existence, spoke of God’s glory and magnificence.

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In verse two of the psalm there is something unusual that found prophetic fulfilment 2000 years after being sung by David. The story is told in each of the four gospels: Jesus Christ is in the temple, and having driven out the money changers, he goes on to heal the blind and the lame. The chief priests and the scribes simmered with indignation at this, and when the children, witnessing the miracles going on before their eyes, cried out “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they exploded angrily and rebuked Jesus. It is at this point that Jesus refers to Psalm 8. He silences their accusations by asking them whether they were aware of the verse in psalm 8 about the praise of infants and children. We are not told what their reply was! All of us, from the youngest to the eldest, need to nd the same awed wonder of these child worshippers. Humanity has been created a little lower than the angels and appointed as ruler over the earth’s countless created riches. No wonder we should proclaim the Creator God’s majestic name.