Psalm 8, a devotion

1 O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

Key Verse:
4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

Key Outline:
1. v. 1-2 Postulate: The Lord is excellent!
2. v. 3-8 Proofs of His excellence
3. v. 9 Restate: The Lord is excellent!

Key Observation:
First praise psalm of Creator. David proves the excellence of the Lord with examples and then restates His excellence.

Memory Verse:
9 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

Devotion:
This psalm is the first of its kind. It is a Messianic psalm, foretelling of the Son of man, and this is proved by Hebrews 2:6&7. But in its plain meaning, it stands as praise of God for everything in His creation. Thus it is also a “Creator” psalm.
David sets up his thesis in the first verse, repeated as proved in the last verse. Highly poetical, it is also a logical proof of a characteristic of God: that is, His excellence. A. W. Tozer famously said: “The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts.” David, capturing the heart of this saying exactly, extols and knows the excellence of His Creator.

Augustine says: “Narrow is the mansion of my soul; enlarge Thou it, that Thou mayest enter in.” I am troubled more when I lose sight of the excellence of God. I may know He is there, I may know He is the Creator, and I have all of his Word to rest upon. Nevertheless day-to-day I lose sight of how excellent He truly is. I must fall to my knees, admit my lack, and focus on His greatness. When I do this I find my “tank” replenished and my focus sharper.

When I consider the heavens, the stars which God not only made, but named, when I consider all of his creation, who am I that He should have put in charge of all this? He has given me dominion over much, and I am responsible to Him for my care of his charge.

But more than that, Hebrews teaches us that this psalm teaches of our Savior. God has put him in charge over us, and his dominion is over all. I look at His creation anew, attempting to see it through His eyes. You may not believe me, but there are times when I see the very branches of the trees paying homage to Him as their boughs dance in the wind. I look at my cat and dog, and wonder at what He created. I lift my eyes to the skies, seeing the starry host testify of its Creator, watching the very thunder and lightening of the storm declare his Power. Look about you with eyes baptized anew. Does not Creation sparkle the signs of the Creator? No wonder Paul tells us that His nature is “understood from what has been made” so we are without excuse. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!