Psalm 8:1–2 – The Majestic God!

Have you ever stood at the seashore and looked up into the vast, immense and endless expanse of the sky, and wondered in awe of the One who is behind the creation of the universe? This perhaps was closest to exactly how David was inspired and led to compose this Psalm. Here David stood in awe and wonder as he thought of the Sovereign Lord, who created the endless universe and how He should invest in us, insignificant human being. He marveled at the wonder that this God should give us insignificant humans such a significant role in the works of His hand.     

Psalm 8 is definitely a majestic song celebrating God’s stupendous magnificence, and the grand and brilliant purpose for which He had created man. This Psalm was written for the choir director on the Gittith. The Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible defines the Gittith as an obscure Hebrew term that could be referring to a musical instrument or a musical cue, signaling a mood to which the Psalm was to be performed.

It is worth our while to muse and chew on what David had said. So we are going to dwell on the richness of the first two verses. Here David began by praising the wonderful name of God. As far as David knew, God was not just a title given to a great supreme and awesome Being but to the very nature of His person. So he exclaimed, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth, Who have displayed Your splendour above the heavens!”

The LORD is the covenant name of God. The Bible put this LORD in four capital letters. He is the same One who first revealed Himself to Moses in that name. When Moses asked for His name, He told him that He is the “I Am.” This two words had long been referred to as “the LORD,” in the Old Testament. He is the ever-present One. This is God’s eternal nature. He is not just the God of the past nor the God of the future. He is the God Who is always present, always current and always relevant.  

This LORD had linked Himself to us His people, and had made Himself accessible to us. This name, “I Am”, only has a subject and verb but not the object. We can say that this is God’s unfinished name. Perhaps He has deliberately left it that way for us to complete His name according to the needs we currently have. If we need provision, He will say to us, “I Am the LORD your provider (Jehovah Jireh).” If we need healing He will say to us, “I Am the LORD your healer” (Jehovah Rapha). If it’s peace that we need, He will be to us, “I Am the LORD your peace (Jehovah Shalom)” and so on. What a wonderful God!

David wants us to know that the power of this great God is unsurpassed. Though the speech of an infant is usually limited and not developed, yet He could use them to silent the enemy with their immature blabbering. David’s point is this: even the undeveloped speech of children and infants attests to the greatness of the Creator. We know that the ability to speak and communicate is only given to man. It is a function unique to human being. We are made with the capacity to think, rationalize and to express our thoughts. In that sense we are made in the image of God. Even as an infant begins to make recognizable sounds, they witness to God’s creative power. This put to shame anyone who opposes God and refuses to praise Him.

In Matthew 21:16 Jesus quoted verse 2 to rebuke the chief priests and the teachers of the Law for trying to prevent the children gathering at the temple area from shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” This was an indictment on the religious leaders. Even children could recognize and welcome the Messiah. But shame to those grown up professors of the Law and religious leaders. Even with much learning they did not recognize the Messiah.  

Our mouths are made to praise God. So let’s use them to declare His praise! Let’s use them to declare the excellence of Him who had called us out of darkness into the Kingdom of His marvelous light. It is truly a wonder to think that such a great God should have great consideration for us. It is truly beyond words. So we must emulate David and declare, “O Lord, our LORD, how majestic is Your name in all the earth, Who have displayed Your splendour above the heavens!”