Psalm 8 is the first of the Thanksgiving psalms. A welcome breath of joy and praise after the previous songs of lament and penitence.
Verse 1
David begins by calling upon the Lord using His name, Yahweh, the Hebrew name YHWH, meaning the Lord, the eternal, self-existent One, the “I Am.” This is a very personal name for God given especially to the Jewish nation. He writes,
Yahweh, our Lord, how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!
It is no wonder this psalm has been the inspiration for many modern songs of praise as well.
Verse 2
Verse 2 is interesting and somewhat confusing. David acknowledges that God himself has enemies, a thought I imagine he finds comforting. What is odd is that he says God uses the praises of children, even infants, to stop or silence the enemy. What praise can an infant give? Is it simply that they exist, created in God’s image, that the enemy is thwarted by their coos and cries? Perhaps. He sees to reference man created in the image of God again in verses 5-6 so it is possible the echo enhances the meaning of the earlier words as well.
Verses 3-8
Verses 3 and 4 are some of my favorites in all of Scripture. I love them partially because they are beautifully poetic words, and partially because I feel the same way when I look into the night sky and realize the expanse of the majesty represented by a spattering of tiny white dots.
What is man that You remember him, the son of man that you look after him?
God, Your majesty is so fantastic (and I mean that in the weightiest sense of the word). By the word of Your mouth You created galaxies that take our breath away. Why would You give a second’s thought to a sinful, rebellious, ungrateful mortal?
The answer lies in the rest of the psalm.
We matter because God granted us significance. The image of Himself stamped on our bodies; the whisper of His Spirit stirring about our souls. The reflection of His work in our work. On our own we would be nothing. His imprint makes our lives meaningful.
Verse 9
David closes the psalm with the same expression of praise that he used to open the psalm. I hope to hear David sing and play the original melody in heaven someday. I sense in my soul it is beautiful.
This post is Day 8 of the 31 Days of Journaling through the Psalms series. If you would like to read the first post, Psalm 1: The Wise and the Wicked, click here. The introduction to the series can be found here.
To receive email reminders of new posts, please subscribe. As a thank you, you will receive a free ebook, The Wonder Woman’s Manifesto.