DIVINE-HUMAN SPLENDOR
Opening Prayer
Lord, thank You for taking note of the insignificant as well as the significant.
Read PSALM 8
Psalm 8
For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David.
1 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
5 You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
“Nearer, still nearer, close to thy heart, / draw me, my Savior, so precious thou art!” (Lelia Naylor Morris, 1862–1929).
Think Further
“How majestic…!” (1,9) and “what are mere mortals…?” (4) are the great exclamations in this psalm. The former expresses awe and admiration, whereas the latter expresses marvel and question.
First, the psalmist is in awe of God, whose name and glory are radiant in all the earth and the heavens (1,9). God’s creation—including the starry heavens in the night (3)—declares an immense sense of human smallness. However, the focus of this psalm is not on the creation as a whole but on the place of humans within this creation. Verse 4 literally reads, “What is man that you remember him, and the son of man that you care for him?” Humankind is so tiny compared with the enormous starry sky. Yet the Lord remembers and takes care of each individual human being—including me. How does this great Creator and Maintainer of the vast universe have time to attend personally to a tiny human creature? The overwhelming question “what is humanity?” lies at the thematic center of the psalm (4).
Elohim can be translated as “heavenly beings,” “gods” or “God.” Because of an uneasiness with describing humans as God-like, verse 5a is traditionally rendered as “You have made him a little lower than the angels.” However, the translation “God” would explain why humans are crowned with glory and honor (5b), which are divine attributes, and why they are endowed with surpassing power over the world (6–8). The psalmist is once again in awe of such a God who elevates undeserving humans to such an high status (9).
Apply
The wonderment of God’s “making small humans big” surely awakens our deep-souled feelings of humble adoration to God. Praise him for linking his identity with ours!
Closing prayer
Lord, help me to understand the profound magnanimity of God, who has crowned us with a glory far higher than we deserve.
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