Psalm 8 – Yahweh’s majestic glory

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119:105)

Psalm 8 (NIV)

For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David.

1 O LORD, our Lord,
		how majestic is your name in all the earth!

  You have set your glory
	 	above the heavens.
2 From the lips of children and infants
		you have ordained praise
  because of 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 man that you are mindful of him,
		the son of man that you care for him?
5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
		and crowned him with glory and honour.

6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
		you put everything under his feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
		and the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air,
		and the fish of the sea,
		all that swim the paths of the seas.

9 O LORD, our Lord,
		how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Notes

1. This is the only Psalm with first and last lines matching, except for a few Psalms that have ‘Praise the LORD’ (see Psalm 147 notes 1-2).

2. The reference to children and infants singing Yahweh’s praise (2) seems incongruous when set between Yahweh’s glory and his enemies but its message becomes clear when seen in the light of the poetic structure.

3. And then the Psalm is introduced and concluded as being about Yahweh’s glory but half (4-8) is about humankind, their glory (5) and authority (6-8). That seems odd.

4. For the first time in studying the poetic structure of 30 psalms the Hebrew structure matches the NIV stanza layout!

5. Psalm 8 is a prime illustration of how poetry expresses ideas in grammatically incomplete statements; a knowledge of the poet’s culture is crucial and the thoughts and imagination of the reader are involved.[1]

6. As always, we need to be aware there is a risk that the interpretation and understanding of the psalm may become too closely related to the mindset, personality and interests of the reader. It then becomes particularly important to consider if the interpretation is consistent with other Scriptures and the revelations we have in Scripture about Yahweh’s character and teachings.

7. Following is Psalm 8 set out in what is likely to be the poetic structure in which it was composed.

Psalm 8

Yahweh’s majestic glory

8. The one line strophe A sets the scene announcing the theme of the psalm as Yahweh’s majestic glory, where majestic has the sense of awesome or grand.

9. There are no obvious parallels between the words of the paired strophes B-B1. However, when the idea of each strophe is considered they are seen to present contrasting ideas so that explains the apparent lack of congruity.

10. To complicate matters there are three disparate ideas presented in the 3-line strophe B. Referring to Yahweh’s glory follows on naturally from the awesome grandeur of his name in strophe A but there is then a jump to praising children before passing to opposing forces.

11. This demonstrates the counterintuitive way Yahweh works. He does not overwhelm with his power and authority and terrorise his enemies, foes and avengers. There is no clue in the psalm about who is referred to and due to the non-specificity of the psalm they are presumably referring to opposing forces in general.

12. ‘Enemies’ has a sense of a rival power competing for control, ‘foe’ is an opposing force and ‘avenger’ is someone who is hitting back in retaliation for a perceived hurt. Enemies and foe are very similar; they are used in parallel here and on 16 other occasions in Scripture so presumably are intended to express the same idea but from a different perspective. Enemies is plural and foe is singular so it might be just contrasting communal opposition compared to individual opposition.

13. This is the only time ‘avenge’ is used against Yahweh. Otherwise it refers to an individual or nation who seek retribution for harm done and sometimes it is Yahweh himself who seeks that retribution. How could it be that Yahweh is the object of vengeance? How could anyone dare to consider that Yahweh could be held to account for harm that has been incurred? I can see no explanation but it would be irrational so that may be just the point being made – that those who oppose Yahweh have no valid reason to object to his control and authority.   

14. The psalmist then focusses on praise from the weakest children and babies. Compare 1 Corinthians 1:27-29,

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him,

and James 2:5-6,

Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 

15. Most versions have ‘you have ordained praise’ regarding the role of children but the NIV margin has an alternative reading that is the preferred reading in NKJV, ‘you have ordained strength’ while in NRSV it becomes, ‘you have founded a bulwark.’ A ‘bulwark’ is a defensive city wall so it too refers to strength. These seem quite different in English but in Hebrew the word used can have these alternative meanings. These alternative translations should therefore be seen as complementary – they add something to the meaning.

16. It is hard to understand why the psalmist insists that the strength of Yahweh’s rule was found in the praise of children, even babies. It does not fit in with our perception of power and authority and how they are expressed.  However, it fits with the NT teaching above.

17. But we still have a problem of perception for however do children and infants praise Yahweh? It seems a bizarre statement. The text mentions ‘lips’ so that suggests it is something to do with the noise they make – and for infants at least that can only mean a cry or a babble. The comparable feature in children is their chatter. This is not about what we normally connect with the concept of praise such as tuneful worship.

18. Strophe B, therefore, seems to be about Yahweh’s magnificent glory that surpasses the creation of the heavens in the wonder that fills every maternal heart at the sound of children and babies chattering and babbling (and in this context both genders may be considered to have a ‘maternal’ heart). That glory stuns into silence any claim, ‘the foe and the avenger,’ might think they have, to authorize their claim on power and control.[2]

19. Does it also say something about how the strength of evil is as nothing compared to the glorious power and status of Yahweh? And this is the first thing the psalmist mentions. Before the wonders of creation and the role of humankind in managing the world as Yahweh’s agent are mentioned, the cries of helpless and frail babies and toddlers are presented.

20. This emphasises that the nature and character of Yahweh’s rule cannot be measured or understood in conventional human terms for assessing authority and power. Yahweh is unique.

21. In strophe X, ‘your heavens, the work of your fingers’ is another reference to the overwhelming power of Yahweh. The heavens, linked with the stars and moon, refers to the night sky – a time and a place of wonder but also of fear, insecurity and darkness – which have been created as easily as clicking fingers! Compare Job 10:3 and Psalm 102:25 (quoted in Hebrews 1:10) where the heavens are, ‘the work of your hands.’ But that does not have the same sense of ease and even playfulness as, ‘the work of your fingers.’ Such is the power and authority of Yahweh.

22. This creative action would have had an added significance to the psalmist’s community as it contradicts the understanding that contemporary cultures had about the world. The common belief was that the heavens were the realm of the gods who were intimately involved in life on earth but in a random and not always helpful way. There was no concept about how the heavens were formed.[3]

23. In comparison humankind is as nothing and yet Yahweh thinks of them (is mindful) and takes an interest (he cares) in strophe X. What a contrast is presented here! Amazing, humbling and warranting responsive worship and service.

24. In strophe X, NRSV uses ‘human beings’ and ‘mortals’ instead of ‘man’ and ‘son of man’ and so can then use ‘they’ instead of ‘he.’ The latter reflects the original Hebrew usage but the former is contextual. In a society in which ‘man’ is no longer readily understood to include females it sounds more acceptable. And that, ‘gender equality’ is biblical, as is clear in Galatians 3:26-29.

25. ‘A little lower than the heavenly beings’ refers to angels but the Hebrew for ‘heavenly beings’ is ‘elohim’ that is normally translated as God. However, sometimes, 314/2602 (12%), other words are used including god, goddess, idol, judge, angel (x 3) and heavenly beings on only this one occasion. NIV margin, NRSV, Good News and Amplified translate it as ‘God.’

26. Perhaps ‘heavenly beings’ is favoured because in the NT this passage has a messianic interpretation:

‘What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honour and put everything under his feet.’ In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone (Hebrews 2:6-9).

27. The messianic interpretation of this psalm in Hebrews seems to fit the use of ‘heavenly bodies’ in Psalm 8.

28. Though we see strophe X as containing a messianic prophecy that almost certainly would not have been the author’s original meaning: he would have been referring to humankind.

29. This is also a counterintuitive contrast, for humankind is only a tiny part of Yahweh’s creation yet has been given such honour as Yahweh’s agents they are counted as ‘little lower than the heavenly beings/God’.

30. I have labelled this central strophe as X rather than C to signify that it is at the centre of the psalm both poetically and in the teaching of the psalm.

31. Strophe B1 refers to humankind’s role as Yahweh’s agent in the care of creation:

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground’ (Genesis 1:27-28).

And,

‘The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it’ (Genesis 2:15).

32. What favour! What honour! Humankind’s power and responsibilities are immense as Yahweh’s steward of his creation.

33. Nevertheless, humankind are kept in their place as strophe B1 parallels strophe B where Yahweh’s glory and power are revealed awesomely by the refusal to portray it in conventional terms of power and authority but in the praise of infants.

34. So, in spite of half of the psalm being about humankind (note 3) the theme of the Psalm really does focus on the majesty, splendour and excellence of Yahweh, especially his lordship and how Yahweh shares that with his people.

35. And just in case the psalmist and his readers are tempted to be distracted by any self-glory, strophe A1 brings the psalm to its conclusion, as it started, by declaring the majestic glory is still Yahweh’s alone.

36. In particular it is Yahweh, ‘your name’ (strophes A and A1), that is majestic. This brings attention to who Yahweh is, not what he does, as he has revealed himself to humankind. Yahweh is love, holy, compassionate, separate, merciful, special, longsuffering and unique and we are to worship him as such. And Yahweh has revealed himself to his people. We know God’s name! Yahweh welcomes us into a relationship with himself.

37. As a biblical revelation (Exodus 3:13-15) the name Yahweh has some parallels with the NT revelations of Jesus’ name (Matthew 1:21, Luke 1:31-33). This link introduces more insights into the nature and character of the God we worship.

38. There is a stunning depth of meaning in this psalm that is enhanced as it is explored in the light of the poetic structure and the culture of the period in which it was written. Such knowledge and insight appears to be beyond what could have been obtained in King David’s era. We can appreciate it as we have had the revelation of God’s heart in the coming of Jesus, God’s Son and our Saviour and Lord. Some truths can only be known by God revealing them. Is Psalm 8 an example of this? How else could such knowledge and insight be obtained?

Endnotes

[1] For a consideration of these topics see, ‘Introduction to ‘Psalm Insights’ and ‘Introduction to Hebrew Poetry.’

[2] Willem A. Vangemeren, ‘Psalms’ in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol 5 Revised Ed, ed. by Trumper Longman III & David E. Garland, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008) p. 139.

[3] Walton, John H. and D. Brent Sandy, ‘The Lost World of Scripture: Ancient Literary Culture and Biblical Authority, (Downers Grove IL.: InterVarsity Press, 2013) and other books by Walton helpfully explore this and related issues.

Written: 30 October 2021

Published: 23 December 2022

Updated: 2 November 2023