How Majestic Is His Name!

perfectlycomp
May 11, 2023
2 min read

Psalm 8 is a powerful song of praise. We start with David proclaiming the Lord’s majesty.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! - Psalm 8:1a ESV

The whole earth knows His majesty and power. His glory is plain to see for those who look (verse 1). Even the littlest child can recognize His strength and sovereignty (verse 2).

As David contemplates God’s handiwork, his thoughts turn to his own role in creation.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him,

and the son of man that you care for him? - Psalm 8:3-4 ESV

These verses often bring me to tears of joy and wonder. In all of God’s creation, He thinks about people. He thinks about you and me. God cares for you and me.

What am I that God should think of me and care for me? I usually feel like there’s nothing special about me. I’m just an ordinary woman with an ordinary life. But that’s not how God sees me. I am special to Him; in Him, I am extraordinarily valued. The next verse reminds me that I am made in His image, which reinforces how special and valued I am to God (verse 5, Genesis 1:26-27).

And it gets even more amazing!

You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, - Psalm 8:6 ESV

To have dominion over something is to rule over or govern that thing. God put people in charge of the work of His hands. (See also Genesis 1:28.) This can be a little scary because I know my failings. But God has trusted me to be responsible for work in his kingdom, despite knowing me so well. He has put people in my life to be mindful of and to care for in the same way He cares for me. What an honor and privilege to be trusted this way!

No wonder that David ends this psalm as he began, praising the Lord for His majesty.