Creation Moment 10/11/2018 - PSALM 8: Psalm of the CREATION

Psalm 8:

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,

 the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

What is man, that thou art mindful of him?

and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

vs.3,4

"A psalm of creation.

Structurally, Psalm 8’s beginning and concluding bursts of praise are driven by David’s contemplation of two pairs of radical contrasts.

(1)  Introductory Praise (8:1);

 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! vs.1

(2)  Two Pairs of Radical Contrasts (8:2-8);

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels,.. vs.5

A.   Between the Nature of “infants” and infidels (8:2);

Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength.. vs.2

B.   Between Unaided General Revelation and Unveiled Special Revelation (8:3-8);

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,... vs.3

(3)  Concluding Praise (8:9).

O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! vs.9

 

Psalm 8: Another instrument is referenced in this title, most probably a guitar-like harp associated with Gath in Philistia.

 

--This psalm is a solemn meditation on, and admiration of, the glory and greatness of God, ...It begins and ends with the same acknowledgment of the transcendent excellency of God's name.

--There is much in the scenery of a nocturnal sky; to lift the soul to pious contemplation. That moon, and these stars, what are they? They are detached from the world, and they lift us above it. We feel withdrawn from the earth, and rise in lofty abstraction from this little theatre of human passions and human anxieties.

--A survey of the solar system has a tendency to moderate the pride of man and to promote humility. Pride is one of the distinguishing characteristics of puny man, and has been one of the chief causes of all the contentions and ambitious projects which have desolated and demoralized our sinful world.

--David here confines his attention to God’s temporal benefits, but it is our duty to rise higher, and to contemplate the invaluable treasures of the kingdom of heaven which he has unfolded in Christ, and all the gifts which belong to the spiritual life, that by reflecting upon these our hearts may be inflamed with love to God, that we may be stirred up to the practice of godliness, and that we may not suffer ourselves to become slothful and remiss in celebrating his praises."

 

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels,

and hast crowned him with glory and honor.

Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands;

thou hast put all things under his feet:

vs.5,6

BooksOfTheBible/MatthewHenry/JohnCalvin/CharlesSpurgeon