Reflections on Psalm 8

I will be posting all the devotions we have on the blog, so that if you miss any you can still read it here.

The latest set of devotions, the 3 parts on Psalm 8; I have condensed it into 1 long article, so do take time to read it. I have added in some new stuff, some extra added insight.

Psalm 8
1 O LORD, our Lord, the majesty of your name fills the earth!
Your glory is higher than the heavens.

2 You have taught children and nursing infants
to give you praise. They silence your enemies who were seeking revenge.

3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers--
the moon and the stars you have set in place--

4 what are mortals that you should think of us,
mere humans that you should care for us?

5 For you made us only a little lower than God,
and you crowned us with glory and honor.

6 You put us in charge of everything you made,
giving us authority over all things--

7 the sheep and the cattle
and all the wild animals,

8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
and everything that swims the ocean currents.

9 O LORD, our Lord, the majesty of your name fills the earth!

The Majesty of our Creator
When was the last time you looked up into the sky and just marvel at the heavens? When was the last time you asked yourself, what is a star? What holds the planets in order? Who created the stars and the heavens? How were the stars created in the first place?

Have you ever looked at the sun or the moon and take them for granted? A few months ago there was an island wide blackout and the neighbourhood was plunged into total darkness. But there was still light! It was the moonlight shining down on Singapore. We often miss the splendour of God’s creation and take it for granted.

Looking up towards the heavens is what worship should be about! Especially for those of us who spend our time looking around. Have you ever noticed that when we look around at our circumstances, they tend to deflate worship, instead of inspire it? Looking around we see frustration, we see unfinished tasks, we see imperfection and injustice, disease and a multitude of lesser gods.

David saw the exact opposite when he looked up, he saw the incomprehensible, the Eternal, the Mysterious, the Expansive, the Beautiful. Worship begins when we look up and wonder at the creation of God. That’s verse 3. And verse 4 tells us to come back down to earth with the realisation that our Creator in ALL His majesty thinks of us so much to give us all different fingerprints different DNA etc.

The Creator is mindful of us
Look at your fingerprints and turn to another person and say, my prints are different from yours! Think about that for a while and wonder “Why should we even matter to God?” We are insignificantly small compared to a star!

But we do matter to Him! The same Creator who created the heavens calls us each by name and makes us a “little lower than the heavenly beings”. And in verses 6-8 He charges us with certain duties. He has given us a large responsibility. Let us not take it lightly.

David writes verses 5-8 that exult mankind to be almost equal to God, BUT in verse 9 he immediately give the Glory back to God. There is a big big God that knows your name, and created you! Think about that, think about how we should respond to that. Think about the lyrics of the following song.

Creator King
You who made the mountain and the sea
Measured out the universe and You made me
Echoes of the voice that called the worlds to be
Reach through the ages and now speak to me
You’re my Creator King

You who made the valleys and the skies
Displayed Your love on far horizons and before my eyes
You who lit stars and set the dawn in time
Called them all by name and now You whisper mine
You’re my Creator King

Who am I that You are mindful of me?
Who am I that You sent Your love on me?
You’re my Creator King

You who made the darkness and the light
Sun and moon to watch the day and guard the night
The hand that stretched the heavens like a canopy
Reaches down to cover and watch over me
You’re my Creator king

(C) Word by Mary Maclean

Our rightful response
John 3:30 – “He must become greater, and I must become less”

When worship is the subject, little leaders is what we need. Not small in terms of stature, but small in terms of self, for there is no greater enemy of true worship besides self.

As a result of the fall, we have a deadly preoccupation with ourselves. Conversion to Christ is nothing less than getting over ourselves. Self does not go quietly. Instead it stubbornly rears its head and demands its way, looking for any opportunity to stand in the limelight and receive its glory. If left unchecked, self will stand in the light of God and somehow try to take credit for it.

As a worship team, we stand in the front, and w should be exceptionally mindful of that fact. A stage is a dangerous place. By definition, a stage is a raised platform, stages are built so that little people can be seen more easily.

Not that we should reduce ourselves till we are nothing. The last devotion showed that God gave us certain responsibilities. Let look at the whole of Psalm 8 again. David gives full glory to God, YOUR heavens, YOUR fingers, YOU set in place etc. At the end of the Psalm David returns the glory back to God. That is our rightful response. As a worship team, we are always in the limelight. But rather than absorb the light, reflect it back to God.

Adapted from Reflections on Psalm 8 by Louie Giglio
From Heart of Worship Files