Psalm 8 To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of David.
The term, Gittith, appears in only three Psalms: 8, 81 and 84. It is not known for sure what it means, but it is thought to be a musical term indicating a musical style or an instrument.
Verse 1 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
The Hebrew word translated as “LORD” is “Yahovah” and it means the existing One. The Hebrew word translated as “Lord” is “adown” or “adon” and it means firm, strong, lord, master, king, my lord, or my master. So King David is basically saying, “O existing One, my lord and my master”, making a differentiation between God and God’s relation to him, a difference which is lost in the English translation without making LORD all capital letters. Notice that David says He is “our Lord” which makes it very personal as each Christian believers can claim Him as their God.
The Hebrew word translated as “excellent” is “addiyr” and it means great, majestic, great one, or majestic one. So according to this Psalm, the name of the LORD is in the earth and His glory is in the Heavens.
Application: People take the LORD’s name in vain. As my former pastor and teacher, David Meyer, used to say, “God’s last name is not dammit”. Scripture is very clear that those people who abuse the name of the LORD are His enemies. “For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain” Psalm 139:20 It is sin, plain and simple. “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” Exodus 20:7 and Deuteronomy 5:11 For the Church, the name of God here on Earth is “LORD Jesus Christ” or simply “Jesus”.
King David is praising the name of the LORD but he does not use His name. Why? Because in the Old Testament the multiple names used for God were titles expressing His character and describing His position, power, and what He did. Some examples are as follows. He is “El” which means mighty or strong. He is El Shaddai which means all sufficient. He is “Adonai” which means Master or LORD. He is Jehovah-Jireh which means provider. He is Jehovah-Nissi which means our banner. He is Jehovah-Shalom or our peace. He is the I AM which means He has been, He is and He always will be God Almighty. The actual name mankind was to use was not revealed until the birth of Jesus. His name means Saviour and is representative of the three ways that God manifests Himself: LORD representing Father God as Spirit, Jesus representing the Son and the flesh of God, and Christ representing the Messiah, the anointing One, the Holy Ghost. “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21
Application: For the converted, Christian believer the name of Jesus is reverenced because it is in that name that salvation is possible and it is in that name that the believer can access power from on High. When using that name, Christians have victory over devils, over situations, over sickness and death, and so forth. There is power in the name of Jesus.
Verse 2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
Children and new believers are some of the most honest communicators. As people age both physically and in the Faith, they learn to behave and think according to the majority of the people in their particular church setting and they tend to loose the freshness of thought and wonder that comes with youth and with their initial salvation experience. It is the new converts who are on fire for the LORD who remind seasoned Christian believers to renew their relationship with the LORD and to once again get excited about their salvation and the gift of eternal life.
Verses 3-4 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
David asks a very good question. Why does God bother with people who cannot make stars or a single flower? People are so helpless and powerless compared to God that David is in wonderment as to why He tolerates sinful man.
Application: Before electricity and the multiple means of entertainment and distraction that is available today, people would actually look up and pay attention to the lights in the sky that God created for the purpose of dividing the night from the day and for keeping time and announcing the seasons and providing light to the Earth. They knew the plants and trees and they were in touch with what God has created. They knew instinctively that there was a power greater than themselves and they either knew the God of Heaven or they created gods in their own image. Not so today as people in general fail to notice the work of the fingers of God which is all around them in the natural world as their focus is on technology and a false reality, and they believe they are supreme and in some cases are striving to be little gods in their own spheres of influence. So one has to ask the same question that David asked: why God are you mindful of sinful mankind? The answer then and now is that God loves us.
Verse 5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
When God created man (Adam and Eve) He gave them authority over the Earth so that their status was that of being supreme in earthly position over all that God had created, yet they were lower in status than the angels who are ministering spirits and messengers of God. However, through sin, Adam and Eve gave their position of authority to Satan and his fallen angels so that he became the god of this world. Yet God in His goodness continues to love and care for mankind.
Verses 6-7 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: 7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; 8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
The Hebrew word translated as “dominion” is “mashal” and it means to rule or to have dominion over. All other living things were placed under mankind’s rule for the purpose of caring and promoting that which God had created so that the Earth would be productive and a beautiful place to dwell while in the flesh. However, mankind’s greed and naturally sinful nature over time has destroyed much of what God created and called “good” and has replaced it with that which is not good.
Application: When God created and entered into a body of flesh called Jesus, the Son of God, and the son of man, He lowered himself to the position of His created men and women which are “a little lower than the angels”. Because He is omnipresent or everywhere at once, He could be present throughout His universe (all existing matter and space) and yet be present in one body of flesh. Now that Jesus is resurrected and in Heaven He has the dominion and Satan can only go so far in his plot to overthrow God, His world, and His people. When converted Christian believers are fully walking with the LORD and working for His Kingdom, they too have dominion over the works of His hands and over devils. The Apostle Paul is an example of one who had dominion when alive and in a body of flesh. He was bitten by a very poisonous snake and just shook it off of his hand into a fire and nothing happened to him. He was not fazed by storms at sea as he knew the one who had dominion. The Prophet Moses was another who, because he was serving the LORD, had dominion over politicians, rulers, magicians, and various natural elements such as insects, critters, storms, and seas. Think about it.
Verse 9 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
David concludes this psalm by again pointing out how excellent is the name of the LORD God Almighty. Again, the Hebrew word translated as “excellent” is “addiyr” and it means great or majestic.
Application: The name of God in English is Jesus, the full name being LORD Jesus Christ. Why? Because it encompasses all three of the ways God manifests Himself to mankind. LORD is God manifesting as Father and a spirit which cannot be seen by human eyes. Jesus or Joshua in Hebrew is God manifesting in human form and is the promised Messiah and Savior of His people. Christ is God manifesting as the promised Comforter or Holy Ghost/Spirit who dwells within His people. His name is indeed excellent!