Psalm 8 – The Emotions of the Poet
“O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your
name in all the earth…”
There are at least two songs I’m aware of, built around this statement of
praise. One is #90 Hymns for Worship, Revised. There is another rendition in
Great Songs of the Church, #562, by Horatio Palmer (1874). It is also published
in Alton Howard’s Sons of Faith and Praise, number 215. Thanks to my nephew,
Jeremy Boyd, for this research. He is the “go to” guy for this kind of
research.).
In the 8th Psalm, there is very simple structure. David’s offers up this
statement of praise, then immediately tells us why God is worthy of such praise:
He has “set” His “glory above the heavens.”
He has “ordained strength.”
He has silenced the enemy and the avenger.
Next, David takes us further into the excellence of God (vss. 3-5). David is so
overwhelmed as he contemplates the creative work of God, he expresses his
astonishment over God’s attention to man: “What is man that You are mindful of
him, and the son of man that You visit him?” The point of this is not to
downgrade man. This is a poetic and emotional expression of his astonishment of
the vastness of the divine-made universe.
Note this intriguing thing about Hebrew poetry that English-speaking people may
not be familiar with: David visit two things side by side, that seem
contradictory: the insignificance of man – but God’s mindfulness of man. This is
what happens when the heart of man tries to take in all God has made. One is so
overwhelmed, it may be difficult to state in academic, objective terms.
Keep in the forefront, the theme: The excellence of God. Like a good preacher,
David ends where he started: “O Lord, O Lord, how excellent is Your name in all
the earth.” I need to make that more of a part of my personal devotion. How
about you?
By Warren E. Berkley
The Final Page
From Expository Files 14.6; June 2007
