Psalm 8

oh lord our lord how majestic is your name in all the earth these are the opening words from psalm 8 in the bible it's a beautiful poem about how the creator god rules the world through babbling babies huh babbling babies yeah this is really cool let's dive in [Music] okay first let's get our bearings in the collection of literature called the hebrew bible there's a large scroll of poetry called the psalms there are 150 poems in the psalms scroll that have been organized into five sub-collections sometimes called books and we're going to be in book one of the psalms right now book one is designed like this there's a two palm introduction followed by four more groups of psalms now first let's look at the two-part introduction it's important because it introduces a key idea for the whole collection of psalms it's about god's promise to deal with evil and violence in the world by raising up an anointed king for israel so who is this king well the hebrew word for anointed is mashiach or messiah this refers back to a promise that god made to david the king of israel god said that a future messiah would come from his line and psalm 2 says that this powerful king will confront violent world rulers and he'll become a protective fortress for any who take refuge in him after the two-part introduction is the next group of psalms 3-14 and our psalm psalm 8 is right in the middle and the fact that it's in the center is important let me show you why first in psalms 3 through 7 we're invited to reflect on david's story from the past when he was powerless and had to hide from his enemies in these poems david cries out to god to deliver him and restore him to his role as king then after psalm 8 comes psalms 9-14 david is joined by a group of people called the poor and afflicted ones like david they're oppressed by powerful rulers and they too cry out to god asking him to confront these world empires and vindicate his people both david and the afflicted ones are really powerless and weak and yet they are the ones that god has chosen to rule the world and this is what psalm 8 in the center is all about it begins by saying yahweh our lord how majestic is your name in all the land you have set your splendor above the skies so yahweh is the king of creation and you can see his royal power on display everywhere now that first line is repeated again at the end of psalm 8. right that's called an inclusio it's a signal to the reader of what the poem is all about god's majestic power that fills all of creation but david and the afflicted ones aren't experiencing god's power at the moment right this is what the rest of the poem is all about there are two parallel sections and in the first we're introduced to a weak little creature a bunch of babbling babies from the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have established a stronghold because of your adversaries to stop the enemy and the avenger now the hebrew word for stronghold is oze which can mean strength or also a strong place like a fortress or a refuge god's going to build a fortress out of baby babel to stop violent enemies yeah it's like a riddle that is going to be unpacked by the next matching part of the poem when i consider your skies the moon and the stars which you have established what is human that you remember him and the son of humanity that you attend to him so the poets here reflecting on the creation narrative of genesis chapter one where there's this contrast god installs the heavenly lights above and all their splendor and then below he forms the humans out of dirt yeah i get this looking up at the night sky feeling so small and insignificant why are humans so important to god and so the poet continues you made humanity a little lesser than spiritual beings yet you crown them with glory and majesty in genesis god elevates the weak little dirt creatures for this majestic task to be his image who will rule over all creation the poet can hardly believe it you made them rulers over the work of your hands you put everything under their feet so both parts of this poem are about how god loves to elevate the powerless so he can rule the world through them whether babbling babies or lowly humans god loves to choose the weak yes just like david and like the poor and afflicted ones and altogether they set the pattern for that ultimate human the messiah of psalms 1 and 2. and he will rule over all the land now these ideas in psalm 8 lead us forward to the story of jesus in the gospel of matthew chapter 21 jesus rides into jerusalem as a king to confront israel's powerful leaders but he's on a donkey not a war horse and the people hailing him as their king are the poor and children so israel's leaders mock jesus and then have him executed but then god raised jesus from the dead and exalted him as the cosmic king the true image of god then jesus invited his followers to share in his power and mission but it's a different kind of power yeah it's like how jesus said that to be his follower is to become like a child yes when god's people serve others from a place of humility and powerlessness that's when god's kingdom and power are most on display oh yahweh our lord how majestic is your name in all the land [Music] you

Channel: BibleProject

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Length: 6min 25sec (385 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 09 2021