Why I Stopped Rushing Through the Name of God (Psalm 8)
What does the name and character of God reveal about His creation? Psalms show how powerful and loving God is and what it has to do with you.
Psalm 8
Today's Scripture Passage
A Few Thoughts to Consider
Why is God's name so revered in the Old Testament?
Psalm 3 starts with "LORD, our Lord," or in Hebrew, "Yahweh, our Adonai." Yahweh was God's proper name, and Adonai was his title. Not wanting to take God's name in vain, Jewish people would not pronounce the name Yahweh out loud, and in written form, they would omit the vowels, leaving the letters "Yhwh." God's name was that significant to them.
Peter C. Craigie writes, "Psalm 8 is a hymn of praise, in general terms, though more precisely it may be classified as a psalm of creation."[1] Derek Kidner adds, "This psalm is an unsurpassed example of what a hymn should be, celebrating as it does the glory and grace of God, rehearsing who he is and what he has done, and relating us and our world to him; all with a masterly economy of words, and in a spirit of mingled joy and awe."[2]
While we can't be sure, this Psalm certainly has the feel of the psalmist David staring into the night sky and contemplating the wonder of God. You know this sense of amazement if you've ever visited places like the Grand Canyon at night. On the one hand, you can see the silhouettes of the canyon below. On the other hand, you can see the star-lit sky without the clash of city lights.
So, how should we respond to this grandness? Should we despair and think life is meaningless? In Why the Universe Is the Way It Is, astronomer Hugh Ross says,
"Rather than seeing ourselves as insignificant specks in the immensity of the cosmos, we can consider that immensity an indicator of our worth. It seems the Creator invested a great deal—a universe of 50 billion trillion stars, plus a hundred times more matter, all fine-tuned to mind-boggling precision—for us."[3]
Every time you look at the wonder of the night sky, it is a testament to how much God values you. It's a reminder that without God, you are a speck of dust that can accomplish nothing.
But it's also a promise that everything changes when you know God and accept the proximity he offers through Jesus Christ. Because of his invitation, you can speak his name with confidence. And as John Chrysostom reminds us, "Through this name, in fact, death was dissolved, demons imprisoned in bonds, heaven opened, gates of paradise thrown wide, the Spirit sent down, slaves made free, enemies become sons, strangers become heirs."[4]
A Meditation to PRAY
Praise | Lord, thank you for the wonder and majesty of your name.
Release | I release my desire to accomplish anything on my own. It is only through you I can do any good thing.
Ask | Show me the power of your name, and help me to wonder at how much you value me.
Yield | My mind is weak, and my understanding is limited compared to yours. I surrender them to you. Show me how to think like you.
A Challenge to Act Like Christ
Verses 5-8 are a flashback to God's creation of humanity, and they help us understand our place in this world. The psalmist says,
5 You made him little less than God
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:
7 all the sheep and oxen,
as well as the animals in the wild,
8 the birds of the sky,
and the fish of the sea
that pass through the currents of the seas.
As humans, we are different from every other part of God's creation. We are not God, but we have the image of God stamped on our lives. This brings us back to the definition of the gospel by Timothy Keller: "We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope."[5]
Jesus is all-powerful. His name is majestic. And as Hebrews 1:3 reminds us, all things are sustained by his powerful word. This means that each day, we have a decision to make. We can revere the name of God by drawing close to him, or we can take his name in vain, pursuing fleeting alternatives.
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[1] Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1–50, 2nd ed., vol. 19, Word Biblical Commentary (Nashville, TN: Nelson Reference & Electronic, 2004), 106.
[2]Derek Kidner, Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 15 of Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. IVP/Accordance electronic ed. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 82.
[3] Hugh Ross,
[4]Craig A. Blaising and Carmen S. Hardin, eds. Psalms 1–50. vol. 7 of Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. ICCS/Accordance electronic ed. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2008), 68.
[5 Timothy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage
