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Bible Bit

Karen Breslin delves into Psalm 8 …

O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name throughout the earth!

You have set your glory
above the heavens.
From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings,
and crowned him with glory and honour.

You made him lord over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:
all flocks and herds,
and the beast of the field,
the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.

O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name throughout the earth!

Psalm 8

Mankind often seems insignificant in comparison with the vastness of creation. If you stand in the middle of a field on a starry night it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the beauty of the stars and by the sheer size of the universe. It is easy to see why the writer of this psalm felt such a sense of wonder at the position that God has placed us in, and at what he has done for us.

God has given us both a great gift and a great responsibility. On the one hand we are offered a place in His kingdom, we have power over the world we live in, free choice and the great privilege of knowing God. On the other hand, we have been “put in charge” of God’s world (see Genesis 1:28 & 29), which is scary responsibility! The human race now has the capacity to do great or terrible things to our world — we have already had a huge effect on our environment. Basically it’s up to us what happens to the world — we could even destroy it completely (eek!).

The second half of the psalm can be read in a different way. Paul in Hebrews clearly identified the “son of man” as Jesus, in fact this is a name Jesus used for himself several times. Read like this the psalm clearly states Christ’s position as Lord and King over all creation, but that doesn’t take away our responsibility, or any of the care that God has for us. By his humanity Jesus’ life is closely bound up with our own, which means we have a share both in his glory and his responsibility.

Karen Breslin

Last modified: 25th November 2005