In last week’s blog, I said that Psalm 8 is about the amazing and indescribable glory of God made visible in all of creation. But the psalmist doesn’t stop there. He also reflects on who this glorious God is in relationship with mankind.
Gazing into the star-filled night sky, the psalmist believed that beyond the vastness of the universe is the vastness of his God. And in his looking and believing, he considers the moon and stars as merely “the work of (God’s) fingers.”
The psalmist imagines God molding and shaping the universe as a potter might form a bowl on his turning wheel. He sees the whole universe being created and now lovingly held in God’s admiring hands as recorded in Genesis 1:31, “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”
While pondering God’s awesome glory, it might seem that people would be insignificant to him, and so, the psalmist asks, “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them.” The adjective “mindful” used here comes from the Hebrew word “remember” (zākar). So the question being asked is; Will God keep us in His mind? Will God keep His eye on us? Being so small in comparison to the vast and seemingly endless universe, will God think of us, see us, and care for us?
The twofold answer to these questions is given in verse 5, where the writer describes humankind’s place in God’s creation: “You have made them a little lower than the angels.” Many scholars believe a better translation is, “a little lower than God.”
The psalmist is most likely reflecting on Genesis 1:26, which says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness,’” Indeed, we are created to represent God’s likeness in this world by reflecting his character and living in an intimate, daily relationship with him.
But the psalmist adds something more in saying that God has “crowned them with glory and honor.” In other words, God intended our glory and honor to be seen in the world as his own glory and honor is seen in the universe.
The “glory and honor” of this “crown” is given in verse 6, “You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.”
The psalmist is again reflecting on Genesis 1:26, “… so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
That, my friend, is our God-designed purpose and vocation. Our greatness, our “glory and honor” is seen in our being made a little lower than God, bearing his image and placed in this world to rule over the earth and its creatures. It is participation in God’s rule; and a privilege, not a right.
However, sadly we see very little of God’s intended ordering of mankind’s God-like ruling over his good creation being followed. The reality is that humankind, in its greedy selfishness, chooses to be its own god, and thus has become a devil. And so, this very good world that was created to be lovingly ruled and cared for by mankind is instead been grossly abused and raped by mankind.
But we also know and rejoice in our firm belief that Jesus, as the Lord and King of a new redeemed people, has through his death and resurrection, defeated sin, Satan, and death.
Furthermore, we gratefully believe that as God comes to this earth in his Son, Jesus, the greatness of God and the grandeur of the cosmos are awesomely displayed in the reconciling grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Christ who is mercifully forgiving and restoring sinful humanity and this suffering creation.
Like a final chorus, verse 9 repeats verse 1: “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Our place in God’s order evokes this final note of praise. As you discover your divine destiny, please join me in making God’s name majestic in all the earth.
“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – June 26, 2019
Healing Rays of Righteousness 
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