Tuesday, September 29, 2009
His Excellent Name
(Psalm 8)
Psalm 8 begins and ends with the same exaltation, “O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!” David’s declaration reconciles two apparently conflicting aspects of God’s person—His eminence over creation and His intimacy with His creation. As David demonstrates, these significant aspects of God complement each other, bringing the reality of God’s presence to the earnest believer.
The Psalmist declares God’s eminence by recounting His creative acts. God’s glory (personal presence) is above the heavens (1) but it is also declared by the heavens (Ps. 19:1). David describes the brilliance of the night sky as the work of God’s “fingers” (3). It’s as if he looked up into the vast expanse of heaven on a clear, cold night—perhaps while minding the sheep—and was struck by the magnitude of creation. As his eyes adjusted to the night sky, further depths came into focus—revealing layers of glimmering worlds far beyond his own. How big must God be!
God’s bigness, however, did not detract from His intimacy in David’s mind. Indeed, the two-fold declaration of God’s excellent name (1, 9) refers to the transcendent, eminent God as “our Lord.” David also affirms that though man is very small in the grand scheme of things, God is “mindful” of man (4). While marveling at the magnitude of God, he nevertheless affirms God’s loving creation of (5) and unique purpose (6-8) for man. Yes, God is a very big God—transcendent over His creation. But He is also very personal. He’s “our Lord” and He is mindful of us!
