Psalm 8 - But we see Jesus

You know this Psalm - the one that starts and ends “O Lord our Lord how excellent is your name in all the earth”?

The one from which Jesus quoted “Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings, you have established praise”.  The one that’s unpacked in Hebrews with such depth, and referenced in 1 Corinthians and Ephesians with impact on themes of resurrection and headship.  

And I have to cover it in less than 1,000 words for this blog post? Seriously?  I find it too easy to mentally cartwheel off into the galaxy with that reference to the work of God’s fingers, so it’s with a wrench that I must ask you to escort me back down on earth – to share the perspective of the Psalmist David from which this Messianic Psalm is sung.  

Enemies exist on this earth but this psalm vaults over them to speak to God in his place above all creation with appreciation of what he has done, to the glory of his name.  The psalm mentions weakness yet rings with joy, victory and security. 

It helps that the mirrored start and end strongly signal a ‘chiastic’ structure and focus us on the centre, but that has set commentators exchanging finer structural divisions for millennia, now multiplied in the blogosphere.  Never mind them for now – never mind the knotty problem of who or what was “The Gittith” that other joyful Psalms 81 and 84 involved.  It definitely wasn’t an electric guitar.

We can stick to just a few commentators from the Bible, and as this psalm is a stage supporting the central Son of Man, they are stage lighting picking out features of the person God has given dominion and authority. 

A question sits above him that gives us a tension and draws everyone in – in the context of the universe, in this created space and created order, what is he? When we arc up and out over the universe in an almost dizzying way, why does God who is above it look into his own creation and take notice of man?  

Why when we follow God’s gaze with David to see what he’s mindful of, do we find someone who’s vulnerable and mortal (Hebrew Enosh). Is that why God’s name is excellent?  The set-up is like the stage for Adam in Genesis, but that first Adam was booed off under a curse, so the part isn’t quite filled in the settled way this Psalm describes.   Shall we put ourselves (male and female) in there in a nice politically correct manner like the latest NIV?  No thanks - maybe you and I have to act that part, but male or female we just demonstrate that the part was written for someone else.

We really have to save a thousand words, or you’ll be late for work / dinner / bed so here’s a sketch that might help introduce our commentators.  

Matthew 21 gives us a rich cluster of people shedding light on the meaning of Psalm 8, but Jesus leads the application. 

The kids – v15

What are the children doing in Psalm 8?  Well what were they doing in Matthew 21?  The Pharisees could hear the children shouting in the temple ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’. Kids were happily linking Jesus with our Psalmist’s promised Messianic line – they seemed to be repeating lines from Jesus’ triumphal entry to Jerusalem – who had a problem with that?

The Pharisees – v 15-16a

Matthew introduces them as indignant about what the children are shouting, wanting to de-link Jesus’ works from the shouts of the children.  So they are almost dressing themselves in the clothes of the enemy and avenger as they walk up to the Lord, without realising.Their offended objection was that he is becoming too central – is that ours? 

Jesus – v 16b

What a divine commentator, and how he perfectly fits Psalm 8.  His quote stops unfinished and they couldn’t help completing it in their heads, like the song lyrics they were.  Of course they had read that Psalm and the world has looked at their embarrassment ever since. Jesus was able to make devastating sense of an otherwise puzzling mention of babies, enemies and praise to God.  He was able to pick up this Psalm and wear it like none other.  Did they think they’d come on stage as the people in power?  They’re suddenly spouting the lines of the enemy and are silenced on cue.

1 Corinthians 15:27, in the middle of one of the most uplifting passages on resurrection, speaks of the order God has planned for Christ taking up the title deeds to the earth.  There’s the enemy, there’s God putting everything under his feet, the action of God in this and the direct quote from Psalm 8 – for a future state that looks forward to the last enemy – death – being defeated.  This becomes epic – applies to everything on the earth and over the earth and under the earth.  

Ephesians 1:22 puts Jesus in position as head of the church – it’s through the church that God’s wisdom is shown – the church submits to Christ as its head.  He’s a man we’re all willing to submit to and his love is our example while here on earth in our relationships.

Hebrews 2 brings us back to the present – we don’t yet see everything subjected to him, but we see Jesus, who took a position lower than the angels - he died for us, he took our form – he walked on our stage.  He’s our link with a future perfect state, he’s exalted with glory and honour.

It’s as if we leave the theatre of this Psalm having had the curtain pulled back on the centrality of Jesus in the massive drama of all time and all things, we find our relationship to God through him, and we walk out into the world star-struck and humming -

“Oh Lord our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth!”