PSALM 8 Reading Guide February 24 March 2
PSALM 8 2 PSALM 8 [1] O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. [2] Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. [3] When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, [4] what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? [5] Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. [6] You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, [7] all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, [8] the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. [9] O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! DAY 1 Read through Psalm 8 once writing down what you find interesting, what you find helpful, and what you don t fully understand. Read through the notes on Psalm 8 in the ESV Study Bible*. Write at least one paragraph highlighting what you learned from the study notes. Reread Psalm 8, personalizing the Psalm as your own prayer. Write out that prayer. DAY 2 Read through Psalm 8 again. Psalm 8 invites us to sing praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation. But even this Psalm talks of God s reign and rule over all things as something that is both present reality and a not yet fully experienced hope (Ps. 8:2).
PSALM 8 3 The writer of Hebrews picks up on Psalm 8 in Hebrews 2:6-9: It has been testified somewhere, What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet. Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. We do not see everything is subjection to him. But we see him namely Jesus Write out a prayer to Jesus, starting and ending the prayer as David does: O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. In the middle of your prayer, take some time to praise God for who he is and thanking Jesus for what he did for you. As you do, think about the reason, according to Hebrews 2, that Jesus was crowned with glory and honor, and how because of his suffering, you can be crowned with glory and honor. Pray about something in your life that doesn t seem right. Ask God to intervene on your behalf. Ask him for the faith to trust that Jesus is enough, even when it seems everything is falling apart ( But we see him ). DAY 3 Read Psalm 8 again, paying special attention to verses three through eight. David writes about God s creation in this hymn of praise. He marvels at the creation; he celebrates its creator. Stuart K. Hine in the well-known hymn, How Great Thou Art, does the same thing: O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made, I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy pow r throughout the universe displayed! Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee; How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
PSALM 8 4 David also writes about men and women, God s regal representatives on earth. Read how David describes men and women in verses three through eight. Write down some of the things you see in those verses. In Psalm 8, David makes it clear: We are more than just another part of creation. God has crowned us with glory and honor and has given us dominion over every other creature he made (Ps. 8:5-6). We are his kingly representatives ( crowned ) on earth. We are more than just another thing God created; God made us in his image and placed us on earth as his representatives to show how great he is. That gives us tremendous dignity. David takes this even further. God not only created us in his image and gave us authority over every other creature he made; he also knows us and cares deeply for us. Think about that: God knows you. God cares for you. This utterly astonishes David (and it should astonish us too): What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? (Ps. 8:4). God knows you. He cares for you. He loves you. That is most clearly shown through Jesus death for you on the cross. Again, as Hine makes clear: And when I think that God, His Son not sparing, Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin! Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee; How great Thou art, how great Thou art! Using some of the themes David writes about in Psalm 8, write out a prayer of thanksgiving and praise to God. End your prayer with verse eight: O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. DAY 4 The Psalm starts and ends with the same line. Read verse one slowly, writing down the things it tells you about God and the things it tells you about your relationship with him. The English word Lord is used twice in the first and last verses. The first use (LORD, small caps) is a reference to God s name for himself. It reminds God s people of God s promise that he will be their God and they will be his people. It s the name of relationship. The second Lord is a way of referring to God as king. So our Lord (Ps. 8:1) isn t the language of ownership; it s the language of submission. Read though Psalm 8 again. Write down some of the reasons you think David started and ended the Psalm with the same verse. Now, write down some specific implications that praying verse one will have, both in what you say and what you do.
PSALM 8 5 In Psalm 8, David praises God for his creation. In Romans 1:20-21, Paul says God s eternal power and divine nature are clearly shown to everyone even those who don t acknowledge him as creator and king through the things he has made. Later in Romans, Paul says the way people believe in God as creator and king over all things (including them) is by believing in Jesus. But, people only hear about Jesus when his followers tell them about him. As Paul explains in Romans 10:14: How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? Spend some time praying for specific people you know that aren t yet followers of Jesus. Ask God to make himself known to them through you. Ask God to give you the opportunity to tell them about Jesus and the salvation he offers them. End your prayer thanking Jesus for your salvation. DAY 5 Read through Psalm 8 twice. Write out at least two paragraphs reflecting on what you ve learned about God, yourself, and others from Psalm 8. Write out at least one thing you hope to apply to your life from Psalm 8. Spend at least 15 minutes sharing what you wrote with a trusted friend or family member. If they read Psalm 8 this week, ask them to do the same. End your time in prayer, thanking God for what he taught you this week. * Purchasing an ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Bibles, 2008.) will aid you in your understanding of the Psalms. The first day s reading each week assumes you will have access to the notes in the ESV Study Bible. The ESV Study Bible is the most comprehensive study Bible ever published. It will help you understand not just the Psalms, but also the rest of the Bible in a deeper way. You can either buy the Bible (amazon.com, search: ESV Study Bible) or purchase online access to the notes at www.esvbible.org.
PSALM 8 6 Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 2013 Elliot Grudem.