Who hasn’t walked hand in hand through a remote place, laid on the ground and gazed at the wonder of the night sky? David’s night in Psalm 8 would have been darker and therefore his stars brighter than most of ours. It might have been under such a sky that you first declared your love, it is easier under the cover of darkness. But to David the sky shouted out the laws of creation.
Firstly David declared the majesty and reputation of YHWH (Yahweh) God’s self-given name. ‘You have set your glory in the heavens.’ v1 So great is Yahweh that he takes the weakest of all things, the praise of children and infants, and makes something great and strong from it. v2
To the modern mind the wonder of God’s creation of the universe is even greater than David’s as our telescopes and satellites probe the beauty and size of His creation. v3 How humbling this is when we compare our apparent universal insignificance to His creation, only made significant by God’s compassion for us. v4
It is to God and God alone that we owe our role in the world. He has honoured humanity with being in His sight, made a little lower than heavenly beings. He ascribes us with honour. v5 With such honour comes responsibility, as His emissaries, to care for His creation. vv6-7
This puts a particular light on what God’s work in our world consists of. But before, during and following the day’s work we are to be inspired by His creation to give honour to His name. Yahweh. ‘Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.’ v9