Psalm 8

Haystack bible commentary

"Stacks and stacks of commentary...."

Psalm 8 has described as “a psalm for stargazers”

==psalm 8:1:

O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.

In addition to imposing size and strength, “majesty” frequently has regal overtones. Its various contexts refer to ruling authority (Numbers 27:20; Daniel 11:21), being “above” others (Psalm 8:1; 148:13; 1 Chronicles 29:11), issuing judgments (Isaiah 30:30; Habakkuk 3:3; Zechariah 10:3), and possessing royal honor and the kingly throne (Jeremiah 22:18; Zechariah 6:13). Job 37, a veritable meditation on divine majesty, speaks in warrior-like terms of God’s “awesome majesty” (verse 22). According to 1 Chronicles 29:25, “The Lord made Solomon very great in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.” In text after text, the associations are not only royal, but kingly, and masculine. --David Mathis; The Splendor of His Queen 5/25/24

May 2, 2024: Aleteia reported: The Apollo 11 mission included a fervent Christian in the person of Edwin Aldrin —commonly known as Buzz Aldrin, the inspiration for the character of Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story — who was a deacon of the Presbyterian Church. Driven by a deep faith, he received communion with bread and wine in a discreet personal ceremony shortly after the moon landing, using a kit entrusted to him by his pastor. (Note: the Presbyterian Church does not share the Catholic Church’s understanding of the Eucharist as the Real Presence of Christ through transubstantiation, so it was not a sacramental communion from the Church's perspective.) This religious ceremony was not broadcast by NASA, as it fell outside the scientific domain that legitimized public funding of the mission, but Buzz Aldrin publicly described his religious actions a year later, declaring, "It was interesting to think that the very first liquid ever poured on the moon, and the first food eaten there, were communion elements." From the lunar module, back in space, the astronaut also quoted — this time on live TV — this passage from Psalm 8: "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him?" This moment sealed the destiny of a man whose childhood was marked not only by scouting, but also by the alcoholism of his mother, whose maiden name, surprisingly, was Marion Moon.

==psalm 8:2:

Psalm 8:2:
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

This is a staggering / almost jolting statement to appear right beside the proclamation of the majesty and glory of God. And yet the psalmist is saying something about how God chooses to reveal his majesty and glory in creation.
The answer is surprising and counterintuitive. God displays his glory by using weak people to do his great work. God reveals his majesty by defeating his enemies through the weakness of children and infants.
James Johnston says "The universe is stunned at the magnificent majesty of God when toddlers pray before bedtime and sing in Sunday school. God creates victorious power from the lips of children who confess him.
This should be a huge encouragement for young mothers who spend their days wiping noses, cleaning up spills, folding little hands before meals, and singing songs while changing diapers. Step back and see the big picture: God is making his name majestic in this world through you. God is establishing his strength in this world through your children as they learn to praise him."
Satan has always waged war on babies. It’s replete in the Old and New Testaments - Satan HATES babies. They are a constant reminder of God’s image and glory, and his ultimate doom! You’ll recall that the curse of Satan included the promise that the seed of a woman would crush his head! He’s always been afraid of babies.
Think of that? How silly is this? Little infant babies? What harm can they do? How could they hurt anything? They’re dependent and small and weak! And this Psalm says God has chosen to use them to establish a stronghold - to make a position of strength in God’s conquest of his enemies.
This is staggering.
But this is our God! This is the glory of God! It is fully on display when he chooses to use the weak things of this world to confound the wise.
1 Corinthians 1:27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
Whether it was a baby in a basket, or a cowardly wheat thresher with a rag-tag army of 300 men, or a shepherd boy with a sling and five stones God shows off when he beats his enemies by making the odds of success seem incalculably small. Remember the exodus? He led his people into what seemed like an obvious trap! Only to deliver them THROUGH THE SEA. Remember Elijah? He doused the altar with so much water you would have thought a tropical storm had come through Mount Carmel. God LOVES to display his glory through apparent weakness. -- Jason Pamblanco; Leonardtown Baptist Church

==psalm 8:3:

Psalm 8:3:
3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

Thomas Watson

To glorify God is to set God highest in our thoughts, and to have a venerable esteem of him... There is in God all that may draw forth both wonder and delight; there is a constellation of all beauties; he is prima causa, the original and springhead of being, who sheds a glory upon the creature. We glorify God when we are God-admirers; admire his attributes, which are the glistening beams by which the divine nature shines forth; his promises which are the charter of free grace, and the spiritual cabinet where the pearl of price is hid; the noble effects of his power and wisdom in making the world, which is called 'the work of his fingers.' Psa 8:3. To glorify God is to have God-admiring thoughts; to esteem him most excellent, and search for diamonds in this rock only.” ― Thomas Watson, A Body of Divinity: Contained in Sermons upon the Westminster Assembly's Catechism

March 2024: OSV News reported: “As extraordinary as an eclipse is, it’s simply the natural world behaving in the way the one and only God who created it set it up to behave,” Father Kartje said. “But I think anything that can give us a little jaw-dropping awe and wonder to stop us in our tracks — to quiet and silence the din and buzz of everyday busyness — can be a great opportunity to reflect on God’s grandeur.” Father Kartje suggests the eclipse is a chance to “spend a little time in quiet contemplation. And if someone is stumped where to start, I’d say go to Psalm 8. Psalm 8 is my favorite psalm about just beholding the wonder of the natural sky — and the psalmist literally says that.”

==psalm 8:4-9:

4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

January 25, 2025: Van Yandell wrote: A very prominent character in oceanographic history and science was Matthew Fontaine Maury. Being born an American in Spotsylvania County Virginia, he was also an oceanographer. His love and curiosity of the seas led him into the United States Navy. He joined the Confederacy in 1861 during the American Civil War.
Maury was nicknamed “Pathfinder of the Seas.” Being a student of the Bible, he discovered Psalm 8:8 and his curiosity was piqued to never be satisfied until he found those paths in the sea as described in the scriptures written by King David nearly 3,000 years ago.
Maury believed with great certainty that those “paths” did exist in the seas and he set out to find them. And that he did! His success at those discoveries led him to be considered the founder of modern oceanography. His book The Physical Geography of the Sea published in 1855 is still used as a text in universities.
Maury also published The Wind and Current Chart of the North Atlantic. His system of recording oceanographic data was adopted by navies and merchant marines worldwide. Charts for major trade routes were developed using his research findings.