Before we dive in today, let's take a brief moment to just talk about the overall picture of what's going on in Psalm 8. In this chapter, we see David reflecting upon God's majesty which is displayed by His creation. David talks about the heavens declaring God's glory and against such a backdrop of glory, we seem insignificant. Yet God chose for man to rule the earth and all of its creatures. Further, this psalm has a messianic tone, because Jesus Christ became lower by becoming human. All nature, including mankind, will one day submit to Jesus' rule. At the end of the chapter, the psalm ends as it begins with a declaration of the Lord's majestic name.
Now let's look at some context and background specific for this verse: it is part of the larger section of Psalm 8:3-9 which parallels Genesis 2:8-15, where God had abundantly provided for humanity and had given them dominion over all of the living creatures of the earth. Then, later in the New Testament, Hebrews 2:5-9 applies this part of Psalm 8 to Jesus, in which He became a real human being on our behalf, and after His death for our sins, arose from the grave and ascended to the right hand of God. Someday, He will sit upon the throne of David and hold dominion over the whole earth. Simply put, what Adam lost by sinning, Jesus restored by suffering (1 Corinthians 15:20-28).
Now to dive in
Even though it takes millions of dollars to send astronauts to space, or satellites into orbit around planets - we've only scratched the surface of what lies beyond our planet. The farthest man has traveled is the moon, and yet there are millions upon millions of stars, planets, and galaxies that lie far beyond our reach. We see in this verse David noting that God created all of it as the work of His fingers, and He has put into orbit the moon and the stars. What an incredible observation of power, majesty, and beauty of the Lord's creation.
Let's look at Abraham in Genesis 15. The Lord instructed Abraham to look at the heavens and to count (or number) the stars, saying, "if you are able to number them" (Genesis 15:5, emphasis added). God promised Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars. The next time you have a clear night, look up at the stars. Think about and appreciate God's majesty, wisdom, and power as you think about both of these verses (Psalm 8:3 and Genesis 15:5). Pagans look to the stars and worshipped the sun, moon, and stars, but their focus is near-sighted and poorly placed. Look further and to the One who created all of the heavenly bodies that give us further evidence that we are to worship Him.
