Under Starry Skies

Walking out in my yard the other night, I looked up to see a brilliant, starry sky. Have you ever noticed how the heavens seem to shine brighter and clearer on a cold winter night? I think it’s because cold air can’t hold as much moisture as warm air, so the skies are less hazy when it’s cool and crisp out. I’m really not sure about that, but I know on those nights and early mornings when I can see my breath, the stars just seem to pop. I think King David wrote Psalm 8 on a night like that. Walking under a starry sky, he is overwhelmed that the God who made them has taken a personal interest in him: “O Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

Songwriters have used the words of Psalm 8 for generations to praise God for his glory in creation, and his care for human beings. But Psalm 8 is also doing more: it is a Royal Psalm, written specifically about David’s role as Israel’s King. By extension, it also teaches us about King Jesus, which is how the New Testament writers use Psalm 8 (Heb 2:5–18; Eph 1:15–23). Psalm 8 builds on the picture of the coming Messiah that Psalm 2 introduced, and helps us grasp the mission Jesus accepted at Christmas.

Here is what I think is happening in Psalm 8. David is reading the opening chapters of Genesis (see Deut 17:14–20). David reads of God’s original design for creation: how he made Adam in his image, and gave him dominion, or rule, over all things God made. God wanted Adam to fill the whole earth with God’s glory! David also reads of how King Adam failed at his calling, listening to the serpent instead of to God, and forfeiting his rule over creation. Yet God promised that Adam and Eve would have children, and God would use one of them (“the seed of the woman,” Gen 3:15) to win back the fallen creation. One of their children would battle Satan; the serpent would strike at his heel, but the promised child would crush the serpent’s head. He would destroy the devil and restore God’s good world. Bible teachers call this the “proto-evangelion,’ or the “first gospel.” The rest of the Bible is the story of how God keeps that promise, ultimately through Jesus. Read Psalm 8 again, and see if you find these Genesis ideas yourself.

Well, David finishes his reading and goes for a night-walk. He begins to think about how he, as God’s anointed king, fits into this story. As David connects that covenant God made with him in 2 Samuel 7 to the story in Genesis, he realizes God’s plans for him are even more massive than he realized! God will use David and his descendants to keep that first gospel promise! They will not just rule Israel, but recover the kingship of Adam, with “dominion over the works of your hands,” and “all things under his feet,” from the beasts of the field to the birds of the air, to the fish of the sea (8:5–8)! David realizes God has “crowned him with glory and honor” beyond what any king has ever known.  How could God be so mindful of him? How could he care so much for him?

At Christmas, God’s Eternal Son came down to fulfill this Psalm-8 mission. Jesus is that promised “seed of the woman” from Genesis 3:15, born to do battle with the Evil One. He is the glorious “Son of Man” who takes back dominion over God’s creation (Dan 7:13–14). He is the “Last Adam” who will one day restore God’s glory in all the earth (1 Cor 15:22–28)! Most amazing, he has included puny little people like you and me in this grand plan! He is mindful of us! When we grasp how great his plans are, we will join David in singing: ‘O Lord, our Lord! How majestic is your name in all the earth!"

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Article by Eric Smith
Senior Pastor, Sharon Baptist Church