The Way of the Word: The Eighth Psalm – A Contemplative Reading.
Monsignor Joji Vadakara, Vatican City
The eighth psalm is a psalm of praise written by David in the lyre for the choir leader. Verses one to nine of this are arranged to be recited by the community and verses two to eight by the choir leader. Describing the glory of God, David thanks him for the exalted position that God has given to man. The fact that God gives man a position slightly lower than that of God’s angels is a proof of God’s mercy and concern for him. Although it may seem insignificant when compared to the created universe, David recognizes that man, as the crown of God’s creation, not only holds a higher position than all other creatures, but has the right to rule over them, and for this he extols the glory of God’s name with a grateful heart. This right is also what God commanded man during the creation of the universe (Genesis 1, 26). This psalm calls upon all men to recognize the importance God has given to man, to live accordingly, to bear within themselves the obligation to God, and to bear witness and thanksgiving to their Creator with a grateful heart.
The glory of God that the creation invokes
The universe, by its very existence, proclaims the glory of God. Creation bears witness to the glory of the Creator. The first verse of the psalm tells this one fact: “Lord, our Lord, how great is your name in all the earth! Your glory is exalted above the heavens” (Ps. 8, 1). It is true that Yahweh is the God of Israel, and Israel is God’s chosen people. But another thing that this first verse testifies to is that Yahweh is the Lord of the whole world, to whom all the world should be glorified, in addition to being the God of the covenant. He is the God who is to be glorified not only on this earth but also above the heavens.
Yahweh is able to silence the enemies who stand against God. He is able to strengthen weak infants and nursing babies. In the second verse we see this: “With the lips of infants and sucklings he has built a strong fortress to silence the enemy and the bloodthirsty” (Ps. 8, 2). Two things can be inferred here. First, when David sings praises to God, he sees himself as weak and powerless, testifying to God using men like himself to defend against his enemies. The latter is a fact that gives us hope as well. God is powerful enough to make even a little child capable of standing against hostile and bloodthirsty men. No matter how weak men may be who are close to God, God is their strength and sustainer.
The insignificance of man
In verses three and four of the psalm, the psalmist highlights the insignificance of man by comparing the universe God created and man through the eyes of an ordinary person. The third verse, “I see the heavens that your fingers have molded and the moon and stars that you have established” (Ps. 8, 3) testifies to the divine hands behind the creation of the universe. David meditates on man’s insignificance before the God who made the sun, the moon, and the stars: “What merit is there for mortal to come to his thought? What right has the son of man to receive his consideration?” (Psalms 8, 4). The very expression of the son of man is synonymous with his insignificance before God. He is weak and perishable. But when he realizes and accepts the one truth that every human being is God’s creation, who is nothing in the vastness of this universe that the human mind cannot even comprehend, he becomes more valuable than this universe.
God’s price for man
In verses five through eight of the Psalm we see the importance and value God, the Creator of the whole universe, gives to His handiwork, mortal man: “Yet He made him a little lower than the angels; He crowned him with glory and honor. You gave Him dominion over Your own handiwork; You put all things under His feet. Sheep, oxen, wild beasts, the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and everything that moves in the sea” (Ps. 8, 5-8). In proximity to God, in glory and power, man is inferior to God’s angels. We read in the Book of Genesis that God created man in his own image (Genesis 1, 27). In the face of a culture that looks down on man as one of the many other creatures in the universe, the culture of the Holy Book stands very high, looking at man as only a little lower than God’s angels, but dominant over all God’s creation. These psalms ask us to do two things. First, man, who is appointed as the authority over creation, must not reduce himself to one of them, and second, he has the duty to responsibly control and direct all things according to God’s will. Man who worships or enslaves the things and creatures of the universe ignores and underestimates the authority and glory God has given him over them.
God is worthy of glory
God, who gave glory to His handiwork man and authority over the creation of the universe, crowns him as the crown of creation. But the fragility and beauty of man and the universe calls forth the glory of God, the Creator of them all. Like the first verse of the psalm, the last verse, the ninth verse, therefore shows David praising the glory of God with the community: “Lord, our Lord, how great is your name in all the earth! (Ps. 8, 9).
Psalm in life
Summarizing the eighth psalm, the psalmist calls us to join him and the believers in praising God. Even though we are as weak or incapable as a child, we can live as believers with the strength of a mighty fortress if we stick to God. Let the thought that we are those whom the world underestimates, created by God, given authority over the created world, and precious before God, bring comfort in our lives. We who value the world and its things and creatures in excess may order our lives according to the glory God has given us and bear witness to the divine touch and image in us before the world. We can also thank God by living closer to the wine than to the soil.