Majesty!

O Lord, our Lord,

How majestic is Your name in all the earth,

Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!

From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength

Because of Your adversaries,

To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;

What is man that You take thought of him,

And the son of man that You care for him?

Yet You have made him a little lower than God,

And You crown him with glory and majesty!

You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;

You have put all things under his feet,

All sheep and oxen,

And also the beasts of the field,

The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,

Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!
Psalm 8:1-9

Verse 9 is the opening line of my daily prayers. And nightly, and intermittently throughout the day. That phrase sets the tone and immediately aligns my attitude with the Sovereign One. Except my quote is “O LORD, my Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth.” The King James version just somehow expresses it more to my liking. In most English versions, the first “LORD” is in all caps. It is the same in verse 1. The original Hebrew word here is Jehovah, meaning self-existing one; perfect, absolute existence. That’s the name given when Moses asked “who shall I say sent me?” The second “Lord” capitalizes only the first letter. The original word is Adonai, meaning Master. So it is “Jehovah, my Master” Whose name is excellent in all the earth.

This Psalm is messianic, meaning it directly relates to Jesus Christ (the anointed One) in His humanity. As a true human, Jesus was separated from His eternal glory and clothed with flesh, as we are. The God of the universe came as an infant; a weak, helpless little person, who would ultimately defeat the enemies of God.  Compared to the wonders of the heavens, a human being seems insignificant; yet God has given him authority over the earthly creation. Humanity is second only to God in the dominion of all living things. The original Hebrew word in verse 5 which is usually translated “angels” is Elohim: God.

This is quoted in Hebrews 2:6-8, regarding the humanity of Jesus.

“What is man, that you are mindful of him,
or the son of man, that you care for him?
You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
you have crowned him with glory and honor,
putting everything in subjection under his feet

 I Corinthians 15:25 refers to the ultimate victory of the Messiah over His enemies, and His rulership of all creation:  “For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.”

David knew the glory and majesty of God, and wondered at the love He has for man, His highest created being. We all share in that amazement when we contemplate the grandeur of creation and our place in it. God created man last, after first designing an environment for man and the animals, to live in and enjoy while fellowshipping with Him. That prototype man, Adam, allowed Satan to take away his authority over the earth when Adam made an unnecessary and wrong decision to disobey his Lord.

The last Adam, God the Son in human flesh, has executed the decree of the Father to redeem mankind from slavery to sin brought about by the first man’s folly. He has taken back the rulership, spiritually, and as history runs its course the creation which has been spoiled by sin will be restored by God’s Messiah. He will return, not as a baby this time, but as King of Kings, to Whom every knee will bow. In His resurrected human body He will take back what Adam lost: everything.