Prepared for Psalms Group, August 9, 2020
Overfamiliarity may rob these two vibrant psalms of creation of their energy, their ability to describe and create experiences of the glory of God in God’s creation. May the Holy Spirit fill us and the words of these psalms with Life-giving grace as we read, reflect on, and receive these hymnic psalms as spiritual nourishment.
The Glory of the Creator and of Man
How Majestic Is Your Name
This is a hymn.
Hymns extol the glory and greatness of God as it is revealed in nature and history, and particularly in Israels’s history. Hymns praise God in general terms for his power and faithfulness as creator of the cosmos, ruler of history, and creator/redeemer of Israel to bring blessing to all the world. Israel’s hymns stress God’s active involvement in the life story of Israel. Hymns typically demonstrate motives for worshipping and praising God. A clear example is Psalm 117, the shortest psalm, just two verses:
1 O praise the Lord, all you nations; *
praise him, all you peoples.
2 For (= Hebrew ki) great is his loving-kindness towards us, *
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever.
Praise the Lord.
Hymns were used for exuberant worship in the temple and the synagogue. The people of God before the Incarnation invite us to celebrate and praise with them in hope of the kingdom of God and his Messiah. Hymns, like all psalms, show Christians how to praise God who has acted in creation, in revelation, and in redemption, and who is acting decisively in establishing his kingdom on earth. They do not ask anything; they simply rejoice in God’s presence.
Examples: Psalms 8, 19:1-6, 33, 66:1-12, 100, 103, 104, 145-150, and others
Ro. 11:33-36
To the choirmaster: According to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.
8
Domine, Dominus noster
1 O Lord our Governor, how excellent is your Name in all the world; *
you have set your glory above the heavens!
2 Out of the mouth of babes and infants you have ordained strength, because of your enemies, *
that you might still the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens, even the works of your fingers, *
the moon and the stars, which you have ordained,
4 What is man, that you are mindful of him, *
the son of man, that you visit him?
5 You made him little lower than the angels, *
to crown him with glory and honor.
6 You made him to have dominion over the works of your hands,*
and you have put all things in subjection under his feet:
7 All sheep and oxen, *
even the beasts of the field,
8 The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, *
and whatsoever walks through the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord our Governor, *
how excellent is your Name in all the world!