A Prayer for the Weak
For Meditation (Murray Withrow)
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! Psalm 8 begins and ends with this exclamation, drawing our gaze to the glory of God. Though we as human beings seem to pale in comparison to the incredible vastness of the universe, God has chosen us, as weak and frail as we are, to bring about his purposes in creation.
But there is a foe—an enemy that is opposed to the purposes of God, who ravages the earth. We all have experienced this devastation in many forms—fallen creation, wars and famine, interpersonal conflict, and darkness within our own hearts and minds. It can leave us feeling helpless, like infants.
And yet, strangely enough, the psalmist declares that God has actually ordained strength from the mouth of babies and infants. In addition, though we sometimes feel alone, the psalmist declares that the Lord is indeed mindful of us, and that he cares for the son of man. And there is another Son of Man, who entered the world as a baby, and changed everything. Who is this Son of Man who uses the weak in the world to shame the strong, and to ultimately fulfill God's purposes in us and in all of creation? How does this change how we see God, others, and ourselves, and how does it inform how we live?
The ESV says "You have established strength because of your foes". What do other translations say for Psalm 8:2? Why does Jesus say "out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise" and what is the significance of correlating the concepts of strength and praise?
What is a chiasm? Can you identify a chiasm in Psalm 8?
Where else in Scripture are parts of Psalm 8 quoted? How does this shed light on Psalm 8 and help us interpret it?
Where are you weak? How might the Lord meet you in your weakness and make you strong in Him?
Psalm 8 (ESV)
1 O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!