1 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory
above the heavens.
I don’t know how old David was when he wrote this. He lived long enough to know that nobody he’s met matches up to the Lord. David made an idol of no one. God’s name is above all.
Notice there are two different words for Lord here. The first is in all caps. This is the name of God, Yahweh, or Jehovah if you prefer. The other is translated into Greek as Adonai, master. If you look at Genesis 1, you won’t find these terms used, but God. God there is Elohim, the creator God.
With Yahweh, David is using the covenant-making name of God. Through God, he conquered all these kings. He did what God commanded Joshua and the Israelites, to take possession of Israel, and God did His part of the bargain and supplied strength and wisdom to conquer.
Our God is a covenant-making God. He binds Himself to little ole us. Some companies feel over the moon if they enter into a contract to supply Google or Microsoft or the Queen with goods. God enters a contract … with us. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. So it was with David. So it is with us.
He set His glory above the heavens, David wrote. His name is unsullied by the sin that perverts this world. Hallowed be Thy name, the prayer says. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, the third commandment says. The Lord remains a pure light. His name is exalted above all other names in our Halls of Fame, above all we have ever given recognition to, in entertainment, sports, military, anything.
2 From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise
on account of Your adversaries, to silence the enemy and avenger.
I had a hard time wrapping my mind around these words. What helps clarify it is when Jesus quoted these very words. So by applying them to the context, we can draw out their intended meaning. In Matthew 21:14–17 it says,
21:14 The blind and the lame came to Him at the temple, and He healed them. 15 But the chief priests and scribes were indignant when they saw the wonders He performed and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”
16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked.
“Yes,” Jesus answered. “Have you never read: ‘From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise’?”
17 Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where He spent the night.
The chief religious men were not acknowledging that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of David. The children were. God ordained that children would believe and call on Him when adults would not. The kids put the men to shame. And it silenced the men.
When Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, he was shocked. He wondered if their minds had been corrupted from the simplicity of Christ (2 Cor. 11:3). Let’s not make our faith complicated. Keep the childlike simplicity of the love of God. Keep yourself in the love of God. We were saved so that Jesus would be glorified, He would have the preeminence in all things.
Silence the enemy around you— glorify God. Silence the devils—praise the blood of Jesus.
3 When I behold 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, or the son of man that You care for him?
God set the sun, moon, and stars in place. They were perfectly positioned the right amount apart and of the right sizes and the sun exactly the right temperature so that earth would support us. Neither too hot nor too cold. Gravity is exactly right for us to walk and run about. The earth has exactly everything we need to sustain us with the food and materials to make everything we’ll ever need.
The universe shows that God took meticulous care of us. He calls all the stars by name. He was mindful of us with every detail He put into creation. And He still is. “I know the plans I have for you, to give you a future and a hope.” It’s all planned out how it should be. He has opened up the future for us in His book. Every hair is counted. A bird doesn’t fall without Him knowing.
In all this universe of awesomeness, He finds you more awesome. He formed friendships with Adam and Eve, not animals. They sinned and brought sin and death into the world. And through Jesus He comes out to us, staging the most amazing, bulletproof, and intricate escape route of all time. Through His death on the cross, burial, and resurrection, He helped us escape death and preserve us for Himself forever.
And so Paul writes, “all things are of God” (2 Cor. 5:18). Every detail of our salvation. Every detail of our lives that we place into His hands. The Bible says, “And we know that all things are working together for good to those who love God” (Romans 8:28). He is still paying attention to the details of our lives.
I think I’m going to sleep a little better tonight — How about you? We can give our whole life into His safekeeping. The Lord will preserve that which we’ve entrusted to Him.
5 You made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor.
Remember how we found a verse earlier about Jesus, how the children will praise Him? Well, here’s something else buried in plain sight. Who else was made a little lower than angels than Jesus, coming in flesh as a man? He humbled Himself to live on the world He had created, causing men to say, “God has visited His people” (Luke 1:68). He formed covenantal partnerships with men as He did long ago with Adam and Eve—but with His own shed blood. This psalm is all about Jesus, but David did not know that.
6 You made him ruler of the works of Your hands; You have placed everything under his feet:
7 all sheep and oxen, and even the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
After Jesus arose to His throne, the Father gave Him the name above every other name. He is ruler over the creation, over the cattle of a thousand hills. He is King over all kings and Lord of lords. And someday He will come again and take full possession of all nature and it will be created anew.
9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!
Now we repeat these words with new awe, for this is none other than Jesus here. He is the Creator of all things. As we see with the solar system He made with His fingers, and the colorful designs of every beautiful flower He presents to His coming bride, He is meticulous in every detail. He has a beautiful heart.
Jesus enters into covenants with His believers. Not a covenant made in pen and ink, but by the precious blood of the Lamb. The most important thing in a believer’s life is our connection to Jesus. The new covenant is designed to maintain that connection. The covenant is that if we sin, we may confess it and Christ will wash it away. Whatever our sin is that has driven us away from Him, He will pardon it and bring us back to Himself. We are alive only when we are with Him, remaining in Him as a branch connected to the vine. That covenant opens the way to Jesus all the time, and all His riches as we look to Him in faith, believing that He will give what He promised us.
When God created all the universe, He made it a closed system. That means only His name is full of majesty. Only His name will be glorified. Only He will reign in it forever. To Jesus alone has been given all power and authority in heaven and earth. God made no other gods. They are all fake news written and spread by Satan.
Christ is looking forward to returning to this world, remaking it without sin, death, or devils, remaking us, and living with us in His kingdom forever. If you are far from Him, will you draw near to Him and put your trust in Him? The name Jesus means God is Salvation. It doesn’t mean Try, Try Again. He is salvation and there is no other.
