How Awesome Is Your Name (Psalm 8): Notes and Discussion

Below are links and doctrinal notes for the psalm How Awesome Is Your Name by Joe Tyrpak. Feel free to chime in with comments or questions.

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LINKS FOR HOW AWESOME IS YOUR NAME (PSALM 8)

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DOCTRINAL NOTES

Because God delights in worship that is biblical, thoughtful and passionate—what we often call intentional—please consider the following overview of the biblical texts and doctrinal themes behind the psalm How Awesome Is Your Name:

The central theme of Psalm 8 is found in the repeated lines of the first and last verses. These bookends show that the whole song is highlighting the awesome, universal majesty of Yahweh’s name (i.e., reputation). The term “majesty” refers to a king’s glory or regal splendor; it is the summation of what makes him great. In singing psalm 8 we rejoice in four major facets of the Lord’s awesome majesty: His majestic sovereignty, His majestic creation, His majestic goodness to man, and His majestic incarnation.

Verse 1. “O LORD, our Lord” is not repetitive. Rather, it’s addressing God as “The Great I Am, our Master” (i.e., “O Yahweh, our Adonai”). The one, true, self-existing, covenant-keeping God is our personal Lord and Master! His majesty is proclaimed in His creation of the skies (cf. Psalm 19:1) as well as in His sovereignty over his enemies. In His wisdom and sovereign power, God uses those who are weak and helpless—nursing infants—to triumph over all those who are threatening to thwart His purposes (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29).

Verse 2. Verse one touched on God’s majesty revealed in the sky. Verse 2 advances that thought significantly. His awesome kingship is highlighted by His magnificent—and effortless—creation. He created and arranged the moon and stars with His fingers! As he considers God’s majestic creation, David’s Spirit-carried thoughts turn to contemplate how undeserving man is to receive so much attention and grace from God.

Verse 3. Despite man’s seeming insignificance by comparison, God appointed him to be His vice-regent over the rest of His creation. Psalm 8:6-8 significantly alludes to Genesis 1:26-28, in which God appointed Adam and Eve to have “dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” In other words, David marvels at God’s remarkable goodness in giving man such responsibility and privilege.

Verse 4. Before leading us to sing the climactic conclusion of Psalm 8:9, I’ve inserted the Christological meaning of Psalm 8. The Lord’s awesome majesty is seen in all its fullness in Jesus Christ. Jesus, the uncreated Creator of everything, humbled Himself, became “The Ideal Man” (i.e., the second Adam; see Michael Barrett’s Beginning at Moses, 304-07) and was made “for a little while lower than the angels” (Hebrews 2:7). Within a week of his crucifixion, Jesus’ triumph over His enemies was signified by unnamed children who appropriately praised Him as the saving Messiah (Matthew 21:15-16).

Verse 5. In His humble incarnation, spotless life, substitutionary death, triumphant resurrection, and kingly ascension, Jesus displayed His awesome, kingly majesty. Upon His resurrection, God “placed all things under His feet” (1 Corinthians 15:27; Ephesians 1:22; et al). This is not referring simply to the dominion that every human exercises over nature, but Jesus’ sovereign lordship over everything in the universe, including all humans. God has highly exalted the name of Jesus above every other name (Philippians 2:9)! This leads to the climactic conclusion of Psalm 8:9: “O LORD, our Lord, how awesome is Your name in all the earth!”

(The notes for How Awesome Is Your Name were written by Joe Tyrpak.)

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