This week in Youth Group we watched a video put out by the Bible Project discussing Psalm 8’s description of Creation. In this video, we see that Psalm 8 falls in the middle of a section in Psalms that focuses on how the Lord rescued David from his affliction, and also how the Lord rescues the poor and afflicted in society.
Psalm 8 itself discusses how majestic the Lord is among his Creation, and because of the way that he created. One of the key ideas within this psalm, which the video draws out specifically, is that the Lord’s praise comes out of the mouths of babies and children. This is significant, especially given that this psalm is sandwiched between two groups of psalms that highlight how the Lord cares for and uplifts the poor and afflicted.
Here in this idea from Psalm 8, we see that God wove his care for the poor, humble, outcast, and afflicted into the very fabric of creation. His created order does not work the way that the world tends to work—seeking out powerful, wealthy, and accomplished people. Rather, God uses the weak and humble to rule over his creation, because this highlights his own character, power, and goodness.
This video then draws a connection between this idea and the way that the Messiah was prophesied to be throughout the Old Testament, and the way that Jesus fulfills those Messianic prophecies. Jesus, as the King of the universe, came as a humble servant, and he sought out those who were humble. We then, as his followers, are called to do the same. We should walk through the world humbly in all that we do, and pointing to God who is the Majestic one in all the earth. But we should also seek out the humble, downcast, and afflicted, seeking to show them the love of God that he has poured out on us. It is tempting to gravitate toward the popular and powerful (and these people need Jesus too!), but we must never forget those whom the rest of the world overlook. Jesus came to save all who will come to him, and Scripture shows that this is often those we might least expect!
