JANUARY Attributes: Psalms 6-8

“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” -Psalm 8:3-4

CHAPTER OF THE WEEK: Psalm 8  You can read it every day or just once, pray it, meditate on it, talk about it, or find other resources about it.

VERSE OF THE WEEK: Psalm 8:3-4  You can memorize it, read it every day or just once, pray it, meditate on it, talk about it, or find other resources about it.

ON THE LOOKOUT: This month’s theme is attributes of God. Need a reminder about what an attribute is? Check out this post. Be on the lookout for attributes of God in your Bible reading this week. You can highlight them, keep track in a separate journal, make some kind of art with them, pray them to God, or text them to your friends.

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK: Video of David Platt’s example of how to walk through a Psalm in his sermon: Devote Your Life to Prayer and the Ministry of the Word – Psalm 8

SONG OF THE WEEK: “Psalm 8” by Poor Bishop Hooper on YouTube or Spotify

PLAYLIST FOR THE WEEK: Here is a playlist with songs from Psalms 6-9 YouTube link, Spotify link

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK: You can be on the lookout for attributes of God in two different ways. There are verses that say “God is: fill in the blank” like “God is a righteous judge…” as stated in Psalm 7:11. Or you can think about attributes based on God’s actions like we know God is the creator in Psalm 8:3 even though it doesn’t say it blatantly: “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,” Continue to watch for attributes in your reading this week.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “We may style this Psalm the Song of the Astronomer: let us go abroad and sing it beneath the starry heavens at eventide, for it is very probable that in such a position, it first occurred to the poet’s mind.”  from The Treasury of David by C.H. Spurgeon

THOUGHTS ON Psalms 6-8

It is amazing that there are definite themes that carry over from each Psalm even though they weren’t necessarily arranged to be compared or studied back to back. Psalms 6-8 seem to be strikingly different from each other. Psalm 6 is considered a “Penitentiary Psalm” which means it is an example of confessing one’s sins and Psalm 7 is a plea for deliverance and vengeance but Psalm 8 is pure praise. They also run the emotional gambit from guilt, vindication, anger, worry, grief, and despair to praise, peace, happiness, wonder, and amazement. But there are a few constants that we can observe.

God is unchanging. The context in and purpose for which David wrote these three Psalms isn’t known exactly. We can tell a few things from the titles, but not enough to draw a parallel to David’s life as explained in Samuel or Chronicles. But we do know his circumstances were constantly changing and his emotions were all over the place. But God was there for him. Psalm 6:9 says, “The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD accepts my prayer.” Psalm 7:10-11, 17 remind us, “My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart. God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day… I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.” And all of Psalm 8 is praise to God “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:9). God is dependable.

Mankind is unworthy and full of sinners. Psalm 8:3-4 give such food for thought: “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” God has made us in His image and given us purpose, to glorify Him, but we are not only small when compared to God, we are sinners who don’t deserve what He gives us. In Psalm 6 David was suffering not just emotionally but physically from his sin and from his enemies. In Psalm 7 he describes that wicked men who ignore God and do not repent are stupidly harming themselves in the end. But the good news is that God still loves us, redeems us, and through Him we find value and purpose.

“Note first what he [David] does not do. He does not exonerate himself before others. He does not explain to others how mistaken this accusation is… Instead, he takes his complaint to God… We are freed from insisting on defending ourselves.”

Dane C. Ortlund from In the Lord I Take Refuge

We should pray the attributes of God. This blog started as a channel to learn more about prayer, and the Psalms are so perfect for modeling our own prayers. David doesn’t just ask requests to heal the sick and then call it good. He reflects on God’s character all the time. In Psalm 6, David knows God has every right to rebuke and discipline him, but also knows that God is gracious and a healer (Ps. 6:1-3). When David prays to God, he can’t help but interject attributes of God in his prayers. In chapter 7, he doesn’t like the evil that surrounds him, so he prays for God to act on His character and bring justice because He knows God is a righteous judge. In Psalm 8, he looks at the order of the world around him and dwells on the majesty of God. In every circumstance, we too can reflect on God’s character. Want to have a more interesting prayer life? When you ask for a request, acknowledge that God can fulfill that request if He wants to because of one of his attributes. For an example, “God, please heal my co-worker for I know you are the great physician. Please forgive me my sin because I know you are merciful. Help me not to be anxious because I know you are the source of all joy and peace. Help this ministry because you are the good shepherd. Give wisdom to my friend in a big life decision because I know you are a good guide.” 

I can see already that these posts will not have nearly enough space to relay all the information and insights that will be revealed as I continue to study. I could go on about how David doesn’t seek vengeance on his own but asks God to act because God is the ultimate judge. Or every request that David asks and whether or not we can make those requests. Or what it means that man is a little lower than the angels. But for now, I hope you are encouraged to keep looking for the attributes of God in the Psalms as you dive into Psalm 6-8 or any other passages this week.

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