Psalm 8, High school

Psalm 8

O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies,

that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:

All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;

The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

When I was in a high school concert choir, our director gave us this Psalm set to music to memorize and sing in our district, then state vocal competitions. Our group scored 1's (the highest ranking) for both in all categories. Since I was not a Christian at the time, I did not ponder the words when we sang them in four-part harmony... it was just a beautiful piece of music. I accepted Christ as Lord four years later, after I graduated from college. Today I rarely read the King James Version of the Bible, preferring the New American Standard version, but now, 30 something years later, these words resonate with new meaning and often I remember that wise director for discreetly using his music selections to touch the hearts of students in a public high school. It has become my favorite Psalm. Thank you, Mr. Bedle.