Kidner's 2008 Psalm Analysis

After I had selected this chiastic psalm, I came across a large picture of the moon. Suspended in the blackness of space, I studied its massive size and numerous craters formed by meteors and asteroids. With a radius of over a thousand miles, truly, the moon is no ordinary creation. David was right in his assessment that “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” (Psalm 8:3-4, King James Version)? The thought of God creating such a thing should make one fall to their face in awe and fear. In fact, after thinking on this reality, this holy fear gripped me and I wanted to reach for something solid, as if in a tornado, with my face touching the ground—hoping for mercy. Who can stand against Him? Indeed, these two distiches demonstrate how powerful our God is. Additionally, this is why I can appreciate this psalm. Because, when taking the time to break it down and meditate on the deeper meaning, you can walk away reverencing God more fully or the way that He deserves.
Employing, as Kidner
The overall thought of this didactic psalm embellishes examples from Israel’s history with the overriding intention being to exhort the reader not to turn from God and His commands. As an illustration, Asaph encourages his people to share with their children the many things that God has done throughout their history, as well as the law, so that God would continue to be honored, and so that they would remain in Him. “That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments” jumps off the page in line seven to exclaim this point (Psalm 78:7, King James Version). In like manner, Bullock (2001) even affirms this reality when he declared that this is “all for the sake of future generations” (p.