When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
Parallel translations
- WEB When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained;
- BSB When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place—
- NKJV When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
- NASB ¶When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have set in place;
- NLT When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers— the moon and the stars you set in place—
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Gazing at the moon and stars, David sees the heavens as the work of God's fingers. Creation's vast order testifies to its deliberate Maker.
Overview
David contemplates the night sky, ordained and set in place by God as easily as a craftsman's fingers shape a work. The grandeur of the cosmos prepares the question that follows about humanity's smallness before such a Creator. Scripture consistently presents the heavens as a witness to God's wisdom and power (Psalm 19:1; Romans 1:20).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Gen 1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
- Ps 33:6By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
- Ps 104:19He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.
- Ps 89:11The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.
- Ps 111:2The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.
- Rom 1:20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
- Luke 11:20But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.
- Exod 8:19Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
- Ps 136:7–9To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever:
- Deut 4:19And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
- Job 22:12Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!
- Gen 1:16–18And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
- Exod 31:18And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
- Job 25:3Is there any number of his armies? and upon whom doth not his light arise?
- Job 25:5Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight.
- Ps 19:1The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
- Ps 148:3Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.
- Job 36:24Remember that thou magnify his work, which men behold.
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 8:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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