Resource > Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable) >  Psalms >  Exposition >  I. Book 1 chs 1--41 > 
Psalm 8 
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In this psalm David marveled at the fact that God had committed the dominion of the earth to man, and he reflected on the dignity of man.

"This psalm is an unsurpassed example of what a hymn should be, celebrating as it does the glory and grace of God, rehearsing who He is and what He has done, and relating us and our world to Him; all with a masterly economy of words, and in a spirit of mingled joy and awe."37

 1. Introductory reflection on God's majesty 8:1-2
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8:1 This psalm begins and ends with the same expression of wonder as David reflected on the splendor and magnificence of the Lord. He addressed God as LORD (Yahweh, the covenant keeping God of Israel) our Lord (Adonai, the sovereign over all His creation including His people). In the second line David meant God's revealed character ("name") is high above all creation; He is much greater than anything He has made. The third line expresses a parallel thought. Not only is God above the heavens, but His splendor exceeds that of the heavens.

8:2 In addition to the earth and the heavens, even the weakest human beings bring praise to their Creator. David's point was that even small children acknowledge and honor God whereas older, more sophisticated adults often deny Him (cf. Matt. 21:16). God has chosen to use the weak things of this world to correct the strong (cf. 1 Cor. 1:27). Supposedly the young child of an atheist couple once asked his parents, "Do you think God knows we don't believe in Him?"

 2. Man's place in God's creation 8:3-8
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In view of God's greatness and man's relative lowliness it was marvelous to the psalmist that God would entrust His creation to humankind.

8:3-4 In view of the insignificance of mankind compared with the rest of creation, especially the heavenly bodies, David marvelled that God would even think about man (cf. 144:3-4; Job 7:17; 25:6). He spoke of the starry host as God's finger work. It was as easy for God to create the heavens as it is for a human being to make something with his fingers rather than by using his arms and whole body. It required so little effort. Genesis 1 describes God as creating the whole material universe with just a few words. The Hebrew word translated "man"is enosthat elsewhere describes man as a weak mortal being.

"God's remembering always implies his movement toward the object of his memory."38

8:5 The NIV and AV versions have interpreted the Hebrew word elohimas meaning "heavenly beings"or "angels."However this word usually refers to God Himself, and we should probably understand it in this sense here too.39God made man a little lower than Himself, in His own image that no other created beings bear. Many scholars believe the image of God includes what God has enabled man to do as well as what he is essentially. This includes ruling over lower forms of life (Gen. 1:26) as God rules over all. God has crowned man with glory and majesty by giving him the authority to rule over creation as His agent. Of course, man has failed to do what God made him to do (Heb. 2:6-8). Jesus Christ, the last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45, 47), will fulfill mankind's destiny when He returns to earth and brings all creation under His control (1 Cor. 15:27-28).

8:6-8 God placed all living creatures under the control of Adam and Eve before the Fall. Because they sinned man has never been able to fulfill the destiny for which God created him, namely to be king of the earth. Man has tamed and even domesticated many kinds of animals, though he finds it impossible to control himself without divine assistance (James 2:7-8).

 3. Concluding reflection on God's majesty 8:9
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The psalm closes with a repetition of the psalmist's amazement at God's marvelous ways in entrusting so much responsibility to insignificant humans (cf. v. 1).

The whole psalm extols the majesty of God. He is a remarkable sovereign because He has entrusted His magnificent creation to feeble humankind. While this psalm points out the frailty and failures of man as God's vice-regent, it also glorifies man as being the capstone of creation and God's chief concern in creation. It is one of the greatest revelations of the dignity of man.40



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