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Psalms 8:3-9

Matthew Henry on Psalms 8:3-9

Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · Matthew Henry · CC0 1.0 Universal

We are to consider the heavens, that man thus may be directed to set his affections on things above. What is man, so mean a creature, that he should be thus honoured! so sinful a creature, that he should be thus favoured!

Man has sovereign dominion over the inferior creatures, under God, and is appointed their lord. This refers to Christ. In Heb 2:6–8, the apostle, to prove the sovereign dominion of Christ, shows he is that Man, that Son of man, here spoken of, whom God has made to have dominion over the works of his hands.

The greatest favour ever showed to the human race, and the greatest honour ever put upon human nature, were exemplified in the Lord Jesus. With good reason does the psalmist conclude as he began, Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth, which has been honoured with the presence of the Redeemer, and is still enlightened by his gospel, and governed by his wisdom and power!

What words can reach his praises, who has a right to our obedience as our Redeemer?

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commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 8:1-9Lord what is man? This is a song of praise equally adapted for men of every nation, country, colour, and clime. Its author was David, £ who, as a shepherd-boy, had cast an observant eye on the works of God, both in the…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 8:1-9God the glorious Creator. It is midnight. The sky is bright with stars. As the psalmist muses, the fire burns, and he bursts into song. The psalm is not for Israel alone, but brings before the mind such a vision of the…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 8:1-9EXPOSITION Psalm VIII. is altogether a psalm of praise and thanksgiving. Its primary idea is the condescending love and goodness of God towards man. That God, who had made the heavens, and sot his glory on them, should…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 8:1-9God's glory revealed. "The great spiritual truth contained in the first passage of Scripture, that God made man in his own image, flashes forth in this psalm in true lyric grandeur, a ray of light across the dark myster…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 8:3When I consider thy heavens (comp. Psalms 19:1; Psalms 33:6; Psalms 104:2). David, in his shepherd-life, had had abundant opportunity of "considering the heavens," and had evidently scanned them with the eye of a poet a…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 8:4What is man, that thou art mindful of him? In comparison with the lofty heavens, the radiant moon, and the hosts of sparkling stars, man seems to the psalmist wholly unworthy of God's attention. He is not, like Job, imp…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 8:4Man's littleness and his greatness. "What is man," etc.? The littleness and greatness of man are set before us here in powerful contrast. In view of this vast magnificent universe, he seems a speck, an atom, a vapour th…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 8:5For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels; rather, thou hast made him but a little lower than God ( אלהים). There is no place in the Old Testament where Elohim means "angels;" and, though the LXX. so transla…Joseph S. Exell and contributors