Psalm 8 is a psalm of praise. It emphasizes the beauty of creation and humanity’s special role within it. St. Athanasius (296–373 CE) writes: “Contemplating humanity’s redemption and the Saviour’s universal grace, sing Psalm 8 to the Lord.”
To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith.
The Gittith was a string instrument used by the Philistines in the ancient city of Gath. This is a significant clue to the historic context of this psalm. Since David fled to this region near the end of Saul’s reign, the psalm likely was composed sometime later. Perhaps it was when he united the twelve tribes under his rule and established Jerusalem as his capital. That was a time when his regional enemies were subdued and peace reigned.
1 O Lord, our Lord.
Unlike the pagan deities, David’s God transcends creation.
2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
David reflects when as a child he shut up Goliath. Jesus extends the implication:
But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children who were crying in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the son of David!” they were indignant, and said to him,
Do you hear what these are saying?
Jesus said to them,
Yes. Did you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing babies you have perfected praise (Matt 21:15–16)?’
Jesus also said:
Allow the little children, and don’t forbid them to come to me; for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to ones like these (Matt 19:14).
Again:
Most certainly I tell you, unless you turn, and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt 18:3).
Because children (and those new to the faith) are naturally trusting and vulnerable, Jesus warns:
but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him that a huge millstone should be hung around his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depths of the sea (Matt 18:6).
3 When I look at your heavens,
the work of your fingers [God the master artist],
David meditates as he looks to the evening sky. Nowadays glaring streetlights accompanied by an orchestra of noisy traffic can obstruct the view.
4 What is man that you are mindful of him?
Ezekiel is called ‘Son of Man’ ninety-three times; Daniel is called ‘Son of Man’ once. David refers to himself as a ‘Son of Man’ in this psalm. St. Augustine (354–430 CE) writes:
But now when the expression is, man or son of-man, a distinction is more clearly intimated. This is certainly to be remembered, that every son of man is a man; although every man cannot be taken to be a son of man. Adam, for instance, was a man, but not a son of man. Wherefore we may from hence consider and distinguish what is the difference in this place between man and son of man; namely, that they who bear the image of the earthy man, who is not a son of man, should be signified by the name of men; but that they who bear the image of the heavenly Man, should be rather called sons of men; for the former again is called the old man and the latter the new;
(As we have borne the image of those made of dust, let’s also bear the image of the heavenly (1 Cor 15:49)).
but the new is born of the old, since spiritual regeneration is begun by a change of an earthy, and worldly life; and therefore the latter is called son of man.
Jesus calls himself the Son of Man more than eighty times in the gospels. He is referring to a prophecy in the Book of Daniel:
I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. Dominion was given him, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and his kingdom that which will not be destroyed (Dan 7:13–14).
The New Testament implication is clear:
Who [Jesus], existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, yes, the death of the cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil 2:6-11).
New Testament authors consider Psalm 8 to be messianic.
5 You have made them a little lower than the heavenly beings.6 You have given him [Jesus] dominion over the works of your hands.
When David unified Israel under his rule, and subdued his immediate adversaries, he applied these words to his situation. But, historical context paints an incomplete picture. The New Testament tells something very different:
But one has somewhere testified, saying,
What is man, that you think of him? Or the son of man, that you care for him?
Again:
He [God] raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come. He put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things for the assembly (Eph 1:20–22).
We wait (sometimes impatiently) for the ultimate completion of this prophecy.
7 All sheep and oxen,8 The birds of the heavens,
Despite our repeated failings, God has not canceled our stewardship role. We retain the image of God and the ultimate responsibility to care for creation.
9 O Lord, our Lord.
Psalm 8 begins and ends with this statement of praise. Note how it resembles the start of the Lord’s prayer: “Our Father, Hallowed be your Name.”
Conclusion
Psalm 8 is a psalm of praise. It exhibits two characteristics as defined by C. Bullock (Encountering the Book of Psalms, 129–30):
The sheer beauty of the creation, lauded by the psalmist in immortal language.
Creation’s beauty dwarfs human existence and thus elevates the wonder that the creator should be mindful of humans at all.
Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
This said, humility is vital. Our dominion is secondary to our role as servants and worshippers. This includes maintaining respect for God and his creation. We don’t have the right to abuse our special status. G. K. Chesterton writes (Autobiography, 332):
The strange and staggering heresy is that a human being has a right to dandelions; that in some extraordinary fashion we can demand the pick of all the dandelions in the garden of Paradise; that we owe no thanks for them at all and need feel no wonder at them at all; and above all no wonder at being thought worthy to receive them.
Instead of saying like the old religious poet,
What is man, that You care for him, or the son of man that You regard him?
we say like the discontented cabman,
What’s this?
or like the bad-tempered Major in the club,
Is this a chop fit for a gentleman?
With privilege comes responsibility.
Thanks for listening,
Modern Musical Renditions
O Lord, How Majestic is Your Name by TT Light of Worship
In All the Earth by John Alexander Wilson
Psalm 8 by Zac Fitzsimmons
How Majestic by Shane and Shane
Majestic Is Your Name by The Lanterns Music
For Further Meditation
Agpeya: Prayer Book of the Hours , (Coptic Orthodox Church of Saint Mark, 2017).
Christopher Ash, The Psalms: A Christ Centered Commentary: Psalms 1–50 , Vol. 2, (Crossway, 2024).
Athanasius, “letter to Marcellinus: On the Interpretation of the Psalms .”
Augustine, “Exposition on the Psalms .”
Basil, The Fathers of the Church: A New Translation , Vol. 46.
Basil, On Prayer .
Bonhoeffer Dietrich, Psalms: The Prayer Book .
C. Hassell Bullock, Encountering the Book of Psalms , (Baker 2001).
Hilary of Poitiers, “Homilies on the Psalms .”
Joseph Galineau, The Psalms: A New Translation Singing version , (Paulist Press, 1991).
Jerome, The Fathers of the Church: The Homilies of Jerome 1–59 , Vol 1.
Dereck Kidner, Kidner Classic Commentaries: Psalms 1–72 , (IVP Academic, 1973).
C. S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms , (New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1958).
Temper Longman III and David E. Garland, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms , Vol. 5, (Zondervan, 2008).
Origen of Alexandria, Fathers of the Church: Homilies on the Psalms Codex Monacensis Graecus 314 , (Catholic University of America Press, 2020).
Origen, Commentary on Psalms .
Pettingill, Christ in the Psalms , (Van Kampen Press, 1937.
Rashi, “On Psalms .”
Dan Harvey, author of Wrestling with Faith and Experiencing the Apocalypse
“Despite our repeated failings, God has not canceled our stewardship role.” If only we took this seriously. I marvel at how the issue of stewardship is lost on most evangelicals. May God renew our hearts to both wonder and worship, curate and care!