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Psalms 8

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God's Excellent Name and Glory 1–2

1
To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of David. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. ​
2
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. ​

Contemplating the Heavens 3–4

3
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
4
What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? ​

Humanity's Exalted Status and Dominion 5–9

5
For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. ​
6
Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: ​
7
All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
8
The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
9
O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 8

Verse 1

O LORD our Lord — The first is the divine name (Yehovah), the second adon, sovereign master. 'Excellent' is addir, mighty, glorious; the 'name' (shem) is the LORD's revealed character, and his 'glory' (hod, majesty) is set 'above the heavens'. Its first clause returns word for word at v.9.

Verse 2

babes and sucklings — Olel (a child) and yanaq (one at the breast). Christ answers the chief priests, who objected to the children's cry of 'Hosanna', with this verse: 'Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise' (Matt 21:16). 'Still' is shabath, to cease: the enemy and avenger are silenced.

Verse 4

What is man — 'Man' is enosh, frail mortal man, and 'son of man' is ben adam, a child of Adam. 'Mindful' is zakar, to remember; 'visitest' is paqad, to attend to, to care for. The verse is quoted in Heb 2:6, and Ps 144:3 asks the same question.

Verse 5

a little lower than the angels — The Hebrew is Elohim, the word translated 'God' in Gen 1:1; the KJV renders it 'angels', as Heb 2:7 does in Greek. 'Crowned' is atar, 'glory' kabod, 'honour' hadar. Heb 2:9 sees it fulfilled in 'Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death'.

Verse 6

dominion over the works of thy hands — Mashal, to rule, recalls the charge of Gen 1:26, 'let them have dominion over the fish of the sea'. Heb 2:8 says 'now we see not yet all things put under him' and finds the fulfilment in Christ; 1 Cor 15:27 and Eph 1:22 quote the last clause of him.

Verse 9

how excellent is thy name — The psalm ends as it began (v.1), with the same opening clause: the divine name (Yehovah), adon, and addir for 'excellent'. Between the two refrains stand the heavens (v.3), man (vv.4–6) and the creatures (vv.7–8), all under the one name 'in all the earth'.