Psalm 8:1–9
A great God worthy of praise, who created the magnificent cosmos and all it contains, and whose dominion is boundless, demonstrates his mindfulness and care of humans by bestowing them with his glory and splendor, and delegating to them dominion over all nature.
Psalm 8 is carefully structured, and it centers upon humanity’s meekness and greatness 8:4, 5)
A “Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic ….” (8:1a)
B “heavens”; “babes and sucklings” (8:1b–2a)
C “adversaries”; “enemy”; “vindictive” (8:2bc)
D “works of your fingers”; “You have appointed” (8:3)
E “human”; “mortal”: “You care for him” (8:4)
E’ “lower than God by a little”; “You crown him” (8:5)
D’ “works of your hands”; “You have set” (8:6)
C’ “sheep”; “oxen”; “beasts” (8:7)
B’ “heavens”; “birds … and fish” (8:8)
A’ “Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic ….” (8:9)
The psalm commences (and concludes) with praise to Yahweh’s “name” (8:1a [and 8:9]). The difficulties of the subsequent section on deity’s rule ( 8:1b–2a, 2bc, 3) are resolvable when seen in light of the corresponding elements in the section on humanity’s rule (8:6, 7, 8). An explanation of the parallel of “babies” and “sucklings”(8:1b–2a) and “birds” and “fish” (8:8) may be that what is characteristically mouthed by “babies” are incoherent human sounds, akin to avian chirping; and what “sucklings” do with their mouths finds its nexus with the sucking action of fish swallowing water to push through their gills. Thus, God’s mastery over the babbling and sucking humans (8:1b–2a) is being compared with humans’ mastery over the babbling and sucking creatures of the animal kingdom (8:8). Thus, everything made by the Lord God and falling under divine (direct and sovereign) dominion, are also under human (indirect and delegated) dominion. Amazing!
Also raising problems is 8:2bc. Here again, reference to the parallel in 8:7 helps. Both elements list three actors: “adversaries,” “the enemy,” and “the vindictive” (besides God) in 8:2bc, and “sheep,” “oxen,” and “beasts of the field” in 8:7. The latter trio is part of creation that is under human dominion; the former set then must be part of creation under divine dominion.
8:3 continues the notion of divine dominion over the elements of the cosmos that God has appointed, and the parallel 8:6 continues the notion of human dominion over nature that God has set under mankind. How could human beings, among the tiniest fragments of a giant cosmos, have significance or a central position in that universe? No wonder the psalmist moves into his rhapsodic questioning in 8:4, as he marvels about mankind deputized to rule over these magnificent divine works.
8:4 (humanity’s meekness) and 8:5 (humanity’s greatness) form the center of the structure of Psalm 8. Attributes normally belonging to God—“glory” and “splendor”—are now used of mankind (8:5): humanity now shares the dignity of deity! God is so much greater than is humans and should not, therefore, be mindful of them. But he is! He chooses to take note of humans and endow them with godlike power, to be exercised over nature and its creatures. And remarkably, the only verb in all of Psalm 8 that has the psalmist (or even any human) for a subject is “see” in 8:3a. That’s all humankind does apparently—gaze in awed wonder!
The work of God’s hands are now set under mankind’s feet (8:6). God is over “all” (8:1, 9); and now human beings have dominion over the same “all” (8:6, 7). Great, therefore, is mankind’s responsibility to God, under God. What a God, and what gracious condescension is his!
For more details, see my commentary on Psalms.
Abe Kuruvilla is the Carl E. Bates Professor of Christian Preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), and a dermatologist in private practice. His passion is to explore, explain, and exemplify preaching.