Psalms 8

Hidden in this beautiful psalm’s poetic description of man’s place in creation lies much teaching for practical people today. With the aid of the NT references to Ps. 8, we will be able to discover some of the lessons found here.

I.The Setting Historically

You have noted that there are two types of inscriptions in the psalms: historical and musical. For example, at the beginning of Ps. 8 we read, “To the chief Musician upon Gittith, a psalm of David.” Gittith means “winepress” and probably referred to the use of the psalm in the harvest season. However, some Bible students have concluded that the musical directions belong at the end of the preceding psalm, as seen in Hab. 3. This means that Muth-labben at the beginning of Ps. 9 really belongs at the end of Ps. 8.

The term Muth-labben means “death of the son” or “death of the champion,” and could refer to David’s slaying of Goliath (1 Sam. 17). It is easy to see young David alone with God that evening after he had killed the giant, looking up to heaven and marveling at God’s concern for His own. David was but a “babe and suckling” compared to the giant, yet God used the babe to silence the enemy. Note that in 1 Sam. 17:4 Goliath is called “a champion” and that he proudly challenged the fearful Jews for forty days (17:16). When David offered to silence the enemy, Saul said, “You are but a youth” (17:33, nkjv)—a babe, a suckling. Note another parallel between 1 Sam. 17 and Ps. 8 in “the fowl of the air” and “the beasts of the field” (1 Sam. 17:44 and Ps. 8:7–8). Also, Ps. 8 glorifies the “name of the Lord” (8:1, 9), and David defeated Goliath in the “name of the Lord” (17:45).

Here we have youthful David praising the Lord for the great victory that He gave. “What is man that You are mindful of him?” Why would God pay any attention to a shepherd boy? What a wonderful type of Jesus Christ we see in David: (1) both were born at Bethlehem; (2) both were shepherds; (3) both were rejected temporarily by their brethren; (4) both faced an enemy in the wilderness and won; (5) both were exiles before being made kings; (6) both took a bride while in exile; and (7) both were beloved—for the name David means “beloved.”

II.The Meaning Doctrinally

Any time a psalm is quoted in the NT and applied to Christ, this makes it a messianic psalm. Psalm 8 is applied to Christ in several places in the NT: Matt. 21:16; Heb. 2:6–8; 1 Cor. 15:27; and Eph. 1:22. Read these references carefully, especially Heb. 2.

The main teaching from Ps. 8 in Heb. 2 and 1 Cor. 15 is this: Christ has regained all that Adam lost because of sin. Christ has been exalted above the heavens and thus has glorified God’s name (Eph. 1:19–23; Heb. 1:1–3). God’s glory is no longer in a tent or a temple; it is “above the heavens” in Christ and in the hearts of ordinary believers. When Christ was ministering on earth, He was not praised by the priests or kings; it was the little children who praised Him in the temple.

Read Gen. 1:26–28 carefully, and note that God gave the first man dominion (rule) over the fish, the fowl, and the cattle. Actually, man was made “a little lower than God” and was appointed God’s deputy to rule over the earth. But when Adam sinned, he lost that dominion. Romans 5 points out that there was a change of “kings”: death reigned (5:14, 17), and sin reigned (5:21), but Adam no longer reigned. Instead of a king, Adam had become a slave!

When Christ came to earth, He exercised the dominion that Adam lost. Christ ruled over the fish (Luke 5:1–6; Matt. 17:24–27; John 21:1–6), over the fowl (Luke 22:34), and over the beasts (Mark 1:13; 11:1–7). No one on earth today could control nature the way He did. When Jesus came to earth, it was God “visiting” men (Ps. 8:4 with Luke 1:68, 78). Note that David is picturing a night scene (v. 3) because it certainly was night spiritually when Jesus came to earth. But by humbling Himself and becoming a servant and dying on the cross, Jesus glorified God and purchased the salvation of a lost people and a lost world. Hebrews 2:8 points out that we do not yet see all of nature put in subjection to man. There are still floods and earthquakes and plagues. Yes, but we see Jesus! (v. 9) And the fact that He died for us is all the assurance we need that one day, when He returns, His people will reign over a renewed earth.

One final thought: Christ’s work on the cross did not merely undo Adam’s sin and put us back where Adam was. Rather, it gave us much more: it made us like Christ. Note the repetition of “much more” in Rom. 5:9–21.

III.The Living Practically

A.Praise.

If David had reason to praise God for his position and his victory, how much more should we praise Him. Who are we that God should visit us? Who are we that Christ should die for us and lift us with Him above the heavens?

B.Position.

This psalm exalts the dignity of man. Verse 5 should read, “You have made him a little lower than God.” Man is certainly the greatest of God’s creations, for man is made “in the image of God.” Because modern teaching has lowered man to an animal and rejected the image of God, the world is in chaos. James 3:9 reminds us that we will treat people better if we remember they are made in God’s image. No wonder we have so much civil unrest, so much brutality. We have dethroned God and debased humanity. Let us never forget our obligation as creatures made in God’s image, and our greater obligation as saints being renewed in this image through Christ (Col. 3:9–10; Rom. 8:29).

C.Power.

Christ has given us dominion; this means that we reign as kings. We can reign in life through Christ (Rom. 5:17), getting victory over sin and temptation. We reign in death (1 Cor. 15:54–57), for death no more has dominion over us. We shall reign in His kingdom here on earth, our place of service to be determined according to our life and faithfulness here today (Matt. 25:14–30; Luke 19:12–27). Finally, we shall reign with Him forever and ever.

D.Promise.

This psalm makes it clear that God is concerned with creation, and the interpretation in Heb. 2:6–9 indicates that Christ will one day deliver creation from the bondage of sin. See Rom. 8:18–24. This will include the “redemption of our body” (Rom. 8:23) when we shall see Christ and become like Him (1 John 3:1–3; Phil. 3:20–21). The fact that Jesus Christ is today on the throne is proof that one day all creation will be redeemed. What a glorious promise!

Of course, Ps. 8 applies only to believers in Jesus Christ. The unbeliever may admire God’s creation, the work of His fingers (v. 3), but those who are saved have experienced the power of His arm. “Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (Isa. 53:1) How wonderful that God should visit this earth for salvation, but one day He will visit it in judgment. Have you trusted Christ as your Savior? Are you permitting Him to rule and reign in your life?

8:3 No branch of science proclaims God’s greatness and man’s insignificance more eloquently than astronomy. The simple fact that distances must be reckoned in light-years (the distance that light travels in a year) illustrates the point. Light travels 186,000 miles per second, and there are 31.5 million seconds in a year, so light travels roughly six trillion miles in a single year! Yet some stars are billions of light-years from the earth. No wonder we call such computation astronomical.

To gaze into the heavens at night should give us great thoughts about God. The moon and the stars are the work of His fingers! When we think of the numberless myriads of stars, of the vast distances in the universe, and of the power that holds the planets in orbit with mathematical precision, it boggles the mind.

Psalm 8

Psalm 8 a Psalm of Praise. More specifically, Psalm 8 praises God as creator. This Psalm forms an Inclusio which is a literary device also known as bracketing or an envelope structure consisting of similar material at the beginning and conclusion in order to point out the central theme. [Like Bookends] You will see that the central theme of this Psalm is how magnificent God is!

AOpening Ascription to Praise (1a)

B The Glory of the Great King (1b-2)

C God’s Interest in Humankind (3-4)

C’ Humankind’s Derived Glory (5)

B’ Humankind’s Glory as Ruler (6-8)

A’ Concluding Ascription to Praise (9)

A Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is your name throughout the earth

B You have covered the heavens with your majesty. From the mouths of infants and nursing babies, you have established a stronghold on account of your adversaries in order to silence the enemy and the avenger.

C When I observe your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you set in place, what is a human being that you remember him, a son of man that you look after him?

C’ You made him little less than God and crowned him with glory and honor.

B You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all the sheep and oxen, as well as the animals in the wild, the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea that pass through the currents of the seas.