Unless otherwise stated, all citations are taken from the New International Version (NIV).
Before light pollution, people like David could see about 2,000 stars at night. As a shepherd boy, David likely looked out at creation at night, marveling at what God had made. Consequently, this is a psalm of praise. Specifically, it is a psalm of praise over God’s creation.[1] When David reflects on the majesty and wonder of nature, it brings him closer to God.
(8:1) LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens.
“LORD, our Lord.” These few words serve as a summary of all that David expresses in this psalm: the God of creation (“LORD”) is also the God who can be known personally (“our Lord”).
“How majestic is your name in all the earth!” Critics can reject the work of an artist the masterpiece he creates. Yet, the work of art is nonetheless majestic. Similarly, God is “majestic” because of his creation and design of the “heavens.” Elsewhere, David writes, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge” (Ps. 19:1-2). People can close their eyes to this “knowledge,” but it is nevertheless “revealed” to all people.
(8:2) Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. (NIV)
From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength because of Your adversaries, to make the enemy and the revengeful cease. (NASB)
What is it about the praise of children that can silence the accusations of the enemies? The term “praise” (ʿōz) is better translated as “strength” (NASB, ESV).[2] Wilson[3] states that scholars might translate this as “praise” (LXX, NIV, NLT) because humans cannot give glory and strength to God. Hence, this must be an idiom for praise. However, a straightforward translation is undoubtedly correct. Wilson argues, “God builds strong defenses out of human vulnerability and weakness rather than their praise. The recognition of one’s own weakness is the starting point for recognizing dependence on the strength of God. This connects more directly with the central reflection on the unexpected elevation of humans by God that stands at the heart of this psalm.”[4] In other words, the Cosmic Creator is so powerful that he can work through the babbling of an infant to silence an enemy. David will go on to marvel at the fact that God is so powerful that he crowns humans with glory and gives them the authority to rule over creation.
Why does Jesus cite this passage in Matthew 21:16? A similar context occurs in both passages. A skeptic can deny the reality of God from looking at nature—even though they are ultimately “without excuse” (Rom. 1:20). Similarly, the skeptics of Jesus’ day denied him—even though little children praised him (cf. Mt. 11:25). In both cases, God chose the “weak things of the world to shame the strong” (1 Cor. 1:27).
(8:3-4) When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? (NIV)
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; 4 What is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him? (NASB)
“When I consider your heavens.” David looks at the stars and the moon at night as an immense and incredible work of art! And the artwork causes him to “consider” the Artist and his relationship to him.
“The work of your fingers.” There are roughly 100 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy and roughly 100 billion galaxies. And these are the work of God’s “fingers.” Of course, God doesn’t have fingers; this is poetic and anthropomorphic language. However, this imagery does communicate the utter infinitude of God. Wilson writes, “All this vast, enduring monument to the creative power and art of God is but child’s play to the divine creator—spun off the tips of his fingers, without even breaking a sweat!”[5]
“Your heavens… the work of your fingers.” Creation belongs to God. He is the Creator and Owner of all of it (Ps. 24:1).
“What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” This question is the “axis on which the poem pivots.”[6]
David is communicating the insignificance of humans. Instead of asking, “Who is mankind?” David asks, “What is mankind?” Furthermore, the term “mankind” (ʾenoš) is a term for humans that emphasizes our frailty: “to be weak” or “sick” or “mortal.”[7] The expression “human beings” or “son of man” (NASB, ben ʾadam) emphasizes our insignificance. Thus, as David reflects on the creation of the cosmos, it makes him feel very small.
Not much has changed in 3,000 years. Modern people still gaze at the stars and ask, “God, why would you care about humans—just one species on just one planet in the Milky Way galaxy? Why would you think about us or care for us?” Jacobson and Tanner write, “If the psalm ended here, the implication would be that in light of God’s infinite glory, it is only with a scornful wonder that this world can see finite human beings.”[8]
But the psalm doesn’t end here. This is what makes our position and standing with God so great! We deserve nothing, but we have been given everything.
“Mindful.” To be “mindful” literally means to have your “mind full.” Thoughts about you fill the mind of God. Elsewhere, David writes, “How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand—when I awake, I am still with you” (Ps. 139:17-18).
(8:5-8) You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. 6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, 8 the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
Why does God care for humans? David reflects on Genesis 1 and ponders two key truths: (1) God created humans in his image (“a little lower than the angels,” Gen. 1:26-27), and (2) God made humans rulers over creation (“crowned them with glory and honor,” Gen. 1:28).
“You have made them a little lower than the angels.” The term for “angels” (ʾĕlōhîm) can also be rendered “God” (NASB, NLT, CSB). The author of Hebrews follows the LXX by citing this as “angels” (Heb. 2:7). Regardless, humans temporarily exist lower than the angels in our abilities, but we possess more value than angels. Furthermore, we will rule and reign over the angels in eternity alongside God (1 Cor. 6:3).
“[You have] crowned them with glory and honor.” This reflects humans being made in the “image of God” (Gen. 1:27). Wilson[9] states that the “crowning” (teʿaṭṭerehu) derives from imagery of pagan kings who wore crowns “decorated with flowers” which were “worn at banquets as a sign of honor and elevation.”
“You made them rulers.” God gave humans the right to benevolent rulership. He told the first humans, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Gen. 1:28). We retain this responsibility even after the Fall (Gen. 9:1-3, 7). God—the cosmic King—has given us the responsibility to rule. What an incredible responsibility and honor to serve the Lord in this way.
“You put everything under their feet.” Humans will not place creation under their feet. God is the one to give this to us. It reflects the gift of benevolent rulership that God has given us.
(8:9) LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
The psalm closes in the same way that it opened. David’s reflection on creation led him to praise God.
Reflections on Psalm 8
Apart from God’s love, humans are ultimately insignificant. We are just a small speck of organic tissue living on the skin of a small planet, hurling through a relatively empty universe. Does the issue of our ultimate significance really matter? Wrong question. What issue could matter more? Is anything more philosophically important than our ultimate significance? Without this, why get up in the morning? Why put your pants on and go to work? Why do anything? As followers of God, we have the answers to these ultimate questions.
With God love, humans are royalty. We are not merely valued by God—not merely loved. He has raised us to the ultimate status of kings and queens—corulers or creation.
Devotional Paraphrase of Psalm 8
“I am not just the Lord of the universe. I am your Lord. You can know me personally. Yes, you are small and weak like an infant. But my great power can work through any weakness. I created the entire universe without effort of any kind, and I created you too. Why do I care for you? Because I made you in my image and likeness. Because I made you royalty. You have the privilege of ruling over creation, and everything on earth is under your benevolent authority. Let me repeat: I am not just the Lord of the universe. I am in a relationship with you, and I am your personal Lord.”
[1] Willem A. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 5 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991), 109.
[2] Carl Schultz, “1596 עָזַז,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 659.
[3] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 202.
[4] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 202.
[5] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 203.
[6] Rolf A. Jacobson and Beth Tanner, “Book One of the Psalter: Psalms 1-41,” in The Book of Psalms, ed. E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 124.
[7] Thomas E. Mccomiskey, “136 אנשׁ,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 59.
[8] Rolf A. Jacobson and Beth Tanner, “Book One of the Psalter: Psalms 1-41,” in The Book of Psalms, ed. E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 124.
[9] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 207.