Psalms 8:3 - Meaning and Application

David goes on to magnify God’s honor by speaking of the honor he has given to man, especially to the man Christ Jesus. God’s kindness is as worthy of praise as his greatness. The psalmist looks at this with wonder and gratitude, and he wants us to do the same.

What leads him to marvel at God’s kindness to man is the beauty and power of the heavenly bodies, which everyone can see: “I consider your heavens, the moon and the stars” (Psalm 8:3). He does not mention the sun, perhaps because he was reflecting during a night walk, when only the moon and stars were in view. Even though they are not as useful to us as the sun, they still show the wisdom, power, and goodness of the Creator.

It is our duty to think about the heavens. We see them, and we cannot help seeing them. In this way, among other things, human beings are different from animals. Beasts tend to look down toward the ground, but man is made upright, with his eyes turned toward heaven. We are meant to lift our thoughts above earth and set our hearts on things above, because what we see does not shape us unless we stop and consider it.

We must also remember that the heavens are God’s heavens. The whole world belongs to him, but the heavens belong to him in a special way. “The heavens, even the highest heavens, belong to the LORD” (Psalm 115:16). They are the place where his glory shines in a special way, and we are taught to call him our Father in heaven.

They are his because he made them. He made them with ease, as if by his fingers. The stretching out of the heavens did not require strain or effort, only his word. The image of “his fingers” shows both his power and the careful skill with which he made them.

Even the lesser lights, the moon and the stars, display the glory and power of the Father of lights, and they give us reason to praise him. The heavenly bodies are not only made by God, they are also ruled by him. He not only created them, he appointed their order, and the order he set cannot be changed.

How does this lead the psalmist to admire God’s favor toward man? When we think of how God’s glory fills the upper world, it is amazing that he should notice such a small creature as man. He who lives in that bright and blessed part of creation, and rules it all, still humbles himself to pay attention to the things done on earth (Psalm 113:5-6).

And when we think about how useful the heavens are to people on earth, we are even more amazed. The lights of heaven are spread out for all nations (Deuteronomy 4:19; Genesis 1:15). So we may well ask, “Lord, what is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him?” (Psalm 8:4). The word for “man” here points to weak, sinful, and miserable human beings, who so often forget God and their duty to him. Yet God still notices them, cares about their lives, and regards them in his work of creation.

This applies to mankind in general. Though man is only a worm, and the son of man is a worm (Job 25:6), God still shows him great kindness. Among all the creatures in this world, human beings are the special objects of providence, God’s caring rule over creation.

This is true, first, because of man’s high place in creation. He is made a little lower than the angels (Psalm 8:5). He is lower in one sense because his body belongs to the earth and to the animals that die. But in another sense he is very near the holy angels, because he has a spiritual and immortal soul. In order of rank, he comes right after them. This is only for a little while, while his soul is housed in a body of dust. But the children of the resurrection will be like angels (Luke 20:36) and no longer lower than they are.

Second, man has noble powers and abilities. God has crowned him with glory and honor. The One who gave him life has set him apart and made him fit to rule over the lower creatures. He has made man wiser than the beasts and the birds (Job 35:11), so it is fitting that they should be governed by him. Human reason is his crown of glory, and he should not dishonor that crown by misusing it or by acting against its guidance.

Third, man is given rule over the lower creatures, under God, and is made their lord. The One who made them, knows them, and owns them has given man dominion over them (Psalm 8:6). This royal charge was given at creation (Genesis 1:28) and was repeated after the flood (Genesis 9:2). God has put all things under man’s feet so that he may use the labor, produce, and lives of the lower creatures. They are handed over to him, and placed under his feet.

The psalm lists several kinds of creatures, not only sheep and oxen, which man tends and feeds, but also the beasts of the field and the creatures of the sea. It even includes creatures far from us, like the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, which live in another world and move unseen through the paths of the sea. Human beings have ways to take these creatures, and though many are stronger or faster than we are, we still have dominion over them in one way or another (James 3:7). Every kind of beast, bird, and sea creature has been tamed, or can be tamed.

God also allows us to use these creatures as we have need. “Rise, Peter, kill and eat” (Acts 10:13). Every time we eat fish or birds, we are reminded of the dominion God gave man over the works of his hands. That should also remind us that we ourselves must stay under the rule of God, our chief Lord.

This verse points in a special way to Jesus Christ. We are taught to read it that way in (Hebrews 2:6-8), where the apostle uses it to prove Christ’s supreme rule in heaven and on earth. He shows that Jesus is the man, the Son of Man, spoken of here, the one God has crowned with glory and honor and made ruler over the works of his hands.

This is the greatest kindness ever shown to the human race, and the highest honor ever given to human nature. We see it in the incarnation, which means Christ taking on human flesh, and in his exaltation, his being lifted up after his suffering. These gifts are far greater than the blessings we receive in creation and providence, God’s care for the world, though those blessings are also great and far beyond what we deserve. This should lead us to humble ourselves and admire God’s grace.

First, Jesus Christ took human nature on himself and, in that nature, humbled himself. He became the Son of Man, sharing flesh and blood. In that sense, God visited him, which some connect with his suffering for us. (Hebrews 2:9) says that for the suffering of death, a judgment-like visitation in wrath, he was crowned with glory and honor. God laid on him the sin of us all, then dealt with him for it. He visited him with a rod and with stripes, so that we might be healed through those wounds. For a little while, as the apostle explains, he was made lower than the angels when he took the form of a servant and made himself nothing.

Second, in that same human nature, he has been exalted to be Lord of all. God the Father lifted him up because he had humbled himself. He crowned him with glory and honor, the glory he had with the Father before the world began. He made him not only head of the church, but ruler over all things for the church. He put all things into his hand and trusted him with the rule of providence, alongside and under the rule of grace. All creatures are placed under his feet. Even while he lived on earth, he gave clear signs of this power, as when he commanded the winds and the seas and told a fish to pay tribute.

So the psalmist ends as he began, “Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth.” The earth has been honored by the presence of the Redeemer, and it is still brightened by his gospel and governed by his wisdom and power. When we sing this and pray it, we should certainly thank God for his common kindness to all people, especially for the usefulness of the lower creatures to us. But above all, we should give glory to the Lord Jesus. We should confess that he is Lord, submit to him as our Lord, and wait until we see all things placed under him and all his enemies made his footstool.