Psalms 8

What is man

ord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens.a ²Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.b ³When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,c ⁴what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?d

⁵You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.e ⁶You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet:f ⁷all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, ⁸the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.

⁹Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!g

Commentary

Psalm 8 is a hymn of awe that pivots from cosmic grandeur to human dignity. The psalmist looks at the night sky—moon and stars set in place by God's fingers—and marvels that the Creator of such vastness would care for frail humanity. Yet rather than diminishing us, this perspective

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Bible Dictionary· Psalms 8(6)

Honor Moon Place Sea Seas Silence

References· Psalms 8

a: v.1 — Psalms 8:9, Psalms 113:2-4, Psalms 57:5, Psalms 148:13, Exodus 15:11, Psalms 57:10-11, Exodus 34:5-7, Habakkuk 3:3, Hebrews 7:26, Psalms 145:1
b: v.2 — Out of the mouth of babes you have perfected praise: Matthew 21:15; Matthew 21:16, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Isaiah 40:31, 1 Corinthians 1:27, Psalms 46:10, Matthew 11:25, Luke 10:21, Psalms 44:16, Psalms 84:5-7, Exodus 15:16
c: v.3 — Genesis 1:1, Psalms 33:6, Psalms 89:11, Psalms 104:19, Psalms 111:2, Romans 1:20, Exodus 8:19, Luke 11:20, Deuteronomy 4:19, Job 22:12
d: v.4 — His humiliation and exaltation: Hebrews 2:5; Job 7:17, Psalms 144:3, Hebrews 2:6-9, Psalms 146:3, Luke 1:68, Genesis 21:1, 2 Chronicles 6:18, Psalms 106:4, Isaiah 51:12, Job 25:6
e: v.5 — Hebrews 2:7, Hebrews 2:9, Genesis 1:26-27, Hebrews 2:16, Philippians 2:7-11, Psalms 21:3-5, Ephesians 1:21, Psalms 103:4, 1 Peter 1:20-21, Genesis 2:7
f: v.6 — Authority over all things: Matthew 28:18, 1 Corinthians 15:27; Genesis 1:28, Genesis 1:26, Hebrews 2:8, Matthew 28:18, Ephesians 1:22, Genesis 9:2, Psalms 110:1, 1 Peter 3:22, 1 Corinthians 15:24-27, Hebrews 1:2
g: v.9 — Psalms 8:1, Psalms 104:24, Job 11:7, Deuteronomy 33:26

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