5 Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and splendour.
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over the whole earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth on the earth. And God created Man in his image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Lo, he trusteth not his servants, and his angels he chargeth with folly: How much more them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed as the moth! From morning to evening are they smitten: without any heeding it, they perish for ever.
For thou hast met him with the blessings of goodness; thou hast set a crown of pure gold on his head. He asked life of thee; thou gavest [it] him, length of days for ever and ever. His glory is great through thy salvation; majesty and splendour hast thou laid upon him.
{To the chief Musician. Upon Shoshannim. Of the sons of Korah. An instruction; -- a song of the Beloved.} My heart is welling forth [with] a good matter: I say what I have composed touching the king. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Thou art fairer than the sons of men; grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. Gird thy sword upon [thy] thigh, O mighty one, [in] thy majesty and thy splendour;
When therefore he was gone out Jesus says, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God also shall glorify him in himself, and shall glorify him immediately.
but emptied himself, taking a bondman's form, taking his place in [the] likeness of men; and having been found in figure as a man, humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and [that the] death of [the] cross. Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and granted him a name, that which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of heavenly and earthly and infernal [beings], and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord to God [the] Father's glory.
foreknown indeed before [the] foundation of [the] world, but who has been manifested at the end of times for your sakes, who by him do believe on God, who has raised him from among [the] dead and given him glory, that your faith and hope should be in God.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 8
Commentary on Psalms 8 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 8
This psalm is a solemn meditation on, and admiration of, the glory and greatness of God, of which we are all concerned to think highly and honourably. It begins and ends with the same acknowledgment of the transcendent excellency of God's name. It is proposed for proof (v. 1) that God's name is excellent in all the earth, and then it is repeated as proved (with a "quod erat demonstrandum'-which was to be demonstrated) in the last verse. For the proof of God's glory the psalmist gives instances of his goodness to man; for God's goodness is his glory. God is to be glorified,
This psalm is, in the New Testament, applied to Christ and the work of our redemption which he wrought out; the honour given by the children of men to him (v. 2, compared with Mt. 21:16) and the honour put upon the children of men by him, both in his humiliation, when he was made a little lower then the angels, and in his exaltation, when he was crowned with glory and honour. Compare v. 5, 6, with Heb. 2:6-8; 1 Co. 15:27. When we are observing the glory of God in the kingdom of nature and providence we should be led by that, and through that, to the contemplation of his glory in the kingdom of grace.
To the chief musician upon Gittith. A psalm of David.
Psa 8:1-2
The psalmist here sets himself to give to God the glory due to his name. Dr. Hammond grounds a conjecture upon the title of this psalm concerning the occasion of penning it. It is said to be upon Gittith, which is generally taken for the tune, or musical instrument, with which this psalm was to be sung; but he renders it upon the Gittite, that is, Goliath the Gittite, whom he vanquished and slew (1 Sa. 17); that enemy was stilled by him who was, in comparison, but a babe and a suckling. The conjecture would be probable enough but that we find two other psalms with the same title, Ps. 81 and 84. Two things David here admires:-
In singing this let us give God the glory of his great name, and of the great things he has done by the power of his gospel, in the chariot of which the exalted Redeemer rides forth conquering and to conquer, and ought to be attended, not only with our praises, but with our best wishes. Praise is perfected (that is, God is in the highest degree glorified) when strength is ordained out of the mouth of babes and sucklings.
Psa 8:3-9
David here goes on to magnify the honour of God by recounting the honours he has put upon man, especially the man Christ Jesus. The condescensions of the divine grace call for our praises as much as the elevations of the divine glory. How God has condescended in favour to man the psalmist here observes with wonder and thankfulness, and recommends it to our thoughts. See here,
In singing this and praying it over, though we must not forget to acknowledge, with suitable affections, God's common favours to mankind, particularly in the serviceableness of the inferior creatures to us, yet we must especially set ourselves to give glory to our Lord Jesus, by confessing that he is Lord, submitting to him as our Lord, and waiting till we see all things put under him and all his enemies made his footstool.