Psalm 8 - Man's Dominion

Chad Werkhoven
3 hours ago
4 min read

Tired of cheesy Christmas carols? Sing Psalm 8 instead!

White paper with a red wax seal reads "Sacraments are Signs and Seals" on a wooden table, creating a formal and elegant mood. — Psalm 8, Trinity Psalter Hymnal

Psalm 8 (ESV)

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.

¹ O LORD, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.

² Out of the mouth of babies and infants,

you have established strength because of your foes,

to still the enemy and the avenger.

³When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

⁴what is man that you are mindful of him,

and the son of man that you care for him?

⁵Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory and honor.

⁶ You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;

you have put all things under his feet,

⁷ all sheep and oxen,

and also the beasts of the field,

⁸the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,

whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9 O LORD, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Canons of Dordt

Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election

Point 2 - Limited Atonement

Point 3 - Total Depravity

Point 4 - Irresistible Grace

Point 5 - Perseverance of the Saints

Article 14: God’s Use of Means in Perseverance

And, just as it has pleased God

to begin this work of grace in us by the proclamation of the gospel,
so he preserves, continues, and completes his work
- by the hearing and reading of the gospel,
- by meditation on it,
- by its exhortations, threats, and promises,
- and also by the use of the sacraments.

Summary

Today's Summary section is reposted from January 16, 2024

On one hand, people don't use the adjective 'majestic' very often, but on the other hand, it still gets overused! A stunning view of a sunset, a snow capped mountain, or the Grand Canyon might be described as 'majestic.' As awesome as these things are, the reason they can be designated 'majestic' has nothing to do with their beauty in and of themselves, but only because they're a reflection of the One who made them.

The reason the word 'majestic' shouldn't be used as often as other adjectives is because in order for something to truly be 'majestic,' it must have a royal aspect. That's why David bookends this psalm with the phrase, LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.

Every aspect of creation, from the moon and stars in the heavens, to the praise of children and infants is a royal procession paying homage to its King, our Father, the LORD Almighty, who created, preserves and governs the universe. He made all of these things to make us mindful of, as the Belgic Confession states, the invisible things of God: his eternal power and his divinity.

But the primary message of Psalm 8 is what God is mindful of. At the center of all that God created are you and me, having been given dominion over all the works of His hands.

That's not at all an overstatement. After creating all that is, and setting His glory upon the heavens, God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over all the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground (Genesis 1:26)."

Dig Deeper

Psalm 8 covers multiple aspects of theology. It begins with what we call theology proper - that is, explaining who and what God is. He's majestic, stronger than His foes, and all of creation is the work of His fingers. The psalm also unpacks some anthropology as well, unpacking who and what we are: on one hand, we're humble, finite creatures, especially compared to the moon and stars, yet creatures that God is mindful of (this is a good example of theological tensegrity).

But as most of you read this the day after Christmas, it's the Christology of Psalm 8 that stands out. This is the branch of theology that describes our Savior - the One who is both fully God and fully man. It's not just mankind in general that David describes as having been made a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. It's Christ, our Savior, whose birth we celebrate in earnest this week.

You and I, along with all of our neighbors, have certainly been given dominion over the works of the LORD's hands. But ours is a limited dominion, and one which we so often sinfully abuse. It's only Christ our Savior for whom God will put all things under his feet, as Paul so beautifully sets forth in Philippians 2.

Your probably tired of Christmas carols at this point, so let the triumphant words of Psalm 8 fill your mind as you prepare for the coming Lord's Day:

LORD our Lord, thy glorious name

all thy wondrous works proclaim;

in the heavens with radiant signs

ever more thy glory shines.

How great thy name!

With dominion crowned He stands

o'er the creatures of thy hands;

all to Him subjection yield

in the sea and air and field.

How great thy name!

AAA Prayer (About)

ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God that crowned you with glory and honor, and that He's given you dominion of the works of His hands, but above all, that He's mindful of you and that He sent the Son of Man for your salvation;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: