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Wisdom & Poetry · Old Testament

Psalms 8

Psalm 8: the excellent name and the question of what man is

General context

The psalm opens by addressing the Lord as our Lord and declaring how excellent his name is in all the earth, and that he has set his glory above the heavens. It says that out of the mouth of babes and sucklings he has ordained strength because of his enemies, to still the enemy and the avenger. The speaker considers the heavens as the work of God's fingers, the moon and the stars he has ordained, and asks what man is that God is mindful of him, and the son of man that he visits him. He answers that God has made him a little lower than the angels and crowned him with glory and honour, made him to have dominion over the works of God's hands and put all things under his feet. The list follows: all sheep and oxen, the beasts of the field, the fowl of the air, the fish of the sea and whatever passes through the paths of the seas. The psalm closes with the same line it opened with: O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth.

Cited passages: Psalms 8:1, Psalms 8:2, Psalms 8:3, Psalms 8:4, Psalms 8:5, Psalms 8:6, Psalms 8:7, Psalms 8:8, Psalms 8:9

Psalms 8 (KJV)

1O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.

2Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

3When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

4What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

5For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

6Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:

7All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;

8The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

9O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The text as printed carries no heading, so no author or instrument is stated in this source. The speaker says "our Lord" in the first and last verses and "I consider" in verse 3, so the voice is one person speaking for a group. "Man" and "the son of man" in verse 4 are general terms in the psalm's own wording; no individual is named. "Thine enemies" and "the enemy and the avenger" in verse 2 are not identified, and the text does not say what the strength from the mouths of babes consists of. The New Testament quotes this psalm more than once. Matthew 21:16 has Jesus cite verse 2 as "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise", with the last words differing from the KJV psalm's "ordained strength". Hebrews 2:6-8 quotes verses 4-6, introducing them with "one in a certain place testified", and 1 Corinthians 15:27 takes up "he hath put all things under his feet". Those readings belong to the later books; the psalm itself speaks of man's dominion over the creatures listed.

Cited passages: Psalms 8:1, Psalms 8:3, Psalms 8:4, Psalms 8:2, Matthew 21:16, Hebrews 2:6, Hebrews 2:8, 1 Corinthians 15:27

Literary context

The psalm is enclosed by a refrain: verse 1 and verse 9 both read "O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!", so the poem ends where it began. Inside that frame the scale moves in steps: glory above the heavens, then the mouths of babes and sucklings, then the moon and stars as the work of fingers, then the smallness of man, then man crowned and given dominion. The question of verse 4 is the hinge; the answer in verses 5-8 uses a descending list, from angels down through sheep, oxen, beasts, fowl, fish and whatever passes through the seas. Contrasts drive the poem: babes against the enemy and the avenger, the vast heavens against man, a little lower than the angels against all things under his feet. The psalm is addressed to God throughout and contains no complaint or petition, which sets it apart from Psalms 3 to 7 around it.

Cited passages: Psalms 8:9, Psalms 8:1, Psalms 8:3, Psalms 8:4, Psalms 8:5, Psalms 8:6, Psalms 8:8, Psalms 8:2

Key moments

  1. How excellent is thy name (Psalms 8:1). The psalm opens by praising the Lord's name in all the earth and his glory above the heavens.
  2. Strength from babes (Psalms 8:2). Strength is ordained out of the mouths of babes and sucklings to still the enemy.
  3. Considering the heavens (Psalms 8:3). The speaker looks at the moon and stars as the work of God's fingers.
  4. What is man? (Psalms 8:4). He asks why God is mindful of man and visits the son of man.
  5. Crowned with glory (Psalms 8:5). Man is made a little lower than the angels and crowned with glory and honour.
  6. All things under his feet (Psalms 8:6). Man is given dominion over the works of God's hands.
  7. The refrain returns (Psalms 8:9). The psalm closes with the same line that opened it.

For reflection

The same speaker who feels small before the moon and stars is told that all things are under his feet; how does the psalm hold the smallness and the crowning together in one answer?

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