Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 8

O Lord - Hebrew, יהוה Yahweh. It is an address to God by his chosen and special title (Exodus 3:14). Compare the notes at (Isaiah 1:2).

Our Lord - The word used here—אדני 'âdônay—means properly master, lord, ruler, owner, and is a title such as is given to an owner of land or of slaves, to kings, or to rulers, and is applied to God as being the ruler or governor of the universe. The meaning here is, that the psalmist acknowledged Yahweh to be the rightful ruler, king, or master of himself and of all others. He comes before him with the feeling that Yahweh is the universal ruler—the king and proprietor of all things.

How excellent is your name - How excellent or exalted are you—the name being often used to denote the person. The idea is, "How glorious are you in your manifested excellence or character."

In all the earth - In all parts of the world. That is, the manifestation of his perfect character was not confined to any one country, but was seen in all lands, and among all people. In every place his true character was made known through His works; in every land there were evidences of his wisdom, his greatness, his goodness, his condescension.

Who have set your glory above the heavens - The word used here, and rendered "have set," is in the imperative mood—תנה tenah, meaning "give"—and it should probably have been rendered here as, “which your glory, give;” that is, “which glory of yours, or implied in your name, give or place above the heavens.” In other words, let it be exalted in the highest degree, and to the highest place, even above the heavens on which he was gazing, and which were in themselves so grand (Psalms 8:3). It expresses the wish or prayer of the writer that the name or praise of God, so manifest in the earth, might be exalted in the highest possible degree—be more elevated than the moon and the stars—exalted and adored in all worlds. In His name there was such intrinsic grandeur that he desired that it might be regarded as the highest object in the universe, and might blaze forth above all worlds.

On the grammatical construction of this word—תנה tenah—see an article by Prof. Stuart, in the Bibliotheca Sacra, vol. ix. pp. 73-77. Prof. Stuart supposes that the word is not formed from נתן nâthan—to give, as is the common explanation, but from תנה tânâh—to give presents, to distribute gifts (Hosea 8:9–10), and that it should be rendered, You who diffuse abroad your glory over the heavens.

Out of the mouth - This passage is quoted by the Saviour in (Matthew 21:16) to vindicate the conduct of the children in the temple crying, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” against the objections of the Pharisees and Scribes, and is perhaps alluded to by Him in (Matthew 11:25). It is not affirmed, however, in either place, that it had an original reference to the times of the Messiah, or that it was meant, as used by the psalmist, to denote that children would be employed in the praise of God. The language sufficiently expressed the idea which the Saviour meant to convey, and the principle or great truth involved in the psalm was applicable to the use He made of it.

The language would, perhaps, most naturally denote that infant children would give utterance to the praises of God, as the word “mouth” is used; but still, it is not quite certain that the psalmist meant to convey that idea. It is probable, as we shall see, that he meant to say God had conferred great honor on men—men so humble and weak that they might be compared to infants—by making them the means of overthrowing His enemies, thus showing the greatness of the divine condescension.

Babes - The word used here—עולל ‛ôlêl—means properly a boy or child, and is usually connected with the word rendered sucklings (Jeremiah 44:7; Lamentations 2:11). It is applied to a boy playing in the streets (Jeremiah 6:11; Jeremiah 9:21), asking for bread (Lamentations 4:4); carried away captive (Lamentations 1:5); borne in the arms (Lamentations 2:20); and once to an unborn infant (Job 3:16). It refers here to a child, or to one who is like a child; and the idea is that those to whom it is applied were naturally unable to accomplish what was done by them, and that God had honored them, and had shown His own condescension, by making them the instruments of doing what they had done.

And sucklings - The word used here—יונק yôneq—means a suckling, or a suckling child, a babe (Deuteronomy 32:25). It may be used literally, or employed to denote one who, in respect to strength, may be compared with a babe. The latter is probably the use made of it here.

You have ordained strength - The word rendered ordained—יסד yâsad—means to found, to lay the foundation of, as of a building (Ezra 3:12; Isaiah 54:11). Then it means to establish, appoint, ordain, constitute, etc. The meaning here is that in what is referred to, there was, as it were, some basis or foundation for what is called “strength.” That is, what is here meant by “strength” rested on that as a foundation—namely, on what was done by babes and sucklings.

The word “strength” is rendered by the Septuagint as “praise”—αἷνον ainon—and this is followed in the quotation in (Matthew 21:16). The same rendering is adopted in the Latin Vulgate and in the Syriac. The Hebrew word—עז ‛ôz—properly means strength, might. The idea here would seem to be that even from babes and sucklings—from those who were in themselves so feeble—God had taken occasion to accomplish a work requiring great power, namely, in “stilling the enemy and the avenger.”

That is, He had made those who were so feeble the instruments of accomplishing so great a work.

Because of Your enemies - In respect to Your enemies, or in order to accomplish something in regard to them, namely, in stilling them, as is immediately specified. The idea is that there were those who rose up against God and opposed His government and plans. God, in overcoming them, instead of putting forth His own power directly, had condescended to employ those who were weak and feeble like little children.

Who these enemies were is not specified. However, it is most natural to suppose that the reference is to some of the foes of the author of the psalm, who had been subdued by the prowess of his arm—by strength imparted to him, though he himself was feeble as an infant.

That You might still - Might cause to rest, or to cease. The original word—שׁבת shâbath—from which our word Sabbath is derived, means to rest, to cease activity, to sit down, to sit still; and in the Hiphil, to cause to rest, or to cause to desist, to put an end to (Ezekiel 34:10; Joshua 22:25; Psalms 46:9; Proverbs 18:18). Here it means to bring to an end the purposes of the enemy and the avenger, or to cause him to desist from his designs.

The enemy - The enemy of the writer, regarded also as the enemy of God.

And the avenger - One who was endeavoring to take revenge, or who was acting as if determined to avenge some imaginary or real wrong. This, too, may refer either to some one who was seeking to revenge himself on the author of the psalm, or who, with the spirit of revenge, stood up against God and had set himself against Him.

In regard to the meaning of this verse, which I understand is the key to the whole psalm, and which contains the original germ of the psalm, or the thought which suggested the train of reflection in it, the following remarks may be made:

1. There is no evidence that it was designed to refer originally to infants, or to children of any age, as stating anything which they would do in contributing to the praise of God, or as defeating skeptics and cavilers by “their instinctive recognition of God’s being and glory,” as is supposed by Calvin, DeWette, Prof. Alexander, and others. What is said here to be done by “babes and sucklings” has reference to some mighty enemy that had been overcome, not to anything which had been effected by the influence of the recognition of God by little children.

   It may be doubted, also, whether there is any such “instinctive admiration of His works, even by the youngest children,” as would be “a strong defense against those who would question the being and glory” of God, as is supposed by Prof. Alexander and others; and, at all events, that is not the manifest thought in the passage.

2. Nor does it refer merely to praise as proceeding from children, as being that by which the effect referred to is accomplished. It is true that this idea is in the translation by the Septuagint, and true that it is so quoted in (Matthew 21:16). It is also true that, as quoted by the Saviour and as originally applied, it was adapted to the end which the Saviour had in view—to silence the chief priests and Scribes, who objected to the praises and hosannas of the children in the temple.

   For the psalm, on any interpretation, originally meant that God would accomplish good effects by those who were feeble and weak as children, and this principle was applicable to the praises of the children in the temple. But it does not appear that it originally referred to praise, either of children or others.

   It was to some manifested strength or prowess, by which some enemy, or some one who was seeking revenge, was overcome by the instrumentality of those who might be compared with children on account of their feebleness. From this the psalmist takes occasion to make his reflections on the exalted honor conferred in general on a creature so weak and feeble as man, especially in the wide dominion granted him over the inferior creation.

3. This was, not improbably, some enemy of the author of the psalm; but who it was is not mentioned. David was often, however, in the course of his life, in such circumstances as are here supposed. Might it not refer to Goliath of Gath—a mighty giant, and a formidable enemy of the people of God, overcome by David, quite a youth—a child? Would not the language of the psalm agree with that? Was it not true that he was an “enemy” and an “avenger,” or one seeking revenge? And was it not true that God had, from one who was a mere child, “ordained strength” to subdue him?

4. God had, then, condescended to honor one who was in himself weak and feeble as a child—who had no power on his own to accomplish what had been done.

5. This was great condescension on the part of God; and especially was it to be so regarded when the eye looked out—as the author of the psalm appears to have done at the time of its composition—on the starry heavens, and contemplated their greatness and grandeur. What astonishing condescension was it that He who marshalled all those hosts should bestow such honor on man!

6. It was not, therefore, unnatural to reflect on the greatness of the honor which God had actually bestowed on man and the dignity to which God had exalted him. The psalmist is thus, from a particular act of His condescension, led into the beautiful train of reflections on the exalted dominion of man with which the psalm concludes.

   Thus understood, the psalm has no original reference to the Messiah. However, it still contains the principle on which the apostle reasons in (Hebrews 2:0), for the dignity of man is most seen in the Redeemer. Indeed, the actual conferring of all the dignity and honor referred to in the psalm—the actual and entire subjugation of the earth to man—will be found only in the universal dominion conceded to Him.

At the same time, however, there is a foundation for all that the psalmist says in respect to the honor originally conferred on man, and in his actual dominion over the inferior creation.

When I consider thy heavens - This means when I contemplate or look upon them. They are called his heavens because he made them, because he is their proprietor, and perhaps because they are his dwelling place.

The work of thy fingers - This means what your fingers have made. The fingers are the instruments by which we construct a piece of work, perhaps indicating skill rather than strength. This term is therefore used in reference to God, as it is by his skill that the heavens have been made.

The moon and the stars - This shows, as remarked above, that this psalm was probably composed at night, or that the train of thought was suggested by contemplating the starry worlds.

It is not unlikely that these thoughts occurred to the psalmist when meditating on the remarkable honor God had conferred on him, a feeble man (see the notes at Psalm 8:2). His thoughts were also directed to God's goodness as the heavens were contemplated in their silent grandeur.

Which thou hast ordained - This means prepared, fitted up, constituted, or appointed. He had fixed them in their appropriate spheres, and they now silently reveal his glory.

What is man—what claim does one so weak, frail, and short-lived have to be remembered by You? What is there in man that entitles him to so much notice? Why has God conferred on him such signal honor? Why has He placed him over the works of His hands? Why has He made so many arrangements for his comfort? Why has He done so much to save him?

He is so insignificant, his life is so much like a vapor, he so soon disappears, he is so sinful and polluted, that the question may well be asked: why has such honor been conferred on him, and why has such dominion over the world been given him? See these thoughts more fully expanded in the notes at (Hebrews 2:6).

That You are mindful of him—That You remember him; that is, think of him, attend to him—that he does not pass away wholly from Your thoughts. Why should a God who is so vast and glorious, and who has all the starry worlds, so beautiful and grand, to claim His attention—why should He turn His thoughts on man? And especially why should He honor him as He has done by giving him dominion over the works of His hands?

And the son of man—Any descendant of man—any one of the race. What was man, as he was originally made, that such exalted honor should have been conferred on him? And what has any one of his descendants become, by virtue of his native faculties or acquired endowments, that he should be thus honored? The design is the same as in the former part of the verse: to express the idea that there was nothing in man, considered in any respect, that entitled him to this exalted honor. Nothing that man has done since the time when the question was asked by the psalmist has contributed to diminish the force of the inquiry.

That You visit him—As You do; that is, with the attention and care which You bestow upon him; not forgetting him; not leaving him; not passing him by. The word used here—פקד pâqad—would properly express a visitation for any purpose: for inspection, for mercy, for friendship, for judgment, etc. Here it refers to the attention bestowed by God on man in conferring on him such marks of favor and honor as He had done—such attention that He never seemed to forget him, but was constantly coming to him with some new proof of favor. What God has done for man since the psalmist wrote this has done nothing to weaken the force of this inquiry.

For thou hast made him—You have made man as such; that is, he was such in the original design of his creation, in the rank given him, and in the dominion conceded to him. The object here is to show the honor conferred on man, or to show how God has regarded and honored him; and the thought is, that in his original creation, though so insignificant as compared with the vast worlds over which God presides, He had given him a rank but little inferior to that of the angels. See the notes at Hebrews 2:7.

A little lower—The Hebrew word used here—חסר châsêr—means to want, to lack, and then, to be in want, to be diminished. The meaning is, “You have caused him to want but little;” that is, he was but little inferior.

Than the angels—So this is rendered by the Aramaic Paraphrase: by the Septuagint; by the Latin Vulgate; by the Syriac and Arabic; and by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews (Hebrews 2:7), who has literally quoted the fourth, fifth, and sixth verses from the Septuagint. The Hebrew, however, is—מאלהים mi'ĕlôhı̂ym—than God. So Gesenius renders it, “You have caused him to want but little of God; that is, you have made him but little lower than God.” So DeWette, “nur wenig unter Gott.” So Tholuck renders it, “nur um wenig unter Gott.” This is the more natural construction, and this would convey an idea conformable to the course of thought in the psalm, though it has been usually supposed that the word used here—אלהים 'Elohiym—may be applied to angels, or even men, as in Psalms 82:1; Psalms 97:7; Psalms 138:1; Exodus 21:6; Exodus 22:8–9. Gesenius (Thesau. Ling. Heb., p. 95) maintains that the word never has this signification.

The authority, however, of the Aramaic, the Septuagint, the Syriac, and the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, would seem sufficient to show that that meaning may be attached to the word here with propriety, and that somehow that idea was naturally suggested in the passage itself. Still, if it were not for these versions, the most natural interpretation would be that which takes the word in its usual sense, as referring to God, and as meaning that, in respect to his dominion over the earth, man had been placed in a condition comparatively but little inferior to God Himself; He had made him almost equal to Himself.

And hast crowned him with glory and honor—With exalted honor. See the notes at Hebrews 2:7.