John Calvin Commentary Hebrews 2:7

"Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; Thou crownedst him with glory and honor, And didst set him over the works of thy hands:" — Hebrews 2:7 (ASV)

You made him, etc. A new difficulty now arises regarding the explanation of the words. I have already shown that the passage is suitably applicable to the Son of God; but the Apostle seems now to turn the words from the meaning in which David understood them. For a little, βραχύ τι, seems to refer to time, as it means "a little while," and designates the abasement of Christ’s humiliation; and he confines the glory to the day of resurrection, while David extends it generally to the whole life of man.

To this I answer that it was not the Apostle’s design to give an exact explanation of the words. For there is nothing improperly done when verbal allusions are made to embellish a subject at hand, as Paul does in quoting a passage in Romans 10:6 from Moses, Who shall ascend into heaven, etc.; he does not join the words “heaven and hell” for the purpose of explanation, but as ornaments.

The meaning of David is this—O Lord, you have raised man to such a dignity that it differs but little from divine or angelic honor; for he is set a ruler over the whole world.

This meaning the Apostle did not intend to overthrow, nor to turn to something else; but he only leads us to consider the abasement of Christ, which appeared for a short time, and then the glory with which he is perpetually crowned. He does this more by alluding to expressions than by explaining what David understood.

To be mindful and to visit mean the same thing, except that the second is somewhat fuller, for it reveals the presence of God by its effect.