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!
📖 Chapter study
Summary
David contemplates the greatness of God revealed in the heavens and marvels that, though so small, humankind was crowned with honor and given dominion over creation.
Explanation
This is one of the best-known psalms of praise for creation, and its central question — 'what is man, that thou art mindful of him?' — expresses the wonder of realizing one's own smallness before the universe and, at the same time, the dignity God has granted to humanity. The psalm echoes the creation account in Genesis 1, where humankind receives dominion over the animals. Today's application is twofold: humility before the greatness of God, and responsibility to care well for the world entrusted to humanity.
Fun facts
- Verse 2 ('out of the mouth of babes and sucklings') is quoted by Jesus in Matthew 21:16 when the children praise him in the temple, showing the long life these texts have had in use.
- Psalm 8 is the first psalm in the Psalter devoted entirely to praise for creation, a theme that reappears in expanded form in Psalms 19 and 104.