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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>P S A L M S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>PSALM VIII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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This psalm is a solemn meditation on, and admiration of, the glory and
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greatness of God, of which we are all concerned to think highly and
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honourably. It begins and ends with the same acknowledgment of the
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transcendent excellency of God's name. It is proposed for proof
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+8:1">ver. 1</A>)
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that God's name is excellent in all the earth, and then it is repeated
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as proved (with a "quod erat demonstrandum"--which was to be
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demonstrated) in the
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+8:9">last verse</A>.
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For the proof of God's glory the psalmist gives instances of his
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goodness to man; for God's goodness is his glory. God is to be
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glorified,
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I. For making known himself and his great name to us,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+8:1">ver. 1</A>.
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II. For making use of the weakest of the children of men, by them to
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serve his own purposes,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+8:2">ver. 2</A>.
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III. For making even the heavenly bodies useful to man,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+8:3,4">ver. 3, 4</A>.
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IV. For making him to have dominion over the creatures in this lower
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world, and thereby placing him but little lower then the angels,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+8:5-8">ver. 5-8</A>.
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This psalm is, in the New Testament, applied to Christ and the work of
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our redemption which he wrought out; the honour given by the children
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of men to him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+8:2,Mt+21:16">ver. 2,
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compared with Matt. xxi. 16</A>)
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and the honour put upon the children of men by him, both in his
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humiliation, when he was made a little lower then the angels, and in
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his exaltation, when he was crowned with glory and honour. Compare
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+8:5,6,Heb+2:6-8,1Co+15:27">ver. 5, 6,
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with Heb. ii. 6-8; 1 Cor. xv. 27</A>.
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When we are observing the glory of God in the kingdom of nature and
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providence we should be led by that, and through that, to the
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contemplation of his glory in the kingdom of grace.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps8_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps8_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Glory of God in His Works.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<CENTER>
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<P>To the chief musician upon Gittith. A psalm of David.</P>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> our Lord, how excellent
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<I>is</I> thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
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2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained
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strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the
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enemy and the avenger.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The psalmist here sets himself to give to God the glory due to his
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name. Dr. Hammond grounds a conjecture upon the title of this psalm
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concerning the occasion of penning it. It is said to be upon
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<I>Gittith,</I> which is generally taken for the tune, or musical
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instrument, with which this psalm was to be sung; but he renders it
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upon the <I>Gittite,</I> that is, <I>Goliath the Gittite,</I> whom he
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vanquished and slew
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+17:1-58">1 Sam. xvii.</A>);
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that enemy was stilled by him who was, in comparison, but a babe and a
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suckling. The conjecture would be probable enough but that we find two
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other psalms with the same title,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+81:1-16,84:1-12">Ps. lxxxi. and lxxxiv.</A>.
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Two things David here admires:--</P>
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<P>
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I. How plainly God displays his glory himself,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+8:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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He addresses himself to God with all humility and reverence, as the
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Lord and his people's Lord: <I>O Lord our Lord!</I> If we believe that
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God is the Lord, we must avouch and acknowledge him to be ours. He is
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ours, for he made us, protects us, and takes special care of us. He
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must be ours, for we are bound to obey him and submit to him; we must
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own the relation, not only when we come to pray to God, as a plea with
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him to show us mercy, but when we come to praise him, as an argument
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with ourselves to give him glory: and we shall never think we can do
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that with affection enough if we consider,
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1. How brightly God's glory shines even in this lower world: <I>How
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excellent is his name in all the earth!</I> The works of creation and
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Providence evince and proclaim to all the world that there is an
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infinite Being, the fountain of all being, power, and perfection, the
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sovereign ruler, powerful protector, and bountiful benefactor of all
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the creatures. How great, how illustrious, how magnificent, is his name
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in all the earth! The light of it shines in men's faces every where
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+1:20">Rom. i. 20</A>);
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if they shut their eyes against it, that is their fault. There is no
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speech or language but the voice of God's name either is heard in it or
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may be. But this looks further, to the gospel of Christ, by which the
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name of God, as it is notified by divine revelation, which before was
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great in Israel only, came to be so in all the earth, the utmost ends
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of which have thus been made to <I>see God's great salvation,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+16:15,16">Mark xvi. 15, 16</A>.
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2. How much more brightly it shines in the upper world: <I>Thou hast
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set thy glory above the heavens.</I>
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(1.) God is infinitely more glorious and excellent than the noblest of
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creatures and those that shine most brightly.
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(2.) Whereas we, on this earth, only hear God's excellent name, and
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praise that, the angels and blessed spirits above see his glory, and
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praise that, and yet he is exalted far above even their blessing and
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praise.
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(3.) In the exaltation of the Lord Jesus to the right hand of God, who
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is the brightness of his Father's glory and the express image of his
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person, God set his glory above the heavens, far above all
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principalities and powers.</P>
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<P>
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II. How powerfully he proclaims it by the weakest of his creatures
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+8:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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<I>Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained
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strength,</I> or perfected praise, the praise of thy strength,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+21:16">Matt. xxi. 16</A>.
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This intimates the glory of God,
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1. In the kingdom of nature. The care God takes of little children
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(when they first come into the world the most helpless of all animals),
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the special protection they are under, and the provision nature has
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made for them, ought to be acknowledged by every one of us, to the
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glory of God, as a great instance of his power and goodness, and the
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more sensibly because we have all had the benefit of it, for to this we
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owe it that we <I>died not from the womb,</I> that the knees then
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prevented us, <I>and the breasts, that we should suck.</I> "This is
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such an instance of thy goodness, as may for ever put to silence the
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enemies of thy glory, who say, There is no God."
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2. In the kingdom of Providence. In the government of this lower world
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he makes use of the children of men, some that know him and others that
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do not
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+45:4">Isa. xlv. 4</A>),
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and these such as have been babes and sucklings; nay, sometimes he is
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pleased to serve his own purposes by the ministry of such as are still,
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in wisdom and strength, little better than babes and sucklings.
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3. In the kingdom of grace, the kingdom of the Messiah. It is here
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foretold that by the apostles, who were looked upon but as babes,
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<I>unlearned and ignorant men</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+4:13">Acts iv. 13</A>),
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mean and despicable, and <I>by the foolishness of their preaching,</I>
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the devil's kingdom should be thrown down as Jericho's walls were by
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the sound of rams' horns. The gospel is called <I>the arm of the
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Lord</I> and <I>the rod of his strength;</I> this was ordained to work
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wonders, not out of the mouth of philosophers or orators, politicians
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or statesmen, but of a company of poor fishermen, who lay under the
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greatest external disadvantages; yea, we hear children crying,
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<I>Hosanna to the Son of David,</I> when the chief priests and
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Pharisees owned him not, but despised and rejected him; to that
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therefore our Saviour applied this
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+21:16">Matt. xxi. 16</A>)
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and by it stilled the enemy. Sometimes the grace of God appears
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wonderfully in young children, and he <I>teaches</I> those
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<I>knowledge, and makes</I> those <I>to understand doctrine, who
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are</I> but <I>newly weaned from the milk and drawn from the
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breasts,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+28:9">Isa. xxviii. 9</A>.
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Sometimes the power of God brings to pass great things in his church by
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very weak and unlikely instruments, and confounds the noble, wise, and
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mighty, by the base, and weak, and foolish things of the world, that no
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flesh may glory in his presence, but the excellency of the power may
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the more evidently appear to be of God, and not of man,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+1:27,28">1 Cor. i. 27, 28</A>.
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This he does <I>because of his enemies,</I> because they are insolent
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and haughty, that he may still them, may put them to silence, and put
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them to shame, and so be justly avenged on the avengers; see
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+4:14,6:10">Acts iv. 14; vi. 10</A>.
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The devil is the great enemy and avenger, and by the preaching of the
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gospel he was in a great measure stilled, his oracles were silenced,
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the advocates of his cause were confounded, and unclean spirits
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themselves were not suffered to speak.</P>
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<P>
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In singing this let us give God the glory of his great name, and of the
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great things he has done by the power of his gospel, in the chariot of
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which the exalted Redeemer rides forth conquering and to conquer, and
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ought to be attended, not only with our praises, but with our best
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wishes. Praise is perfected (that is, God is in the highest degree
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glorified) when strength is ordained out of the mouth of babes and
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sucklings.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps8_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps8_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps8_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps8_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps8_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps8_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps8_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Condescension of God.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the
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moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
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4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of
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man, that thou visitest him?
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5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and
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hast crowned him with glory and honour.
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6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands;
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thou hast put all <I>things</I> under his feet:
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7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
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8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, <I>and
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whatsoever</I> passeth through the paths of the seas.
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9 O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> our Lord, how excellent <I>is</I> thy name in all the
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earth!
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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David here goes on to magnify the honour of God by recounting the
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honours he has put upon man, especially the man Christ Jesus. The
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condescensions of the divine grace call for our praises as much as the
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elevations of the divine glory. How God has condescended in favour to
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man the psalmist here observes with wonder and thankfulness, and
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recommends it to our thoughts. See here,</P>
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<P>
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I. What it is that leads him to admire the condescending favour of God
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to man; it is his consideration of the lustre and influence of the
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heavenly bodies, which are within the view of sense
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+8:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>I consider thy heavens,</I> and there, particularly, <I>the moon and
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the stars.</I> But why does he not take notice of the sun, which much
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excels them all? Probably because it was in a night-walk, but
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moon-light, that he entertained and instructed himself with this
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meditation, when the sun was not within view, but only the moon and the
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stars, which, though they are not altogether so serviceable to man as
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the sun is, yet are no less demonstrations of the wisdom, power, and
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goodness of the Creator. Observe,
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1. It is our duty to consider the heavens. We see them, we cannot but
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see them. By this, among other things, man is distinguished from the
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beasts, that, while <I>they</I> are so framed as to look downwards to
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the earth, man is made erect to look upwards towards heaven. <I>Os
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homini sublime dedit, coelumque tueri jussit--To man he gave an erect
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countenance, and bade him gaze on the heavens,</I> that thus he may be
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directed to set his affections on things above; for what we see has not
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its due influence upon us unless we consider it.
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2. We must always consider the heavens as God's heavens, not only as
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all the world is his, even the earth and the fulness thereof, but in a
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more peculiar manner. <I>The heavens, even the heavens, are the
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Lord's</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+115:16">Ps. cxv. 16</A>);
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they are the place of the residence of his glory and we are taught to
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call him <I>Our Father in heaven.</I>
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3. They are <I>therefore</I> his, because they are the work of his
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fingers. He made them; he made them easily. The stretching out of the
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heavens needed not any outstretched arm; it was done with a word; it
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was but <I>the work of his fingers.</I> He made them with very great
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curiosity and fineness, like a nice piece of work which the artist
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makes with his fingers.
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4. Even the inferior lights, the moon and stars, show the glory and
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power of the Father of lights, and furnish us with matter for praise.
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5. The heavenly bodies are not only the creatures of the divine power,
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but subject to the divine government. God not only made them, but
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<I>ordained</I> them, and the ordinances of heaven can never be
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altered. But how does this come in here to magnify God's favour to man?
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(1.) When we consider how the glory of God shines in the upper world we
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may well wonder that he should take cognizance of such a mean creature
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as man, that he who resides in that bright and blessed part of the
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creation, and governs it, should humble himself to behold the things
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done upon this earth; see
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+113:5,6">Ps. cxiii. 5, 6</A>.
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(2.) When we consider of what great use the heavens are to men on
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earth, and how the lights of heavens are <I>divided unto all
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nations</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+4:19,Ge+1:15">Deut. iv. 19, Gen. i. 15</A>),
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we may well say, "<I>Lord, what is man</I> that thou shouldst settle
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the ordinances of heaven with an eye to him and to his benefit, and
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that his comfort and convenience should be so consulted in the making
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of the lights of heaven and directing their motions!"</P>
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<P>
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II. How he expresses this admiration
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+8:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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"<I>Lord, what is man</I> (<I>enosh,</I> sinful, weak, miserable man, a
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creature so forgetful of thee and his duty to thee) <I>that thou
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art</I> thus <I>mindful of him,</I> that thou takest cognizance of him
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and of his actions and affairs, that in the making of the world thou
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hadst a respect to him! What is the <I>son of man, that thou visitest
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him,</I> that thou not only feedest him and clothest him, protectest
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him and providest for him, in common with other creatures, but visited
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him as one friend visits another, art pleased to converse with him and
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concern thyself for him! What is man--(so mean a creature), that he
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should be thus honoured--(so sinful a creature), that he should be thus
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countenanced and favoured!" Now this refers,</P>
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<P>
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1. To mankind in general. Though man is a worm, and the son of man is a
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worm
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+25:6">Job xxv. 6</A>),
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yet God puts a respect upon him, and shows him abundance of kindness;
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man is, above all the creatures in this lower world, the favourite and
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darling of Providence. For,
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(1.) He is of a very honourable rank of beings. We may be sure he takes
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precedence of all the inhabitants of this lower world, for he is made
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but a <I>little lower than the angels</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+8:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
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lower indeed, because by his body he is allied to the earth and to the
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|
beasts that perish, and yet by his soul, which is spiritual and
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|
immortal, he is so near akin to the holy angels that he may be truly
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said to be but <I>a little lower than they,</I> and is, in order, next
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|
to them. He is but for a little while lower than the angels, while his
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great soul is cooped up in a house of clay, but the children of the
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resurrection shall be <B><I>isangeloi</I></B>--<I>angels' peers</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+20:36">Luke xx. 36</A>)
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and no longer lower than they.
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(2.) He is endued with noble faculties and capacities: <I>Thou hast
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|
crowned him with glory and honour.</I> He that gave him his being has
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|
distinguished him, and qualified him for a dominion over the inferior
|
|
creatures; for, having <I>made him wiser than the beasts of the earth
|
|
and the fowls of heaven</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+35:11">Job xxxv. 11</A>),
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he has made him fit to rule them and it is fit that they should be
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ruled by him. Man's reason is his crown of glory; let him not profane
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that crown by disturbing the use of it nor forfeit that crown by acting
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|
contrary to its dictates.
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(3.) He is invested with a sovereign dominion over the inferior
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creatures, under God, and is constituted their lord. He that made
|
|
them, and knows them, and whose own they are, has <I>made man to have
|
|
dominion over them,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+8:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
|
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His charter, by which he holds this royalty, bears equal date with his
|
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creation
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+1:28">Gen. i. 28</A>)
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and was renewed after the flood,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:2">Gen. ix. 2</A>.
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God has put all things under man's feet, that he might serve himself,
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|
not only of the labour, but of the productions and lives of the
|
|
inferior creatures; they are all delivered into his hand, nay, they are
|
|
all <I>put under his feet.</I> He specifies some of the inferior
|
|
animals
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+8:7,8"><I>v.</I> 7, 8</A>),
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not only <I>sheep and oxen,</I> which man takes care of and provides
|
|
for, but <I>the beasts of the field,</I> as well as those of the flood,
|
|
yea, and those creatures which are most at a distance from man, as
|
|
<I>the fowl of the air,</I> yea, <I>and the fish of the sea,</I> which
|
|
live in another element and pass unseen through the paths of the seas.
|
|
Man has arts to take these; though many of them are much stronger and
|
|
many of them much swifter than he, yet, one way or other, he is too
|
|
hard for them,
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+3:7">Jam. iii. 7</A>.
|
|
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|
<I>Every kind of beasts, and birds, and things in the sea, is tamed,
|
|
and has been tamed.</I> He has likewise liberty to use them as he has
|
|
occasion. <I>Rise, Peter, kill and eat,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+10:13">Acts x. 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
Every time we partake of fish or of fowl we realize this dominion which
|
|
man has over the works of God's hands; and this is a reason for our
|
|
subjection to God, our chief Lord, and to his dominion over us.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. But this refers, in a particular manner, to Jesus Christ. Of him we
|
|
are taught to expound it,
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+2:6-8">Heb. ii. 6-8</A>,
|
|
|
|
where the apostle, to prove the sovereign dominion of Christ both in
|
|
heaven and in earth, shows that he is that man, that son of man, here
|
|
spoken of, whom God <I>has crowned with glory and honour</I> and made
|
|
to <I>have dominion over the works of his hands.</I> And it is certain
|
|
that the greatest favour that ever was shown to the human race, and the
|
|
greatest honour that ever was put upon the human nature, were
|
|
exemplified in the incarnation and exaltation of the Lord Jesus; these
|
|
far exceed the favours and honours done us by creation and providence,
|
|
though they also are great and far more than we deserve. We have reason
|
|
humbly to value ourselves by it and thankfully to admire the grace of
|
|
God in it,
|
|
|
|
(1.) That Jesus Christ assumed the nature of man, and, in that nature,
|
|
humbled himself. He became the <I>Son of man,</I> a partaker of flesh
|
|
and blood; being so, God visited him, which some apply to his
|
|
sufferings for us, for it is said
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+2:9">Heb. ii. 9</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>For the suffering of death,</I> a visitation in wrath, <I>he was
|
|
crowned with glory and honour.</I> God visited him; having laid upon
|
|
him the iniquity of us all, he reckoned with him for it, visited him
|
|
with a rod and with stripes, that we by them might be healed. He was,
|
|
<I>for a little while</I> (so the apostle interprets it), made lower
|
|
than the angels, when he took upon him the form of a servant and made
|
|
himself of no reputation.
|
|
|
|
(2.) That, in that nature, he is exalted to be Lord of all. God the
|
|
Father exalted him, because he had humbled himself, <I>crowned him with
|
|
glory and honour,</I> the glory which he had with him before the worlds
|
|
were, set not only the <I>head of the church,</I> but <I>head over all
|
|
things to the church,</I> and gave all things into his hand, entrusted
|
|
him with the administration of the kingdom of providence in conjunction
|
|
with and subserviency to the kingdom of grace. All the creatures are
|
|
put under his feet; and, even in the days of his flesh, he gave some
|
|
specimens of his power over them, as when he commanded the winds and
|
|
the seas, and appointed a fish to pay his tribute. With good reason
|
|
therefore does the psalmist conclude as he began, <I>Lord, how
|
|
excellent is thy name in all the earth,</I> which has been honoured
|
|
with the presence of the Redeemer, and is still enlightened by his
|
|
gospel and governed by his wisdom and power!</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
In singing this and praying it over, though we must not forget to
|
|
acknowledge, with suitable affections, God's common favours to mankind,
|
|
particularly in the serviceableness of the inferior creatures to us,
|
|
yet we must especially set ourselves to give glory to our Lord Jesus,
|
|
by confessing that he is Lord, submitting to him as our Lord, and
|
|
waiting till we see all things put under him and all his enemies made
|
|
his footstool.</P>
|
|
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