Psalm 8: David's Praise
1 For the music director, upon the Gittite lyre: a psalm of David. 2 Yehovah Adoneynu, how excellent is Your Name over all the earth! You set Your splendor above the heavens. 3 Out of the mouths of babies and toddlers You established power, because of Your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. 4 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your hands, the moon and the stars, which You established— 5 what is man, that You are mindful of him? And the son of man, that You care for Him? 6 Yet You made Him a little lower than the angels, and crowned Him with glory and majesty! 7 You gave Him dominion over the works of Your hands. You put all things under His feet: 8 all sheep and oxen, and also beasts of the field, 9 birds in the air, and fish in the ocean—all passing through the paths of the seas. 10 Yehovah Adoneynu, how excellent is Your Name over all the earth!
“Yehovah Adoneynu ; O Jehovah our Prop, our Stay, or Support. אדני Adonai is frequently used: sometimes, indeed often, for the word יהוה Yehovah itself. The root דן dan signifies to direct, rule, judge, support. So Adonai is the Director, Ruler, Judge, Supporter of men. It is well joined with Jehovah; this showing what God is in Himself; that, what God is to man… ’How excellent is thy name’— Yeshua, that is Yehovah is Savior — ’in all the earth!’ - How illustrious is the name of Jesus throughout the world! His incarnation, birth, humble and obscure life, preaching, miracles, passion, death, resurrection, and ascension, are celebrated through the whole world. His religion, the gifts and graces of His Spirit, His people - Christians - His Gospel and the preachers of it are everywhere spoken of. No name is so universal, no power and influence so generally felt, as those of the Savior of mankind.” (Adam Clarke)
“’Out of the mouths of babies and toddlers You established power,’ For some reason the LXX read αινον, ‘praise.’ So our Saviour, it would seem, cited this text, Matthew 21:16, when the children sung hosannas to Him in the temple.” (Joseph Sutcliffe)—perhaps because He inhabits the praises of His people Israel, enduing them with power to overcome all obstacles— “‘because of Your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.’ (2) - these hosannas were brought forth against the objections of the Pharisees and Scribes, even so today among those religious Jehovahist, who deny His diety and set out to base their religion on good works only.
“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your hands, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained,— being made by Jesus— ‘what is man’— what is wretched, miserable man; man in his fallen state, full of infirmity, ignorance, and sin (Adam Clarke)— ‘that You are mindful of him, and the son of man, that you visit Him?’(3) The name of "the son of man" is a base title. “It is often given to Christ, and used by Him of Himself in the New Testament. And this visiting of Him is not to be understood in a way of wrath, though he was so visited by God, when he bore the chastisements of his people; but in a way of favour, by bestowing upon Him without measure the gifts and graces of His Spirit.” (John Gill)
The greater is our knowledge, the more our responsibility. Paul taught:
“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the Word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward [that is, punishment], how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will? For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels.
But one testified in a certain place, saying: 'What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You take care of him? You have made him a little lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet.' (Psalm 8:4-6) For in that He put all in subjection under Him, He left nothing that is not put under Him. But now we do not yet see all things put under Him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: 'I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.' (Ps 22:22) And again: 'I will put My trust in Him.'(Ps 18:2) And again: 'Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.'" (Is 8:18) (Hebrews 2:1-13)
“O Yehovah Adoneynu, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!’ (10)The Psalmist, after reciting the wonders of redemption in the person of Him by whom all things are restored, makes a beautiful response to his own first exclamation of wonder and praise, and again extols Jehovah in the covenant mercies of redemption, as the object of adoration through all the earth. Hail, Lord of all! blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and to Him that was slain and now liveth forever. Amen.
[Let Yahweh’s Messiah be the object of our worship.]… Let Him have all thy praise, and to Him be all the glory offered, whom Jehovah delighted to honor. Contemplate Jesus the Mediator. Behold Him set up from everlasting. See His goings forth for the salvation of His people. Trace the footsteps of His mercy in all that long train of revelations concerning Him, when His name was secret, and when He stood forth in covenant engagements, but yet not having tabernacled in substance of our flesh, the Mediator of His people. Behold how He longed for the fulness of time to come, when He should become sin for His people, that His people might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Wherefore, precious Jesus, (suffer me to ask thee) wherefore didst thou so often assume a visible appearance, when all the while to us Thy name was secret; and wherefore didst thou present Thyself before thy redeemed sometimes as a man, and sometimes as an angel? Was it not that, by such palpable testimonies, Thou mightest show how much Thou didst love Thy church?” (Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary)