Psalm 8
Psalm 8 is a beautiful praise hymn that addresses the question of human identity in the context of purpose and position revealing how God chooses to do power and authority through human vocation. Humans are image-bearers meant to reflect God into the world through humble authority and service which is the foundation of praise to God, as seen in Psalm 8, who allows humanity to participate in such purposes. Yet, the biblical narrative states that humanity, in an attempt to find good apart from God in Genesis 3, fell from the created order God intended for humanity hence being removed from the seat of shared authority given by the Creator. Seeing Psalm 8 through the lens of the work of Christ reveals that the Gospel of Jesus is not just for the sake of salvation but is equally an invitation to be a part of the created order again in what it means to be human where identity and dignity are restored through the grace of the one true human, Jesus, the Anointed One. So, the Gospel, the good news, should be understood as much as being restored to human vocation as it is about the redemption of humanity. The Gospel for so many is simply seen as only pertaining to the forgiveness of sins so one could go to heaven when they die. The restoration of this position of human privilege by the one who came as the one true human, the second Adam, reverberates throughout the pages of the New Testament which creates interest in how the New Testament writers, such as Paul and the author of Hebrews, use Psalm 8 to reveal the purpose of Jesus as the Son of Man.
The structure of this paper will begin with an exegetical analysis of Psalm 8 to better understand what it means to be human within the created order. Secondly, a look at the interconnection between Psalm 8 and Genesis 1-3. Seeing the relationship between these two texts, and how Psalm 8 informs the Genesis account in added detail as to the purpose of humanity in connection with the sovereignty of God. Finally, an evaluation of Psalm 8 through a Christological lens and how the New Testament uses Psalm 8 to reveal the significance of the person of Christ revealing the multifaceted purpose of the Gospel not only for the forgiveness of sins but also the opportunity for reinstatement for human beings to return to their created vocation. Each segment will be proportionate to the overall purpose and within the constraints of the length of the paper.
An Exegetical Analysis of Psalm 8
The Placement of Psalm 8 within the Psalter Psalm 8 is within the first book of the five books of the Psalter. Michael Snearly in his chapter called “The Return of the King” gives a wonderful overarching outline of the Psalter: The storyline of the Psalter begins with Psalms 1–2, which jointly introduce the royal theme that permeates Books I–III. Instead of reading a caesura in the promises of the Davidic covenant at Psalm 89, the psalm should be understood as a lament over the present, shameful state of the Davidic dynasty. Yet hope remains that Yahweh’s covenant loyalty will reverse this deplorable condition. Book IV, then, highlights the sovereign reign of Yahweh, which should not be read as a rejection of the human, Davidic line, but rather as consistent with the program introduced at the beginning of the Psalter (see Psalm 2 where Yahweh and his king reign together—Yahweh appoints the king and the king represents Yahweh’s rule). The Psalter concludes with Book V—the significance of which awaits explanation.
It is important to remember when studying the Psalter that just because it doesn’t have the usual context like other books, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a narrative to follow. Within the narrative structure, as given by Snearly, Psalm 8 falls into the royal theme.
The immediate context of the psalms surrounding Psalm 8 is important to consider, particularly Psalms 1-14. Psalms 1-2 are introductory psalms to the Psalter as a whole, and introduce important themes such as the two paths in Psalm 1 and the “anointed one” in Psalm 2. Psalms 3-7 are psalms of David in lament and struggle. Skipping over Psalm 8 for a moment, Psalms 9-13 contain again the struggles and lament of David yet a hint of hope for the faithful. Then Psalm 14 is a recognition that all humanity has rejected the divinely created purpose of what it means to be human and has gone astray even to the fact that it must be said, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no god.’ (Psalm 14:1 English Standard Version).” Psalm 14 is an about-face from what Psalm 8 reveals regarding the divine purpose of humanity. God has chosen the vulnerable to share the authority of his divine purpose over creation which constitutes the foundations of praise. Psalm 8 is the glory of mankind within the sovereign purpose of God while Psalm 14 is humans in rebellion to God in need of redemption to be restored.
Analysis of the Hymnic Structure and Layout
Psalm 8 is the first praise psalm of the Psalter. Given its surrounding psalms of lament, enters a song of praise by David. Tiana Bosman states, “Psalm 8 is a creation psalm set in the genre of a hymn of praise. It is, in fact, the first hymn of praise in the Psalter, following the introductory Psalms 1 and 2 and the lament in Psalms 3–7.” The psalm begins with an introduction. The introduction is addressed “To the choirmaster: according to the Gittith. A Psalm of David. (Introduction of Psalm 8 ESV).” There is a mystery regarding “Gittith.” John Calvin states, “Whether גתית, Gittith, signifies a musical instrument or some particular tune, or the beginning of some famous and well-known song, I do not take upon me to determine.” He later states, “The principal thing to be attended to is what the psalm itself contains, and what is the design of it. David, it is true, sets before his eyes the wonderful power and glory of God in the creation and government of the material universe; but he only slightly glances at this subject, as it were, in passing, and insists principally on the theme of God’s infinite goodness towards us.” The “us” here is the position of mankind within the purpose of God’s sovereignty. Calvin insists that this is the reason for which the psalm of praise was written. The structure of the psalm begins with the phrase, “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth (Psalm 8:1 ESV).” One will then notice this phrase is also how the psalm ends. This is called a verbatim inclusio. Middleton further explains, “Ps 8 takes a first-person singular point of view, implicit throughout, but explicit in 8:3.” This first-person approach here makes the psalm very personal in its element of praise as a declaration of the recognition of majesty to God as revealed by the whole earth. Next, Psalm 8 is in two halves with a key phrase in the middle. The first part of the psalm is regarding the glory of God as revealed in the heavens, “the work of your fingers (Ps. 8:3 ESV),” where the back half is all about the purpose of humanity in the governance of the creation that reveals the glory of God. In the middle of the psalm is the question, “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? (Ps. 8:4 ESV).” This is the center of the hymnic praise that reveals the heart of why the majesty of the Lord is being recognized.
A Verse-by-Verse Analysis
Now having a simple block outline in order to understand how the Psalm lays out, revealing its flow in the context of praise, it is important to see what Psalm 8 says. This section will be a verse-by-verse analysis.
Verse 1, 9
As stated above, verses 1 and 9 copy each other as bookends to this psalm of praise. The two “Lords” in the English translations come from two different Hebrew words. The first “LORD” is הָיָה transliterated as Yahweh referring to the proper name of the God of Israel. The second “Lord” is the Hebrew word, אָדוֹן, transliterated, 'āḏôn, meaning “to rule or one who exercises control or authority over another. ” So, the first use of “LORD,” often capitalized, is the name of God, while the other is more of a title of a ruler.
In this first phrase of the Psalm, the word שׁמה, transliterated šēm, often translated as “name” which refers to the Lord’s reputation. The meaning of this phrase carries with it a sense of worship within and throughout creation championed by the human who sings the praises of God.
Verse 1b
The back half of verse 1, “You have set your glory above the heavens…” is closely connected to the idea of majesty within the first part of the verse. The word translated “glory” is the Hebrew word, הוֹד, which can also mean “majesty,” so it is easy to see the correlation upon which the psalmist connects the two phrases within verse 1. Verse 1 and verse 3 seem to parallel each other.
Verse 2
With verse 1, before it, and verse 3, after it, pertaining to the wonder of creation, verse 2 within this context seems upon first look a bit out of place. The psalmist in the back half of verse 1 is referring to the glory of the Lord and how it is above the heavens. Verse 3 touches again on the vast majesty of God upon scanning the heavens echoing Psalm 19 which says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. (Psalm 19:1 ESV). Then out of nowhere in between these two verses the psalmist seemingly goes in a different direction. It will make more sense after discussing verse 4, but the psalmist states, “Out the mouths of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, and to still the enemy and the avenger (Ps. 8:2 ESV).” This is where the exegete can begin to take notice of how the psalmist is understanding the way in which God does power and authority. It is not through majesty connected to might, but majesty connected to meekness. It is not how most humans would think to do power and authority which makes this verse startling. Jesus uses this verse himself at his entrance into Jerusalem which will be addressed later.
A couple of important aspects of this verse to mention. First, it seems that God is taking that which is weak and vulnerable and needy, established through metaphorical imagery of babes and infants, to be the vehicle in which he illustrates power to overcome “the enemy and avenger. (Psalm 8:2b ESV).” So, what appears to be brittle is the very vessel in which God seeks to demonstrate victory over that which is the foe. Also, the word “strength” in verse 2 is the Hebrew word עֹז, transliterated ʿōz, which according to Strong’s Concordance is primarily translated as “strength, might, power, etc.” but can be translated as “praise.” The Septuagint translates עֹז into the Greek word αἶνος which means “story, decree, eulogy or praise.” It seems the quotation in Matthew 21:16 most likely is a reference from the Septuagint. Verse 2 illustrates that God has ordained the idea of power through weakness, and victory through vulnerability as the way he chooses to illustrate strength. This would seem to be the case in David’s day since that would have fit the description of Israel compared to the surrounding Gentile nations, as well as being reflective of the entire history of Israel itself.
Verse 3
Verse 3 is an echo or parallel as stated earlier of verse 1. David is in allure of the majesty of the heavens, the work of God. Creation’s grandeur has a way of doing just that when looking out into its vastness. Richard Dawkins in a debate with John Lennox called The God Delusion Debate under the first premise “Faith is blind; science is evidence-based” admits to this allure, but quickly pushes it away. He states, I think that when you consider the beauty of the world, and you wonder how it came to be what it is, you are naturally overwhelmed with a feeling of awe, a feeling of admiration. And you almost feel a desire to worship something. I feel this and I recognize that other scientists such as Carl Sagan feel this. Einstein felt it. All of us share a kind of religious reverence for the beauties of the universe, for the complexity of life, for the sheer magnitude of the cosmos, the sheer magnitude of geological time. And it is tempting to translate that feeling of awe and worship into a desire to worship some particular thing, a person, an agent. You want to attribute it to a maker, to a creator.
What Dawkins is tapping into seems to be very much of what David was recognizing even though their conclusions were quite different. The wonder of creation does in fact amplify the smallness of man in light of the majesty of the Creator who made such an awe-inspiring creation. This seems to set up David’s next phrase, a question.
Verse 4
David asks the question to God, “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” It seems that verses 1 and 3 are parallels as well as verses 2 and 4. There is a sort of volley back and forth in these first four verses. Verse 2, as discussed above, recognizes that God defeats his foes through weakness and frailty. In comparison to the vastness of creation, David recognizes this same characteristic within humanity, weak and dismissive. The curiosity David has in why God would do it this way, makes him phrase his question as such, “What is man that you are mindful of him?” In other words, David is wondering in light of the glory of the heavens why God finds humans so interesting. “What is man?” Watkinson states regarding David’s question, “It describes man from the side of his impotence, frailty, and mortality.” Spence-Jones states, “In comparison with the lofty heavens, the radiant moon, and the hosts of sparkling stars, man seems to the psalmist wholly unworthy of God’s attention.” “What is the son of man that you care for him?” Hubbard and Johnson state.
In other words, in view of God’s glory that has been set on the heavens, why does God preoccupy himself with mere mortals? The question is rhetorical and cannot be answered. This psalm expands our perspective to the heavens to see that God has other alternatives for his attention and delight, namely the vast and well-ordered heavens (as implied by “the work of your fingers …” which you have set in place). And yet it is humankind that he is mindful of, and care[s] for.
Johnson and Hubbard make a statement that the question of David cannot be answered. The argument being made in this paper, particularly that the work of Christ, the Gospel, which creates an opportunity for humanity to be redeemed back into that ordained position of what it means to be human is a Christ-sized answer to David’s question. The answer to this question makes the Gospel the good news because it is more than simply forgiveness of sin and going to heaven when you die, but rather a return to created identity and revealing God’s affection for humanity in that God has not forgotten or abandoned human vocation.
Verse 5
Verse 5 opens the back half of the Psalm. David here acknowledges that God made mankind lower than ‘'ĕlōhîm.’ Traditionally, this word is translated as “God,” which the Holman Christian Standard and the New Revised Standard translations do translate as “God,” but other translations either translate this word as “angel” or “heavenly beings.” The Septuagint translates this word as “angel.” The problem with translating the word, 'ĕlōhîm’ as “angel” is that this would be the only time and seemingly out of context. Verse 5 is related to the Genesis account of the creation of mankind in Genesis 1 and 2, and the name for God used in Genesis 1 is ĕlōhîm’ and Yahweh in Genesis 2. Genesis 2:4, puts the two names together as it states, “The Yahweh Elohim (LORD God) made the earth and the heavens (Holman Christian Standard).” When God made man in his image the name of God in the Hebrew was ĕlōhîm.’ So, contextually speaking it would seem best translated in Psalm 5 as ‘lower than God.” To translate 'ĕlōhîm’ as “angel” would need a nuanced discussion regarding the question, “Did God make mankind lower than “himself” or “angels”? And is that referring to stature or status if translated as “angels”?” If the interpretation is to read that God made mankind simply lower than the angels, in the sense of stature, that seems ok, yet still doesn’t fit contextually. If in status, in the sense that mankind was made lower in authority or privileged position, then much of the New Testament would not make sense because Christ is putting even angels under his authority as a reclaiming of the human vocation. Three reasons to take ĕlōhîm as best translated God in this context:
Contextually, because humanity is sharing dominion with God, not angels, therefore angels would be subject to that shared authority between God and humanity.
Again, Psalm 8:5 is the only place where ĕlōhîm is translated as “angel.”
It makes more sense Christologically when Christ in the New Testament, in his role as the true human, puts angels ‘under his feet’ in subjection. This will be addressed in the last section of this paper. The translation that the English Standard Version takes is “heavenly beings” and this seems to play it safe between translations.
The back half of verse 5, which supports the ĕlōhîm translation as God and not angels, is the fact that this crowning of humans with glory and honor seems to seal this special position with God. This seems to tie close to the idea that humans are privileged, not merely because of their stature which is a weak comparison to creation and even angels, but because of the Imago Dei, this crowning of glory and honor, which is intrinsic to what it means to be human. Walton, Matthews, and Chavalas speak of how Israel had a high regard for the human race compared to their Mesopotamian neighbors. The Mesopotamian gods did not create humans as an integral part of creation but instead created humans basically to get out of the hard labor as they had become tired of working. Humans were made to serve the deities. Humans, from the biblical perspective, were created to bear the reflection of God.
Verse 6
Waltke, Houston, and Moore state, “If “humanness” is one trait of the Psalter, another is individual consciousness of responsibility.” This is clearly seen in Verse 6 that God not only creates a special position for mankind in comparison to the rest of creation but then gives the ones crowned with glory and honor the responsibility of having dominion over that creation. The intrinsic worth of humans is the fact that they have been crowned with glory and honor, but the purpose of their position is the sharing of what is rightfully only God’s to share, authority over creation. God puts himself in a working relationship with the ones who bear his image. As Waltke, Houston, and Moore state again, “Motivation based on relationships is more effective than brute legal power. All of Israel’s history was to be interpreted as undeserved “gift”: from the gift of life first breathed upon Adam, to the “call” of Abram, to entry into the Promised Land, and to the kingly anointing of David. The Psalms thus express that the ḥeseḏ love of “I AM” endures forever.” All things, says the psalmist, have been put under the feet of humanity in an authoritative role of responsibility.
Verse 7, 8
Verses 7 and 8 go together because they are reflective of the “dominion” given to humans in verse 6. This parallels the account in Genesis and readily takes the mind to the opening chapters of Scripture when reading these verses. Humans are given a vast amount of shared authority because God being God can never be without authority, but Psalm 8 reveals the kind of God, God is. He is a God who shares what is rightfully his with that which is brittle, feeble, frail, and weak which reveals the goodness that is in his character, and his desire to share that goodness. It demonstrates the vast power he has in which to do authority and strength in this manner displaying his true sovereignty. This idea sets up the return of the phrase that David began with, “Oh LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8:9 ESV).
A Brief Explanation
What promotes the psalmist, i.e. David, to praise is the reality of how God does power and how God’s mercy and original plan of design involve humans with a special vocational responsibility. David has been lamenting over his many different experiences but is reminded of the majesty of God who has taken a special interest in humanity which is the foundation for his declaration of praise. The reality is that God is interested in the weak and vulnerable, as seen in verse 2, which has a striking power of hope when one remembers these things, especially in a time of lament, such as in David’s context. Overall, Psalm 8 reveals how God does power which gives insight into humanity's purpose and identity to reflect God, as image-bearers, to the rest of creation in how humans do authority. The very purpose and identity of mankind is to reveal God into the creation by sharing God’s dominion and authority over creation in the way that God does authority.
The Interconnection of Genesis Account & Psalm 8
An evaluation of the interconnection of Genesis 1-3 and Psalm 8 is the prerogative in this section of the paper to see how both passages inform the other. Psalm 8 is a revisiting of the Genesis account by David, but in a form, as stated earlier, as a hymn of praise. One might conclude that because of David’s understanding of divine promise through Abraham in Genesis 15-22, and God’s own promise to David that his seed would succeed the throne (i.e. 2 Samuel 7, Psalm 89) then David had hope that the divine purpose of mankind had not been lost amidst human failure. It would seem to make sense in the context of lament, this would be David’s hymn of praise, particularly in light of Psalm 2, and in light of the storyline of the Psalter itself. Snearly states, “The trajectory of the storyline is consistent throughout: Yahweh is king; he has appointed an earthly vice-regent who represents his heavenly rule on earth; the earthly vice-regent and his people travail against the rebellious of the earth. But even more than that is the eschatological view of David’s role. How David becomes more than just a historical figure, but rather a figurehead with messianic implications that will be addressed later. Snearly emphasizes how David, in the life of Israel, was later transformed from a historical personage to a symbol of royalist hope using two passages from Hosea and Ezekiel
Afterward, the children of Israel will return and they will seek Yahweh their God and David their king, and they will come in fear to Yahweh and his goodness in the last days (Hos. 3:5). And I will raise over them one shepherd—my servant David—and he will shepherd them. He will shepherd them; he will become their shepherd. And I—Yahweh—will become their God, and my servant David will become leader among them. I, Yahweh, have spoken (Ezek. 34:23–24). David has hope as evidenced by his praise in Psalm 8, but later he, himself, becomes a part of the storyline becoming a symbol of that hope.
Three passages between the accounts of Genesis and Psalm 8 will be evaluated. The evaluation of these related passages not only further clarifies God’s purpose for humanity as seen in both Psalm 8 and the Genesis account, but also how the original Adam did not finish the job of what it means to be human, therefore, setting up the need for one to come after him to finish the task. The Relationship Between Psalm 8:2-4 & Genesis 2:7 When you read Psalm 8:2-4, there is a definite echo of Genesis 2:7 regarding mankind being made of the dust of the ground. God, from the beginning, had in mind his purpose for humanity which was to demonstrate his sovereign power in that the universe was to be ruled by the frail and vulnerable of creation.
Nahum Sarna states, In the opening chapter of Genesis, we are told simply that God created man “in His image,” (1:27) nothing being stated of the matter used in the act of creation. But in the subsequent narrative, it is related to how God “formed man from the dust of the earth (2:7).” Now if we note that the word here translated as “dust” is used quite often in biblical Hebrew as a synonym for clay, we may recognize at once a theme frequently encountered in Scripture…The very fact the creation of man in Genesis description is an exception to the rule of creation by divine fiat, and that solely in the case of man is the material from which he is made explicitly mentioned, implies emphasis upon a unique position for man among created things and a special relationship to God. This, indeed, is reinformed in many and varied subtle ways. It is as though for the climactic performance the usual act of will was reinforced by an act of divine effort. Man, alone, has the breath of life blown into his nostrils by God Himself.
Sarna is stating by the very fact of how God made man was this “special relationship” established between God and mankind. It is this recognition of David that promotes his particular question in verse 4 that seems to come from a place of awe, i.e. worship, in that God would put humans in this special place of responsibility. It is also easy to see in verse 2 of Psalm 8 regarding “Out of the mouths of babies and infants” that humanity being made from “dust” or “clay” in comparison to the majesty of the rest of creation is the picture of these vulnerable babes who are in fact to display the strength of the divine to “still the enemy and the avenger (ESV).”
The Relationship Between Psalm 8:5-8 & Genesis 1:26-31
The second set of verses to consider are Psalm 8:5-8 and Genesis 1:26-31 regarding the Imago Dei. A special part of what it means to be human is the way that God created humanity in that God has placed his image on the dust. Out of all creation, only humanity bears the image of God. What is done in Genesis 1:26-27 seems to be what Psalm 8:5-6 is referencing regarding the statement of “crowned him with glory and honor.” Because of this special “crowning of glory and honor,” a divine responsibility has been placed on man as Waltke, Houston, and Moore stated earlier. This responsibility is one of dominion which is to subdue what God has created which correlates Psalm 8:6-8 with Genesis 1:28-31. Also, Adam’s responsibility of naming the animals, Genesis 2:19-20, only doubles down on the purpose of humanity in shared sovereignty with God. This is not to imply humans are or ever will be divine, but rather to share with God what God has chosen to share with them. It is as if God from his position of sovereignty created the world, then took the weakest part of his creation and placed his image upon them with the divine responsibility to share in his rule. Nahum Sarna states again,
The Bible’s concept of the divine image in man thus constitutes another revolutionary break with its contemporary world. The pagan bond between man and nature has been severed once and for all. No longer is man a creature of blind forces helplessly at the mercy of the inexorable rhythms and cycles of nature. On the contrary, he is now a being possessed of dignity, purpose, freedom, and tremendous power. Yet, the pre-eminence of man over beast is not the same as total independence…Human sovereignty can never quite be absolute. It must always be subject to the demands of higher law, the divinely ordained moral order of the universe.
God’s purpose for humanity is to share the glory that is rightfully his with the image bearers whose purpose as his image bearers is to reflect God into the world he created. N.T. Wright states,
Within biblical theology, it remains the case that the one living God created a world that is other than himself, not contained within himself. Creation was from the beginning an act of love, of affirming the goodness of the other. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good, but it was not itself divine. At its height, which according to Genesis 1 is the creation of humans, it was designed to reflect God, both to reflect God back to God in worship and to reflect God into the rest of creation in stewardship. But this image-bearing capacity of humankind is not in itself the same thing as divinity.
This “reflection” back to God in worship and out into the creation through dominion, i.e. stewardship, seems to get at the purposeful role of humanity’s vocation within God’s creation. This vocation of humanity was to subdue creation. This word in Hebrew in Genesis 1:28 is כָּבַשׁ which means “to bring into subjection.” This brings the discussion to the question, “Did Adam bring all things into his subjection?”
The Relationship Between Psalm 8:2b, 8:6b, & Genesis 3:15
Psalm 8:2b speaks of the fact that through the praise and worship of the vulnerable and weak the strength needed to silence the foes and avengers will be established. Psalm 8:6b states that God “has put all things under humanity’s feet.” These statements point to the reality that humanity was even to subdue that which raised its head as evil within creation. The word, “all,” means everything and leaves out nothing that is not to be placed under the authority of the human vocation. Now enter the Genesis 3 account where humans fail at their vocation through the fall into sin. In doing this, not only did they fail at their human vocation to subdue everything, but also now were put in a position of needing rescue themselves. One may ask, “Did Adam and Eve’s assignment to subdue everything also include that which was evil?” The answer would be, yes! Notice how Genesis 3:1 opens up the narrative, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made (Genesis 3:1 ESV). The first pair was given a charge to subdue all the animals. “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth (Genesis 1:28 ESV).” Evil personified itself as that which was within the command of God to subdue and rule over. Yet, the opposite happened! Evil became dominant and subjected the image-bearer to its rule. At this point what is known as the Fall took place where mankind fell from their vocational role as the image-bearing humanity meant to share God’s rule over creation were, now themselves, in need of rescue. N.T. Wright puts it this way,
Evil then consists not in being created but in the rebellious idolatry by which humans worship and honor elements of the natural world rather than the God who made them. The result is that the cosmos is out of joint. Instead of humans being God’s vice-regents over creation, they ignore the creator and try to worship something less demanding, something that will give them a short-term fix of power or pleasure. The result is that death, which was always part of the natural transience of the good creation, gains a second dimension, which the Bible sometimes calls “spiritual death.” In Genesis, and indeed for much of the Old Testament, the controlling image for death is exile. Adam and Eve were told that they would die on the day they ate the fruit; what actually happened was that they were expelled from the garden. Turning away from the worship of the living God is turning toward that which has no life in itself. Worship that which is transient, and it can only give you death. But when you do commit that idolatry, evil is unleashed into the world, setting off chain reactions with incalculable consequences.
The temptation in Genesis 3 involved who was going to subdue who? The tempter questioned the authority of whose sovereignty they were designed to share. The first pair sought good apart from God and disobeyed his command by partaking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, therefore, placing themselves under a new authority and losing the shared sovereignty with the Lord. This ultimately impacts all of the creation because the one who was designed to be in charge of creation through the shared sovereignty lost their position of ‘crowned glory’ leaving the world to sinful chaos.
Evaluating Psalm 8 Through a Christological Lens
So, up to this point, an exegetical look at Psalm 8 has been discussed as well as the interconnectedness of Psalm 8 and certain passages within the Genesis account. Now coming to the final section of the paper, the question arises how should Psalm 8 be interpreted considering the person of Jesus? Before discussing some of the particulars, a broad-stroke view of this section will be given.
The reason interpreting the person of Jesus may be difficult at times is that he is both the Son of God and the Son of Man. It is tempting to primarily think of Christ as the Son of God almost dismissing at the same time the reality that he is the Son of Man. Because of the reality of his humanity and what he sought to do for all humanity, Christ’s work on the cross and in his resurrection can be easily misunderstood. Christ’s work on the cross was not only an atoning sacrifice for the sins of humanity who stood guilty of insubordination, treason to the Kingdom, and idolatry of worship but also finishing the task given to Adam in having all things placed in subordination to his vocation as human echoed in Psalm 8:2 and Psalm 8:6, as well as Genesis. Adam had failed by falling himself under the power of temptation to bring evil under submission by himself submitting to it, whereas Christ, defeated death and the one who held the keys of death, the devil (i.e. Hebrew 2:14-15), by his defeat of the powers in the way it was meant to be by design according to Psalm 8:2 from the beginning. As F.F. Bruce states, “As the end of Jesus’ ministry approached, he made it increasingly clear that the role of the suffering Son of Man was one which he himself would fulfill…Moreover, it was in the suffering of the Son of Man that the mystery of the kingdom of God was unveiled.”
Psalm 8 taken seriously has an enormous impact on one’s view of atonement theology, not taking away, but rather an expansion. What Christ did on the cross in his penal substitutionary atonement put the image-bearers back to right with God regarding justice and righteousness for those who place faith in Jesus (i.e. Romans 5:1-10). Also, his work on the cross in the role of the 2nd Adam did what the 1st Adam failed to do in that he revealed strength through vulnerability and weakness and “stilled the enemy and avenger. (Psalm 8:2 ESV).” Psalm 8:2 seems to be the backdrop in how the cross is to be understood. The fact that God expresses power through weakness is what shaped the purpose of the cross, and why the vulgarity of the cross is the centerpiece of atonement, the centerpiece of Christianity. C.S. Lewis stated, “Man approaches God most nearly when he is in one sense least like God. For what can be more unlike than fullness and need, sovereignty and humility, righteousness and penitence, limitless power and cry for help?” What Lewis is tapping into, knowingly or unknowingly, is the essence of Psalm 8 in how God and mankind are connected which promotes David’s question, “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him (Ps. 8:4 ESV)?”
In doing this, the Gospel that goes forth from the work of the cross and resurrection of Christ is not just good news that one may be forgiven of sin, but also an invitation by God to return to the human vocational post sharing dominion over creation with him. This is why Jesus on Ascension Day ascends to the place of power and sits “at the right hand of God” which is a picture that constitutes God sharing authority with humanity again. This also seems to be an insight into how to understand Daniel 7 which states:
I saw One like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven.
He approached the Ancient of Days and was escorted before Him.
He was given authority to rule, and glory, and a kingdom; so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed (Daniel 7:13-14 Holman Christian Standard).
How Does the New Testament Use Psalm 8 in Correlation to Jesus? Matthew 21:16
Jesus, quoting it seems from the Septuagint, uses the quote of Psalm 8:2 to address the religious leaders. Craig Keener states regarding the Greek translation of Psalm 8:2, “Because the high priests spoke Greek as their first language (as suggested by the tomb inscriptions), Jesus quotes to them from the Greek translation of Psalm 8:2, which reads “praise,” rather than the Hebrew, which has “strength.” Jesus quotes this because the people are praising him as the Son of David. This was tying Jesus into the messianic, Davidic figure of hope that Snearly’s quote earlier spoke of. This, also, in context was Jesus coming into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday of the week he was to be that brittle, broken, clay figurine of a man in which God’s strength would be ultimately demonstrated on a cross through weakness ushering power over the darkness of death.
Hebrews 2:5-8
This passage heavily draws from Psalm 8 regarding the person of Christ fulfilling the role of the original purpose of humanity. The writer of Hebrews seems to be drawing from the Septuagint interpretation which interprets the Hebrew 'ĕlōhîm as the Greek, ἀγγέλους, the English “angels.” As stated earlier, the translation of 'ĕlōhîm seems best to be translated as God, not angel when looking at the role of humanity. If God placed mankind lower than angels, then it would be hard to see how they would be placed “under their feet.” So, if one uses the translation of “angels” it would be best understood as stature, not status (authority) as stated earlier because the ordained role of humans is to be in authority over the angels which is why Satan, a fallen angel, is placed under the dominion of man in the work of Christ. This, also, makes sense as to why the writer of Hebrews states that angels are servant spirits meant to serve those who inherit salvation (Hebrews 1:14).
1 Corinthians 15:27
Paul in writing to the church in Corinth concerning the resurrection, and the implication of the resurrection, taps into the Psalm 8 theme regarding humanity by stating,
“For He must reign until He puts all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be abolished is death. For God has put everything under His feet. But when it says “everything” is put under Him, it is obvious that He who puts everything under Him is the exception. And when everything is subject to Christ, then the Son Himself will also be subject to the One who subjected everything to Him, so that God may be all in all (1 Cor. 15:25-28 HCSB). This passage seems not only in quote referring to Psalm 8:6 regarding dominion but also Psalm 8:2 regarding the enemy of death to be silenced. Certainly, no other human than Jesus can or is capable of doing such a feat, but he did and is doing this. He is the only one who could do this, therefore, making him the only rightful king of humanity because he did.
Ephesians 1:22
Notice at the end of chapter 1, Paul states, He demonstrated this power in the Messiah by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavens — far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put everything under His feet and appointed Him as head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of the One who fills all things in every way (Ephesians 1:20-23 HCSB).
The context in which Paul quotes Psalm 8:6 is in the context of what God did in and through Jesus which is the Gospel. The next chapter of Ephesians is one of the most beautiful chapters in God’s offer of grace to humanity as a result of Christ becoming the true human, the 2nd Adam, so that all who place their faith in him can be restored in Christ for good works.
Jesus in the Order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110, Hebrews 7)
There are two major themes revealed in Psalm 8, and that is dominion and praise. Because God has given dominion to humanity, this shared authority with himself, should be the kindling that ignites the human heart to praise him as seen in Psalm 8. This is the idea behind the royal/priesthood. Royalty is the term for governance, and priesthood is connected to worship. Jesus, according to the writer of Hebrews, has gone ahead on humanity’s behalf as a forerunner, because He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek, king of Salem. What does this mean? John Walton states, “Hebrews refers to Melchizedek, who is a historical figure (Gen. 14), an archetype (Ps. 110), and one whose profile is enhanced through literary development thus creating complex usage in the NT.” This archetypal figure that the writer of Hebrews uses gives a better understanding of whom the person of Christ, as Messiah, was expected to be. What was previously forbidden, to be both king and priest, can now be put together in Jesus because he has won the victory over the powers of darkness, and the purpose and vocation of humanity as vice-regents have been reinstated through what he has accomplished. Jesus is now the rightful king of humanity because he finished the work of Adam, and he is the high priest because he has paid for the sins of humanity.
Motifs of Psalm 8 Throughout the New Testament.
In light of a Christological interpretation, many motifs of Psalm 8 can be seen within the New Testament, making sense of passages that may have been previously misunderstood within this context. Here are a few passages:
Matthew 28:18
Jesus states that “all authority has been given to him” because he finished the work Adam failed to do by establishing strength and silencing the enemy and avenger. Therefore, all authority that was originally given to Adam was given to Christ because where Adam failed, Jesus prevailed.
John 3:16
Probably the most famous verse of the Gospel implies the dominion of mankind. For God so loved the world, not just humanity. Why did God send his Son to redeem humanity? Because the κόσμον, the world, the creation, would not experience the presence of God without the reflection given it through the image-bearers. The design of the image-bearers are to be the conduit of God’s love and presence ruled out through their dominion into God’s good world, and because of Jesus, it can be said that God has not abandoned that purpose.
Romans 8:18-23
Here Paul, particularly in verse 19, speaks of creation’s eager expectation of when the children of God will be revealed as a future hope. Why? Because creation desires the vice-regents to be restored to their ordained role for creation to function as designed. Therefore, Paul explains this eager expectation of future hope from creation’s perspective in that of a groaning like a woman in labor pains.
Hebrews 2:10-11
The writer of Hebrews connects what the thesis of this paper is about in light of the work of Christ. Jesus was crowned with glory and honor through his suffering in which he might taste death for all humanity and now has brought many children to this same glory through faith in him. This passage, in light of the Christological focus of the greater context of Hebrews 2, gets to the essence that through the Gospel not only are sins forgiven, but a purpose and a position is restored under the Lordship of Christ. There are many other passages with the motifs of Psalm 8 such as how power is lived out through humility as Jesus explained in Mark 10:35-45 or the essence of prayer, as revealed in the model prayer of Matthew 6:9-11, in how followers of Christ are to usher in the will of God on earth as in heaven. Colossians 1:15, Jesus is the visible image (image-bearer speak) of the invisible God, and many more could be exampled here.
Conclusion
Psalm 8, by itself, is a powerful hymn of praise by David to the God who does authority in the way in which he does in sharing his dominion with the weak of creation. Psalm 8 and the Genesis account inform each other on so many points of what it means to be human. Yet, evaluating Psalm 8 in light of the work of Jesus informs the reader not only was Jesus the substitution for humanity regarding sin and rebellion but also the work of the cross and his resurrection was Jesus finishing the task originally given to Adam in the vocation of what it means to be human in silencing evil. The invitation of God to sinful humanity to return to their ordained and created vocation is the heart of the Gospel. For this to be accomplished justice had to be upheld and sin atoned for, but then what? The invitation to return to the divine purpose of humanity as illuminated in Psalm 8 and exampled in Jesus, the Anointed One. This invitation can only be accepted in Christ, one of Paul’s favorite phrases. The heart of the Gospel is the forgiveness of sin so that humanity may return to the position of being crowned with glory so that humanity may “reign with him.”
