The Pulpit Commentary — Psalms — Volume 1 — Section 53

Ver. 3.-Whon I consider thy hea.vens dent reference to Gen. i. 28," Have dominion (comp. Pss. xix. l; xxxiii. 6; civ. 2). Da.vid, over the fish of the sea, an<!. over the fowl of i11. his shepherd-life, ho.d ha.d e.bunde.nt the e.ir, and over every Ii ving thing that opportunity of "considering the heavens," moveth upon the earth." By these words nnd had evidently scanned them with the man's right of dominion was established. eye of o. poet e.ncl e.n intense admirer of His actual dominion only came, and still nature. It is probe.bly in remembrance of comes, by degrees. Thou hast put e.11 things the nights when he watched his father's under hie feet (comp. 1 Cor. xv. 25-28; flock, tlie.t he makes no mention of the sun, Heh. ii. 8). In their fu lness, the words aro but only of "the moon and the stars." The only true of the God-Man, Jesus Christ work of thy fingers; e.nd therefore " thy (Matt. xxviii. 18). heavens." Often e.s the "hand of God" is Ver. 7.-All sheep and oxan; literally, mentioned in Scripture, it is but very rarely jloclcs and ozen, all of them. The domesti- that we hear of his "finger" or "fingers.'' cated animals a.re placed first, as most com- So far ns I nm aware, the ouly places are pletely under man's actual dominion. Yee., Exod. viii. 19; xxxi. 18; Deut. ix. 10; e.nd e.nd the beasts of the field; i.e. " and a.II Luke xi. 20. The moon e.nd the sta.rs, whioh other land animals" (comp. Gen. i. 28 ; thou hast orda.ined (comp. Goo. i. 16). ix. 2). If some were still unsubduecl (2 Yer. 4.-Wha.t is ma.n, tha.t thou a.rt mind- Kings xvii. 25, 26; Job xl. 24; xii. 1-10), ful of him 1 In comparison with the lofty their subjugation was only n question of heavens, the radiant moon, e.nd the hosts time (see Isa. xi. 6-9; lxv. 25). of sparkling stars, man seems to the psalmist Ver. 8.-The fowl of the a.ir, a.nd the fish wholly unworthy of God's attention. He is of the see., e.nd whatsoever pa.sseth through not, like Job, impatient of God's constant the paths of the sea.s; literally, fowl of the observation (Job vii. 17-20), but simply air, and fishea of the sea, the paMer through filled with wonder at his marvellous con- the paths of the seas. Every passer through descension (comp. Ps. cxliv. 3). And the the pe.ths of the seas, whether exactly a fish son of ma.n, tha.t thou visitest him t The or no. The cetaoea e.re ihus included "son of me.n " here is e. mere varie.nt for (comp. Gen. i. 21). " man" in the preceding hemistich. The Ver. 9.-0 Lord our Lord, how exoellent is cle.use merely emphasizes the general idea. thy Name in a.II the ea.rth ! The psalmist Ver. 5.-For thou ha.at made him a. little ends ns he began, with excellent poetio lower tha.n the e.ngols; rather, thou hast effect, and in a spirit of intense piety. macle him but a little lower than God (0•1·1',11). Some think that he se.w in visiou the com- There is no ple.ce in the Old Testament plete subjugntion of the whole earth to man where Elohim means "e.ngele;" o.nd, in such sort ns will only be accomplished in though the LXX. so translate in the the "new heavens and new earth," in present passage, e.nd the rendering has which Christ shall reign visibly over his passed from them into the New Testament people. But his words a.re not beyond those (Ileb. ii. 7), it cannot be regarded as criti- whioh e.re nature.I to one of warm poetic cally correct. 'fhe pso.lmist, in considering temperament and deep ne.ture.l piety, looking how mnn has been favoured by God, goes out upon the world e.ud upon m11n ns they bnck in thought to his creation, e.nd re- existed in hie day. Inspiration, of which members the words of Gen. i. 26, 27, "Let we know so little, mny perhaps have guided us make man in our own image, after our him to the choice of words aocl phrases lilceness. . . . So God created mnn in his own peculinrly applict1ble to "the Ideal of man's image, in the image of God created he him" n11ture n.nd true Representative, Christ;" (compe.re the still stronger expression in and hence the many references to this pee.Im PP. lxxxii, 6, "I hnve said, Ye are gods"). in the New Tostament (Matt. Kxi. 16; 1 And ha.at crowned him with glory e.nd Cor. xv. 25-28; Heh. ii. 6--8), and in this honour j i.e. "enc.I, by so doing, by giving sense the psalm may be Mossie.nio; but it him n nature but n little short of the is certe.inly not one of thoso, lilco I's. ii. e.ncl Divine, hast pnt on him o. crnwn of glory Pa. xxii., where the author conscionely such ns thou hast given to no other spoke of another time than his own, e.nd of crea.ture." There is a point of view from e. Personage whom he knew only by faith. which the nature of man transcends that of (For other examples of the recunenco nt angels, since (1) it is I\ direct tre.nscript of the end of n pee.Im of the idea. wherewith it the Divine (Gen. i. 27); e.nd (2) it is the commenced, seo Pss. xx. 1-9; xlvi. 1-11 • nature which the l::lon of God assum1d (Hob, lxx. 1-5; ciii. 1-22; ex viii. 1-29; and ii. 16). the "Hallelujah psalms:" Ps,. c\"i, 1-48 Ver. 6.-Thou ma.dest him to h&va do- oxiii.1-9; oxvii. 1, 2; cuv. 1-21; cxlvi. minion over the works of thy hands, An evi- -d.)  THE BOOK OF PSALMS. frs. vm. 1-9.