Chú giải chương
Psalms Chương 8
서론
Không có tiêu đề
简体中文
bản gốc tiếng anh
This psalm is a solemn meditation on, and admiration of, the glory and greatness of God, of which we are all concerned to think highly and honourably. It begins and ends with the same acknowledgment of the transcendent excellency of God's name. It is proposed for proof (Ps 8:1) that God's name is excellent in all the earth, and then it is repeated as proved (with a "quod erat demonstrandum"—which was to be demonstrated) in the Ps 8:9. For the proof of God's glory the psalmist gives instances of his goodness to man; for God's goodness is his glory. God is to be glorified, I. For making known himself and his great name to us, Ps 8:1. II. For making use of the weakest of the children of men, by them to serve his own purposes, Ps 8:2. III. For making even the heavenly bodies useful to man, Ps 8:3,4. IV. For making him to have dominion over the creatures in this lower world, and thereby placing him but little lower then the angels, Ps 8:5-8. This psalm is, in the New Testament, applied to Christ and the work of our redemption which he wrought out; the honour given by the children of men to him (Ps 8:2, Mt 21:16) and the honour put upon the children of men by him, both in his humiliation, when he was made a little lower then the angels, and in his exaltation, when he was crowned with glory and honour. Compare Ps 8:5,6, Heb 2:6-8, 1Co 15:27. When we are observing the glory of God in the kingdom of nature and providence we should be led by that, and through that, to the contemplation of his glory in the kingdom of grace.
1-2
Glory of God in His Works
简体中文
神在作为中的荣耀
调用迦特，大卫的诗，交与伶长。
¹ 耶和华我们的主啊，你的名在全地何其美！你将你的荣耀彰显于天。
² 你因敌人的缘故，从婴孩和吃奶的口中，建立了能力，使仇敌和报仇的闭口无言。
诗人在此着手将神名所当得的荣耀归给他。哈蒙德博士根据本诗的标题，对其写作缘由提出推测。这诗是"调用迦特"，一般被理解为这诗当配的曲调或乐器；但他解作"迦特人"，即迦特人歌利亚——他曾胜过并杀死他（撒上17:1-58）；那仇敌是被相比之下不过是婴孩和吃奶者的人所止息的。这推测本相当可信，只是我们发现另有两篇诗也有同样的标题（诗81、84）。大卫在此所希奇的有两件事——
一、神何等明明地彰显他自己的荣耀（诗8:1）。他以谦卑敬畏之心向神陈说，称他为主、为他百姓的主：*耶和华我们的主啊！*我们若信神是主，就当承认并宣认他是我们的。他是我们的——因为他造我们、保护我们、特别看顾我们。他也必须是我们的——因为我们当顺服他、顺服他；我们当承认这关系，不仅在我们来祷告之时——作为求他怜悯的依据——也在我们来赞美之时——作为激发我们自己将荣耀归给他的论证；若我们思想：1. 神的荣耀在这下方世界就照耀得何等明亮：你的名在全地何其美！受造与护理之工向全世显明并宣告：有一位无限存有，是一切存在、权能与完全的源头，是一切受造之物的至高掌权者、大能保护者、丰盛赐予者。他的名在全地何其大、何其荣、何其壮！其光在各处照在人脸上（罗1:20）；他们若闭眼不顾，那是他们的错。并无一言一语，是神名的声音不能在其中被听见或不能被听见的。但这话看得更远——指向基督的福音；神的名原只在以色列为大，因着福音的传扬——它所宣告的——在全地都为大，地的四极也因此看见了神的大救恩（可16:15-16）。2. 在上面的世界它照耀得更加明亮：你将你的荣耀彰显于天。（1）神比最尊贵的受造之物、比那些最光辉灿烂的，更无限地荣耀与卓越。（2）我们在这地上只听见神的美名而赞美它，上面的天使与有福的灵却看见他的荣耀而赞美它；然而他被高举，远超他们的祝福与赞美。（3）主耶稣被高举到神的右边——他是父荣耀的光辉、是父本体的真像——神就把他的荣耀彰显在天上，远超一切执政的、掌权的。
二、他何等大有能力地藉着他最软弱的受造之物宣扬这荣耀（诗8:2）：你因敌人的缘故，从婴孩和吃奶的口中，建立了能力——或作"完全了赞美"，即你权能的赞美（太21:16）。这表明神的荣耀：1. 在自然之国。神对婴孩的看顾（他们初入世界时是一切动物中最无助的）、他们所受的特殊保护、以及为他们所作的天然预备，都当被我们每一个人承认，归荣耀给神，作为他权能与良善的极大例证——更敏锐地觉知，因为我们众人都曾受其益，正因如此，我们不至于一出母胎就死，那时膝盖迎接了我们，又有 breasts 使我们得饱足。"这是你良善的如此例证，足以永远叫你荣耀的仇敌哑口无言——他们说：没有神。"2. 在护理之国。在治理这下方世界时，他使用世人——有的认识他，有的不认识他（赛45:4）——而这些人也都曾是婴孩和吃奶者；不，有时他乐意仍使用那些在智慧与力量上几乎如婴孩和吃奶者一般的人来成就他的旨意。3. 在恩典之国，在弥赛亚的国度。此处预言：藉着众使徒——他们不过被人看作没有学问的小民（徒4:13），卑微可鄙——并藉他们所传愚拙的道理，魔鬼的国度必被倾覆，正如耶利哥的城墙因羊角之声而倒塌。福音被称为主的膀臂、他能力的杖；这是被设立要行奇事的，并非出于哲学家或演说家、政治家或谋士的口，而是一群贫苦渔夫的口——他们处于最大的外在劣势之下；不，我们也听见孩子们喊叫：和散那归于大卫的子孙——那时祭司长和法利赛人却不认他，反轻看他、弃绝他；所以我们的救主将此经文应用于那事（太21:16），藉此止息了仇敌。有时神的恩典在小孩身上奇妙显现，他教导那些知识，使那些明白道理，他们不过是才断奶离母怀的（赛28:9）。有时神的权能藉着非常软弱、极不可能的工具在他的教会中成就大事，并藉世上卑贱的、软弱的、愚拙的，使那高贵的、智慧的、有能的蒙羞——使一切有血气的，在他面前都不能自夸，而使这能力的卓越更显明是出于神，而非出于人（林前1:27-28）。他如此行是因敌人的缘故——因为他们狂傲自大，他要使他们静默，使他们蒙羞，如此向那报仇者公道地施报（徒4:14，6:10）。魔鬼是那大仇敌与报仇者；藉着福音的传讲，他在很大程度上被止息了——他的神谕被哑口，他事业的辩护者被蒙羞，污鬼自己也不被许可说话。
我们唱此诗时，当将他大名的荣耀归给他，也将他藉他福音权能所作的大事归给他——被高举的救赎主乘坐在其战车上，出去胜了又要胜，并当不仅以我们的赞美，也以我们最美好的心愿来随行。当能力从婴孩和吃奶者口中建立之时，赞美便得以完全（即神得着最高程度的荣耀）。
bản gốc tiếng anh
Glory of God in His Works
To the chief musician upon Gittith. A psalm of David.
¹ O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
² Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
The psalmist here sets himself to give to God the glory due to his name. Dr. Hammond grounds a conjecture upon the title of this psalm concerning the occasion of penning it. It is said to be upon Gittith, which is generally taken for the tune, or musical instrument, with which this psalm was to be sung; but he renders it upon the Gittite, that is, Goliath the Gittite, whom he vanquished and slew (1Sa 17:1-58); that enemy was stilled by him who was, in comparison, but a babe and a suckling. The conjecture would be probable enough but that we find two other psalms with the same title, Ps 81:1-16,84:1-12. Two things David here admires:—
I. How plainly God displays his glory himself, Ps 8:1. He addresses himself to God with all humility and reverence, as the Lord and his people's Lord: O Lord our Lord! If we believe that God is the Lord, we must avouch and acknowledge him to be ours. He is ours, for he made us, protects us, and takes special care of us. He must be ours, for we are bound to obey him and submit to him; we must own the relation, not only when we come to pray to God, as a plea with him to show us mercy, but when we come to praise him, as an argument with ourselves to give him glory: and we shall never think we can do that with affection enough if we consider, 1. How brightly God's glory shines even in this lower world: How excellent is his name in all the earth! The works of creation and Providence evince and proclaim to all the world that there is an infinite Being, the fountain of all being, power, and perfection, the sovereign ruler, powerful protector, and bountiful benefactor of all the creatures. How great, how illustrious, how magnificent, is his name in all the earth! The light of it shines in men's faces every where (Ro 1:20); if they shut their eyes against it, that is their fault. There is no speech or language but the voice of God's name either is heard in it or may be. But this looks further, to the gospel of Christ, by which the name of God, as it is notified by divine revelation, which before was great in Israel only, came to be so in all the earth, the utmost ends of which have thus been made to see God's great salvation, Mk 16:15,16. 2. How much more brightly it shines in the upper world: Thou hast set thy glory above the heavens. (1.) God is infinitely more glorious and excellent than the noblest of creatures and those that shine most brightly. (2.) Whereas we, on this earth, only hear God's excellent name, and praise that, the angels and blessed spirits above see his glory, and praise that, and yet he is exalted far above even their blessing and praise. (3.) In the exaltation of the Lord Jesus to the right hand of God, who is the brightness of his Father's glory and the express image of his person, God set his glory above the heavens, far above all principalities and powers.
II. How powerfully he proclaims it by the weakest of his creatures (Ps 8:2): Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength, or perfected praise, the praise of thy strength, Mt 21:16. This intimates the glory of God, 1. In the kingdom of nature. The care God takes of little children (when they first come into the world the most helpless of all animals), the special protection they are under, and the provision nature has made for them, ought to be acknowledged by every one of us, to the glory of God, as a great instance of his power and goodness, and the more sensibly because we have all had the benefit of it, for to this we owe it that we died not from the womb, that the knees then prevented us, and the breasts, that we should suck. "This is such an instance of thy goodness, as may for ever put to silence the enemies of thy glory, who say, There is no God." 2. In the kingdom of Providence. In the government of this lower world he makes use of the children of men, some that know him and others that do not (Isa 45:4), and these such as have been babes and sucklings; nay, sometimes he is pleased to serve his own purposes by the ministry of such as are still, in wisdom and strength, little better than babes and sucklings. 3. In the kingdom of grace, the kingdom of the Messiah. It is here foretold that by the apostles, who were looked upon but as babes, unlearned and ignorant men (Ac 4:13), mean and despicable, and by the foolishness of their preaching, the devil's kingdom should be thrown down as Jericho's walls were by the sound of rams' horns. The gospel is called the arm of the Lord and the rod of his strength; this was ordained to work wonders, not out of the mouth of philosophers or orators, politicians or statesmen, but of a company of poor fishermen, who lay under the greatest external disadvantages; yea, we hear children crying, Hosanna to the Son of David, when the chief priests and Pharisees owned him not, but despised and rejected him; to that therefore our Saviour applied this (Mt 21:16) and by it stilled the enemy. Sometimes the grace of God appears wonderfully in young children, and he teaches those knowledge, and makes those to understand doctrine, who are but newly weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts, Isa 28:9. Sometimes the power of God brings to pass great things in his church by very weak and unlikely instruments, and confounds the noble, wise, and mighty, by the base, and weak, and foolish things of the world, that no flesh may glory in his presence, but the excellency of the power may the more evidently appear to be of God, and not of man, 1Co 1:27,28. This he does because of his enemies, because they are insolent and haughty, that he may still them, may put them to silence, and put them to shame, and so be justly avenged on the avengers; see Ac 4:14,6:10. The devil is the great enemy and avenger, and by the preaching of the gospel he was in a great measure stilled, his oracles were silenced, the advocates of his cause were confounded, and unclean spirits themselves were not suffered to speak.
In singing this let us give God the glory of his great name, and of the great things he has done by the power of his gospel, in the chariot of which the exalted Redeemer rides forth conquering and to conquer, and ought to be attended, not only with our praises, but with our best wishes. Praise is perfected (that is, God is in the highest degree glorified) when strength is ordained out of the mouth of babes and sucklings.
3-9
Condescension of God
简体中文
神的降卑眷顾
³ 我观看你指头所造的天，你所陈设的月亮星宿，
⁴ 便说：人算什么，你竟顾念他？世人算什么，你竟眷顾他？
⁵ 你叫他比 天使微小一点，并赐他荣耀尊贵为冠冕。
⁶ 你派他管理你手所造的；你使万物都服在他的脚下：
⁷ 就是一切的牛羊、田野的走兽，
⁸ 空中的飞鸟、海里的鱼，凡经行海道的，都服在他的脚下。
⁹ 耶和华我们的主啊，你的名在全地何其美！
大卫在此继续借着数算 神加在人身（尤其是基督耶稣这人身上）的尊荣，来高举 神的尊荣。属神恩典的降卑眷顾，正与属神荣耀的提升高举一样，都呼召我们献上赞美。诗人以惊奇与感恩之心，在此留意到 神何等降卑眷顾人，并将这事陈明在我们心思中。请看：
一、是什么引他赞叹 神对人的降卑眷顾；那就是他对天上星体之光辉与影响的思考，这些是感官所能看见的（诗8:3）：「我观看你的天」，并特别留意那里的「月亮星宿」。但他为何不提到太阳，它岂不超过这一切？也许因为那是一次夜间的散步，在月光之下，他借这默想自娱自学；那时日头不在视线之内，只有月亮星宿——这些虽然对人不若日头那样有用，却同样是造物主智慧、能力、良善的明证。请注意：1. 思念天乃是我们的本分。我们看见天，不能不见。人借这一点——除别的事之外——与畜类有别：畜类被造低头望地，人却被造直立，仰望向天。「他赐人向上的面容，又命他仰望诸天」，好叫人由此受引导，将心志系在上面的事上；因为我们所见的，若不经思考，并不能对我们发生当有的影响。2. 我们当常以天为 神的天，不仅因为全世界——连地和其中所充满的——都是他的，更是因一种特殊的意味。「天，就是天，是耶和华的」（诗115:16）；那是他荣耀居住之所，我们受教称他为「我们在天上的父」。3. 它们「所以」是他的，因为是「他指头所造的」。他造了它们；他轻易地造了它们。铺张诸天不需伸出的膀臂；这事以一句话而成；不过是「他指头所作的工」。他以极大的精细优美造了它们，如匠人用指头所作的一件精巧作品。4. 连次要的光体——月亮星宿——也显出众光之父的荣耀与大能，并为我们提供赞美的题材。5. 天体不仅是属神大能的受造之物，更服在属神的治理之下。 神不仅造了它们，更「陈设」了它们，而天上所定的规律永不能改。但这如何在此用来高举 神对人的恩惠呢？（1）当我们想到 神的荣耀在上面的世界中何等发光，我们便大有理由希奇，他竟然留意到人这样卑微的受造之物；那位居住在受造之物中光明有福的那一部分、并治理它的，竟然自卑俯察世上所作的事；见诗113:5-6。（2）当我们想到天对地上的人有何等大的用处，并且天上的光体「分给万民」（申4:19；创1:15），我们便大可以说：「主啊，人算什么，你竟然顾念他，并以他为念、为着他的益处而立定天上的规律，并在造天上的光体、引导其运行之时，如此顾念他的安慰与便利！」
二、他如何表达这种赞叹（诗8:4）：「主啊，人算什么」（原文是脆弱、可悲的人，这样一位忘记了你、又忘记了对你的本分的受造之物），「你竟顾念他」——你竟然留意到他，留意到他的作为与事务，并在造世界之时竟以他为念！「世人算什么，你竟眷顾他」——你不仅与他一同别的受造之物一般地养活他、给他穿衣、保护他、为他预备，更如朋友访问朋友一般眷顾他，乐于与他相交，又为他费心！「人算什么——如此卑微的受造之物——竟这样得着尊荣；人算什么——如此有罪的受造之物——竟这样蒙恩宠、得眷顾！」这话所指：
-
总体上指人类。人虽是虫，世人虽是虫（伯25:6）， 神却尊重他，向他大施恩慈；人在下方这个世界一切受造之物之上，是护理的宠儿与至爱。因为：（1）他在受造之物中乃属于极其尊贵的等次。我们可以确信，他在下方世界一切居民之先，因为他被造得只比「天使微小一点」（诗8:5）——实在微小，因为借身体他与地和那必朽的畜类相联；却借灵魂——那是属灵而不朽的——他与圣天使如此亲近，以致可以真实地说，他只比他们「微小一点」，并且在次序上仅次于他们。他比天使微小，不过「片时」——他那伟大的灵魂被关闭在泥屋之中；但复活之子要「和天使一样」（路20:36），不再微小。（2）他被赋予高尚的官能与才能：「你赐他荣耀尊贵为冠冕」。赐他存在的那位，使他与众不同，并使他有资格治理下方的受造之物；因为他既使他「比地上的走兽、空中的飞鸟更有智慧」（伯35:11），便使他适于治理它们，它们也当被他治理。人的理性是他荣耀的冠冕；不要因乱用而亵渎这冠冕，也不要因违背其指引而失丧这冠冕。（3）他被授以在 神之下对下方受造之物的主权治理，被立为它们的主。造它们、认识它们、它们本属他的那一位，已经「派人管理它们」（诗8:6）。他持守这主权的特许状，与他的受造同日期（创1:28），并在洪水之后又得更新（创9:2）。 神已将万物服在人脚下，使他不仅可以借下方受造之物的劳力，更可借它们的产物和生命来服事自己；它们都交在他手中，不，都「服在他脚下」。他列举了一些下方的动物（诗8:7-8），不仅有「牛羊」——人照顾并为它们预备的，还有「田野的走兽」，以及那些与人相距甚远的受造之物——如「空中的飞鸟」，甚至「海里的鱼」——它们生活在另一个元素之中，并经行海道，人眼看不见。人有方法捕捉这些；它们中虽有许多比他更强壮，有许多比他更迅速，他却能这样那样地胜过它们（雅3:7）：「各类的走兽、飞禽、昆虫、海里的活物，已经制伏，并且已经制伏了。」他也有自由随需用而使用它们。「起来，彼得，宰了吃」（徒10:13）。我们每次吃鱼或吃禽，就实证了人对 神手所作之工的这种治理权；这是我们顺服我们的主、我们的元首 神，并顺服他对我们的治理的一个理由。
-
但这话特别指着耶稣基督。我们受教以此解释他（来2:6-8），在那里使徒为证明基督在天上地上的主权治理，表明他就是这里所说的那人、那人子， 神已经「赐他荣耀尊贵为冠冕」，并使他「管理你手所造的」。可以确定，人类所曾得的最大恩惠、人性所曾受的最大尊荣，都在主耶稣的道成肉身与升高中得以显明；这些远远超过创造与护理所向我们行的恩惠与尊荣——尽管那些也是大的，并且远超过我们所配得的。我们有理由借此谦卑地看重自己，并感恩地赞叹 神在其中的恩典：（1）耶稣基督取了人的本性，并在那本性中自卑。他成了「人子」，有分于血肉之体；既如此， 神「眷顾」他——有人将此应用在他为我们受苦之上，因为经上记着（来2:9）：「因为受死的苦」，那是一次在怒中的眷顾，他就「得了荣耀尊贵为冠冕」。 神眷顾他；既将我们众人的罪孽都归在他身上，便为此与他算账，用杖、用鞭击打他访问他，使我们借这些鞭伤得医治。他「暂时」（使徒如此解）比天使微小，当他取了奴仆的形像、使自己毫无名声之时。（2）他在那本性中被高举为万有之主。 神父高举他，因为他自卑了，赐他「荣耀尊贵为冠冕」——就是他在未有世界以先与他同有的荣耀，立他不仅作「教会之首」，更作「万有之首，为着教会」，并将万有交在他手中，托付他与恩典之国相联、并服于其下地执行护理之国的治理。一切受造之物都服在他脚下；甚至在他肉身的日子，他也对它们显出了一些他大能的样本，如他吩咐风和海，又指定一条鱼缴纳他的丁税。因此，诗人有充足的理由如此结束，正如他开始时那样：「主啊，你的名在全地何其美」——这名因救赎主的同在得着尊荣，至今仍因他的福音得着光照，并因他的智慧与大能得着治理！
我们唱这篇诗、并以之为祷告之时，虽不可忘记存合宜的情感承认 神对人类普遍的恩惠，尤其是下方受造之物对我们的服事，更当专心将荣耀归给我们的主耶稣，承认他是主，顺服他作我们的主，并等候直到我们看见万物都服在他脚下，他一切的仇敌都作他的脚凳。
bản gốc tiếng anh
Condescension of God
³ When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
⁴ What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
⁵ For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
⁶ Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
⁷ All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
⁸ The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
⁹ O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
David here goes on to magnify the honour of God by recounting the honours he has put upon man, especially the man Christ Jesus. The condescensions of the divine grace call for our praises as much as the elevations of the divine glory. How God has condescended in favour to man the psalmist here observes with wonder and thankfulness, and recommends it to our thoughts. See here,
I. What it is that leads him to admire the condescending favour of God to man; it is his consideration of the lustre and influence of the heavenly bodies, which are within the view of sense (Ps 8:3): I consider thy heavens, and there, particularly, the moon and the stars. But why does he not take notice of the sun, which much excels them all? Probably because it was in a night-walk, but moon-light, that he entertained and instructed himself with this meditation, when the sun was not within view, but only the moon and the stars, which, though they are not altogether so serviceable to man as the sun is, yet are no less demonstrations of the wisdom, power, and goodness of the Creator. Observe, 1. It is our duty to consider the heavens. We see them, we cannot but see them. By this, among other things, man is distinguished from the beasts, that, while they are so framed as to look downwards to the earth, man is made erect to look upwards towards heaven. Os homini sublime dedit, coelumque tueri jussit—To man he gave an erect countenance, and bade him gaze on the heavens, that thus he may be directed to set his affections on things above; for what we see has not its due influence upon us unless we consider it. 2. We must always consider the heavens as God's heavens, not only as all the world is his, even the earth and the fulness thereof, but in a more peculiar manner. The heavens, even the heavens, are the Lord's (Ps 115:16); they are the place of the residence of his glory and we are taught to call him Our Father in heaven. 3. They are therefore his, because they are the work of his fingers. He made them; he made them easily. The stretching out of the heavens needed not any outstretched arm; it was done with a word; it was but the work of his fingers. He made them with very great curiosity and fineness, like a nice piece of work which the artist makes with his fingers. 4. Even the inferior lights, the moon and stars, show the glory and power of the Father of lights, and furnish us with matter for praise. 5. The heavenly bodies are not only the creatures of the divine power, but subject to the divine government. God not only made them, but ordained them, and the ordinances of heaven can never be altered. But how does this come in here to magnify God's favour to man? (1.) When we consider how the glory of God shines in the upper world we may well wonder that he should take cognizance of such a mean creature as man, that he who resides in that bright and blessed part of the creation, and governs it, should humble himself to behold the things done upon this earth; see Ps 113:5,6. (2.) When we consider of what great use the heavens are to men on earth, and how the lights of heavens are divided unto all nations (De 4:19, Ge 1:15), we may well say, "Lord, what is man that thou shouldst settle the ordinances of heaven with an eye to him and to his benefit, and that his comfort and convenience should be so consulted in the making of the lights of heaven and directing their motions!"
II. How he expresses this admiration (Ps 8:4): "Lord, what is man (enosh, sinful, weak, miserable man, a creature so forgetful of thee and his duty to thee) that thou art thus mindful of him, that thou takest cognizance of him and of his actions and affairs, that in the making of the world thou hadst a respect to him! What is the son of man, that thou visitest him, that thou not only feedest him and clothest him, protectest him and providest for him, in common with other creatures, but visited him as one friend visits another, art pleased to converse with him and concern thyself for him! What is man—(so mean a creature), that he should be thus honoured—(so sinful a creature), that he should be thus countenanced and favoured!" Now this refers,
1. To mankind in general. Though man is a worm, and the son of man is a worm (Job 25:6), yet God puts a respect upon him, and shows him abundance of kindness; man is, above all the creatures in this lower world, the favourite and darling of Providence. For, (1.) He is of a very honourable rank of beings. We may be sure he takes precedence of all the inhabitants of this lower world, for he is made but a little lower than the angels (Ps 8:5), lower indeed, because by his body he is allied to the earth and to the beasts that perish, and yet by his soul, which is spiritual and immortal, he is so near akin to the holy angels that he may be truly said to be but a little lower than they, and is, in order, next to them. He is but for a little while lower than the angels, while his great soul is cooped up in a house of clay, but the children of the resurrection shall be isangeloi—angels' peers (Lu 20:36) and no longer lower than they. (2.) He is endued with noble faculties and capacities: Thou hast crowned him with glory and honour. He that gave him his being has distinguished him, and qualified him for a dominion over the inferior creatures; for, having made him wiser than the beasts of the earth and the fowls of heaven (Job 35:11), he has made him fit to rule them and it is fit that they should be ruled by him. Man's reason is his crown of glory; let him not profane that crown by disturbing the use of it nor forfeit that crown by acting contrary to its dictates. (3.) He is invested with a sovereign dominion over the inferior creatures, under God, and is constituted their lord. He that made them, and knows them, and whose own they are, has made man to have dominion over them, Ps 8:6. His charter, by which he holds this royalty, bears equal date with his creation (Ge 1:28) and was renewed after the flood, Ge 9:2. God has put all things under man's feet, that he might serve himself, 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 put under his feet. He specifies some of the inferior animals (Ps 8:7,8), not only sheep and oxen, which man takes care of and provides for, but the beasts of the field, as well as those of the flood, yea, and those creatures which are most at a distance from man, as the fowl of the air, yea, and the fish of the sea, 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, Jam 3:7. Every kind of beasts, and birds, and things in the sea, is tamed, and has been tamed. He has likewise liberty to use them as he has occasion. Rise, Peter, kill and eat, Ac 10:13. 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.
2. But this refers, in a particular manner, to Jesus Christ. Of him we are taught to expound it, Heb 2:6-8, 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 has crowned with glory and honour and made to have dominion over the works of his hands. 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 Son of man, a partaker of flesh and blood; being so, God visited him, which some apply to his sufferings for us, for it is said (Heb 2:9), For the suffering of death, a visitation in wrath, he was crowned with glory and honour. 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, for a little while (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, crowned him with glory and honour, the glory which he had with him before the worlds were, set not only the head of the church, but head over all things to the church, 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, Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth, which has been honoured with the presence of the Redeemer, and is still enlightened by his gospel and governed by his wisdom and power!
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.
本篇是对神之荣耀与伟大的庄严默想与赞叹,我们众人都当如此崇高而敬重地思量。它以同样的承认——神的名在全地何其美——开始与结束。它提出作为论证(诗8:1)神的名在全地何其美,然后作为已证之理再重复(附一「此即所当证者」)于(诗8:9)。为证神的荣耀,诗人列举他对人的良善之实例;因神的良善便是他的荣耀。神当得荣耀:一、因他将自己与其大名向我们显明(诗8:1);二、因他使用人子中最软弱的,借他们成就自己的旨意(诗8:2);三、因他使天体也成为对人有用(诗8:3,4);四、因他使人掌管这下界受造之物,借此使人只比天使微小一点(诗8:5-8)。本篇在新约中应用于基督与他所成就的我们救赎之工——既是人子向他致的尊荣(诗8:2;太21:16),也是他赐给人子的尊荣——在降卑中被造得比天使微小一点,在升高中被加荣耀尊贵为冠冕。可比照(诗8:5,6;来2:6-8;林前15:27)。我们观察神在自然与护理国度中的荣耀时,当由此被引,并经过它,而默想他在恩典国度中的荣耀。