God's glory is magnified by his works and by his love to man, 1-9.
1 [To the Chief Musician upon Gittith. A Psalm of David.]
O Yahweh our Lord,/
how excellent your name is in all the earth!/
You have set your glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants you have ordained strength/
because of your enemies,/
so that you might still the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,/
the moon and the stars, which you have ordained,
4 What is man that you are mindful of him,/
and the son of man that you visit him?
5 For you have made him a little lower than the angels/
and have crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of your hands./
You have put all things under his feet:
7 All sheep and oxen/
and even the beasts of the field,
8 The bird of the air, the fish of the sea,/
and whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
9 O Yahweh our Lord,/
how excellent your name is in all the earth!
Matthew Henry Commentary - Psalms, Chapter 8[➚]
John Calvin's Chapter Summary:
David, reflecting upon God's fatherly beneficence towards mankind, is not content with simply giving thanks for it, but is enraptured by the contemplation of it.
[v.2] - Quoted in Matthew 21:16.
[v.3-4] - From John Calvin's Commentary: "Whatever estimable quality we see in ourselves, let it stir us up to celebrate the free and undeserved goodness of God in bestowing it upon us."
[v.4a] - Quoted in Hebrews 2:6. Reference, Job 7:17; Psalm 144:3.
[v.4b] - See the note for 2nd Samuel 9:8.
[v.5] - Quoted in Hebrews 2:7.
[v.6] - Quoted in 1st Corinthians 15:27; Hebrews 2:7-8.
[v.7-9] - From John Calvin's Commentary: "David here confines his attention to God's temporal benefits, but it is our duty to rise higher, and to contemplate the invaluable treasures of the kingdom of heaven which he has unfolded in Christ, and all the gifts which belong to the spiritual life, that by reflecting upon these our hearts may be inflamed with love to God, that we may be stirred up to the practice of godliness, and that we may not [allow] ourselves to become slothful and remiss in celebrating his praises."