Psalm 8:6-8 You made him to have dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet: This Psalm is stamped with a worldwide breadth; it is of no nation, it is of all time; it shines with a light transcending that of mere human genius. We are brought face to face with these three — nature, man, and God. Here is no picture drawn from nature. This description — "Thou hast put all things under his feet" — does not, as a matter of fact, describe man's present position on the globe. All things are not put under him. He does not reign over nature, he wrestles with nature. The Psalmist is not using here the language of prophetic inspiration. He is looking back to the primitive glory, the primeval character of man as it is written upon the very first page of this book. The Bible grasps so firmly the unseen future, just because it plants its foot so strongly upon the past. Human nature did not crawl up from sentient slime; man was born with the likeness of his Father shining out from his very countenance, able to converse with God, and to render intelligent and loving obedience to God. Turn to the New Testament Scriptures. A new light, a new glory, suddenly breaks forth from them. "We see Jesus...crowned with glory and honour." In Scripture there is but one Divine right, and that is God's own right. "His Kingdom ruleth over all." This authority is the inherent, eternal right of God in the very nature of things. Is it impossible to transfer it? Is it conceivable that the Almighty God should give His glory to another? Jesus said, "All authority is given to Me in heaven and in earth." In the days of His humiliation, our Saviour constantly exercised four kinds of authority — the authority to forgive sin; the authority to declare truth; the authority to rule nature; and the authority, over human hearts and consciences — the claim of universal and absolute obedience and faith. These four are in close and inseparable moral unity. (E. R. Conder, D. D.). Parallel Verses KJV: Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:WEB: You make him ruler over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet: |
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