Psalm 8 is not only one of the most beautiful of the psalms, but also one of the most enigmatic. At first, it sings of God’s supreme majesty and the lowliness of human beings by comparison. Then it shifts direction, celebrating human glory, before returning once more to a paean in praise of God.

It opens with praise of God:

O Lord, our Lord, how glorious is Your name throughout the earth; You have covered the heavens with Your splendor. (Verse 2)

It then contrasts this divine grandeur with the frailty of humanity:

What is man that You are mindful of him; the son of man that You take note of him? (Verse 5)

Only then does the psalm reverse course and declare humanity’s elevated status:

Yet You have made him but a little less than divine and adorned him with glory and majesty; You have made him master over Your handiwork… (Verses 6–7)

Finally, it closes as it began, with a paean to God:

O Lord, our Lord, how glorious is Your name throughout the earth! (Verse 10)

The message of the psalm would seem to be that while God’s glory towers over all creation, God has nevertheless raised human beings from their........

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