What Is Man? Crowned with Glory (Psalm 8) | Matthew Poole

Deep Dive into Matthew Poole’s Commentary on the Holy Bible, Volumes 1–3 - Psalm 8Matthew Poole's commentary on Psalm 8 explores David's celebration of God's majesty, providence, and profound love for mankind. While the psalm contemplates humanity in general, Poole emphasizes that its principal subject is Jesus Christ and the great work of redemption.The psalm begins by praising God's excellent name across all the earth, which Poole connects to the spread of the gospel beyond Israel to all nations during the New Testament era. God's glory is further revealed through babes and sucklings. While this can literally refer to the miracle of infants' preservation, Poole suggests it metaphorically represents the seemingly weak and humble followers of Christ, such as the apostles. By using these ordinary individuals to spread the gospel, God establishes an invincible kingdom that confounds and silences his ultimate enemy, the devil, along with all his worldly followers.David then contrasts the immense glory of the heavens, the moon, and the stars, exquisitely crafted by God's own fingers, with the lowly state of humanity. Poole notes that the contemplative question regarding why God is mindful of man refers to humanity's fallen, sinful, and miserable condition rather than its original created state. Despite man's apostasy, God mercifully visits him with grace.The commentary resolves the tension between humanity's lowliness and its crowning with glory by pointing directly to Christ. Acting as humanity's head and representative, Christ temporarily lowered himself below the angels to share in man's mortal nature. Through this act of redemption, he restored fallen humanity and was subsequently crowned with supreme honor. Consequently, God granted Christ universal dominion, subjugating all things under his feet. This absolute authority encompasses not only the beasts of the earth, fowls of the air, and fish of the sea, but extends comprehensively to all men and angels.Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologianYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@ReformedExplainerSpotify Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1t5dz4vEgvHqUknYQfwpRI?si=e-tDRFR2Qf6By1sAcMdkdwhttps://buymeacoffee.com/edi2730