Verse 9. - O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy Name in all the earth! The psalmist ends as he began, with excellent poetic effect, and in a spirit of intense piety. Some think that he saw in vision the complete subjugation of the whole earth to man in such sort as will only be accomplished in the "new heavens and new earth," in which Christ shall reign visibly over his people. But his words are not beyond those which are natural to one of warm poetic temperament and deep natural piety, looking out upon the world and upon man as they existed in his day. Inspiration, of which we know so little, may perhaps have guided him to the choice of words and phrases peculiarly applicable to "the Ideal of man's nature and true Representative, Christ;" and hence the many references to this psalm in the New Testament (Matthew 21:16; 1 Corinthians 15:25-28; Hebrews 2:6-8), and in this sense the psalm may be Messianic; but it is certainly not one of those, like Psalm 2. and Psalm 22, where the author consciously spoke of another time than his own, and of a Personage whom he knew only by faith. (For other examples of the recurrence at the end of a psalm of the idea wherewith it commenced, see Psalm 20:1-9; Psalm 46:1-11; Psalm 70:1-5; Psalm 103:1-22; Psalm 118:1-29; and the "Hallelujah psalms:" Psalm 106:1-48; Psalm 113:1-9; Psalm 117:1, 2; Psalm 125:1-21; 146-150.)

8:3-9 We are to consider the heavens, that man thus may be directed to set his affections on things above. What is man, so mean a creature, that he should be thus honoured! so sinful a creature, that he should be thus favoured! Man has sovereign dominion over the inferior creatures, under God, and is appointed their lord. This refers to Christ. In Heb 2:6-8, the apostle, to prove the sovereign dominion of Christ, shows he is that Man, that Son of man, here spoken of, whom God has made to have dominion over the works of his hands. The greatest favour ever showed to the human race, and the greatest honour ever put upon human nature, were exemplified in the Lord Jesus. With good reason 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! What words can reach his praises, who has a right to our obedience as our Redeemer?O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! The psalm ends with the same words with which it begins; which shows that the sense of this, with which the psalmist was affected, continued with him, and doubtless increased, after such a confirmation of it, by the instances he was led to take notice of. See Gill on Psalm 8:1.