Psalms 8:6

Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands,.... All power in heaven and in earth being given to him: when he was raised from the dead, and when he ascended on high, and was set down

Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands - alluding to Genesis 1:26; Genesis

Thou didst give all power and all things into his hands, . Thou hast put all things, both in heaven, where are the angels mentioned , and in the earth, air, and sea, as it follows; for nothing is excepted besides God, ,27 Hebrews 2:8. Under his feet, i.e. made them subject to him, as this phrase oft signifies. See 110:1.

Psalms 8:6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all [things] under his feet:Ver. 6. Thou madest him to have dominion, &c.] He had so at first, Genesis 1:26, shall have again, Zechariah 8:12 Revelation 21:7; meanwhile (though Rebellis facta est creatura homnini, quia homo numini, the creature rebelleth against man, because man doth against God; yet) we cannot but see some footsteps remaining of that ancient sovereignty, which the very heathens also acknowledged, and therehence fetched excellent arguments for a providence (Cicero, Plutarch, Ennius). Lions hate apes, but tear men; though Simia quam similis, turpissima bestia, nobis. Hereof no probable reason be given but this, that God hath put all things under man’ s feet; insomuch as that the most timorous men dare kick and beat the largest elephants. Indeed, by reason of sin, as was said, we see not all things subdued, Hebrews 12:8. But why hath Nature denied to horses, asses, camels, elephants, deer, &c., a gall, which it hath given to lions, wolves, and other fierce creatures? (Bodin. Theat. Nat. p. 405). Surely herein appeareth the wonderful wisdom and goodness of God, who hath done this, that those so serviceable creatures might be the better tamed and subdued by man. Let man consider (saith one well) what excellency he hath lost through Adam’ s fall, and bewail his misery. Let him also, on the other side, well weigh the grace bestowed on him in Christ, and be joyful and thankful for mercy; knowing this, that if the creatures be not now subjected unto us, it is by reason of the body and relics of sin that yet remain in us; and that therefore if we would have a conquest over the creatures, we must begin first to get a victory upon sin, or else we shall never profit that way. Thou hast put all things under his feet] The earth hath its name from treading upon it, Terra a terendo, teaching us, 1. To trample upon earthly things, as base and bootless; not to dote upon them without hearts, nor grasp them over greedily with our hands; as that covetous Cardinal Sylberperger, who took so great felicity in money, that when he was grievously tormented with the gout, his only remedy to ease his pain was, to have a bason full of gold set before him, into which he would put his lame hands, turning the gold upside down. But if silver and gold be a man’ s happiness, then it is in the earth, and so (which is strange) nearer hell than heaven, and so nearer the devil than God. The ancient Romans had for a difference in their nobility, a little ornament in the form of a moon, to show that all worldly things were mutable; and they wore it upon their shoes, to show that they trod all under their feet. 2.

(6) The poet continues, in a rapturous strain, to complete the cycle of animated nature, and to describe man’s kingship over all other created beings. For St. Paul’s expansion of the thought, and elevation of it into yet a higher sphere, see 1 Corinthians 15:27.

Verse 6. Thou madest him to have dominion] Jesus Christ, who, being in the form of God, and equal with God, for a time emptied himself, and made himself of no reputation; was afterwards highly exalted, and had a name above every name. See the notes referred to above, and those on Philippians 2:6-9. Thou hast put all things under his feet] Though the whole of the brute creation was made subject to Adam in his state of innocence; yet it could never be literally said of him, that God had put all things under his feet, or that he had dominion over the work of God's hands; but all this is most literally true of our Lord Jesus; and to him the apostle, Hebrews 2:6, &c., applies all these passages.

6. Again a reference to Genesis 1:26; Genesis 1:28. ‘Thou hast put all things under his feet’ reads like a paraphrase of the word there rendered ‘let them have dominion,’ which means primarily ‘to tread under foot,’ and thence ‘to rule.’ On St Paul’s application of the words in 1 Corinthians 15:27 see above.

Thou madest him to have dominion - Thou didst cause him to have, or didst give him this dominion.

6. Dominion—A strictly regal prerogative, belonging not to angels, but is part of God’s image in man. Works of thy hands—A Hebraism for thy works. All things under his feet—In complete subjection to him.