1For the choirmaster. According to Gittith. A Psalm of David. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens.2From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise on account of Your adversaries, to silence the enemy and avenger.3When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place—4what is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him?5You made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor.6You made him ruler of the works of Your hands; You have placed everything under his feet:7all sheep and oxen, and even the beasts of the field,8the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.9O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!
What’s happening. A psalm of David, probably written looking up at the night sky. It praises God’s majesty in creation.
What it means. Next to the vastness of the heavens, human beings look tiny. Yet God cares for us and has crowned us with glory and honour. The psalm holds both together: we are small, and we are loved and given great dignity. Hebrews 2 applies these words to Jesus, the true human.