Chapter 9—Psalm 8 Concluded
"On His head were many crowns" or diadems (Rev. 19:12). These words form part of the description of the Lord Jesus as John in vision saw Him, and as earth will one day behold Him, when arrayed in all the insignia of power with which His Father has invested Him; for no one crown, nor any one title, however exalted, can express all the dignities and the glories which belong to Him.
We learn that John saw seven diadems on the dragon's head (Rev. 12:3), and ten diadems on the beast's horns (Rev. 13:1); but these, while attempting to rival in power and glory God's King, fall short surely, even in number, of the glories which He has conferred on His Son. What the dragon and the beast possessed could be counted, but the glories and dignities which belong to Christ are unnumbered. John tells us He will wear many diadems; and we must add, He is worthy of them all.
In the Psalms already looked at, one of the glories which belongs to Him, that of Messiah, King of Israel, has been considered. In the Psalm before us we have another glory presented, which is His as Son of man; for the names by which He is known are not mere verbal designations or empty titles, but each expresses something definite and distinctive. Christ, Lord, King, Son of man-these are some of His titles in connection with His supremacy. "The Christ," that is, the anointed One, connects Him with God's people, whether the earthly, Israel, of whom He is King, or a heavenly company, the church, of which He is the Head (Eph. 5:23). "Lord" brings to our minds His relation to all intelligent creatures, whether unfallen, saved, or lost (Phil. 2:10-11). "King of Kings" denotes His superiority to all rulers among men; and "Son of man" tells of His headship over the universe, animate and inanimate.
At times in the world's history we have shadowed forth in certain people, placed in authority upon earth, something of the different official positions to be filled, and the dignities to be enjoyed by the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, David and Solomon were anointed kings over all Israel. Nebuchadnezzar, the head of gold, was a king of kings (Dan. 2:37). Adam was head over all creatures upon this globe; but Adam was neither anointed like David, nor a king of kings like Nebuchadnezzar. In the Lord however, all these glories and offices meet. He will be seen to be what each of the above mentioned was, and all will be centered in His Person, of whom they were in this respect but shadows.
Again, to these three, and to three only, has God ever given dominion over the animals and men; namely, to Nebuchadnezzar, to Adam, and to the Lord Jesus Christ. Alike in this, they stand out, however, each one different from the other two. To Nebuchadnezzar God gave dominion over earth and air, for wherever the children of men dwelt, the beasts of the field and the fowls of heaven were given into his hand (Dan. 2:38), and he was made ruler over them all. With him was set up something new-the image which still stands. As head of it this Gentile monarch had this remarkable place in creation, connected, it would seem, with headship on earth. But great and remarkable as was the dominion given to Nebuchadnezzar, far exceeding that which any other monarch involved in Adam's fall has, or will enjoy, it was, compared with what God gave to Adam, restricted in extent, and limited in duration, though not conditional for its continuance throughout its allotted time on the obedience of the proud builder of Babylon (Jer. 25:11-12; 27:6-7).
To Adam in the garden the Lord God gave the place of head over earth, air, and sea; for, besides earth and air, he had dominion over all in the sea (Gen. 1:28). Unrestricted therefore in extent, as regards earth, it was unlimited also as to duration, though conditional for its continuance (as it afterward appeared) on his personal obedience to God's command. He fell, and no man after him has ever held such a place in creation as he, while in innocence, filled. For what Gen. 1:28 describes is not the position given to men in relation to the rest of created things upon this globe, but the special sphere accorded to Adam as head of this creation, "the figure of Him that was to come" (Rom. 5:14). A comparison of what God said to Adam, with His word to Noah and his sons after the flood, confirms this. Adam was to have dominion over all creatures, while for Noah and his son, their fear was only to be placed on all animals on earth, in air, and sea; for we miss in the divine communication to the patriarch and his sons the important words "and subdue it," part of the terms of the conveyance of supremacy over earth bestowed on our forefather Adam (Gen. 1:28; 9:2). Now, had the words addressed to Adam been intended for men after him, there would have been no need for Daniel to tell Nebuchadnezzar that the beasts and birds were given into his hand; no, the prophet's communication would have been an insult to the king, as limiting man's dominion where God had not restricted it, for Daniel mentions nothing about the sea. Adam's place then in creation was peculiar to himself, which, when lost through the fall, none of his descendants could regain.
But since Adam enjoyed his place by virtue of a grant from God, and Nebuchadnezzar was invested with dominion by a fresh exercise of the divine prerogative, the Son of man has been appointed to wield the scepter throughout the universe by a deed of the same validity-God's sovereign will recorded in the written Word. And though the simple exercise of the divine prerogative announced to the individual, as in the cases of Adam and Nebuchadnezzar, without any written communication about it, must always have been a sufficient warrant to fill the office of head on earth, God has been pleased to reveal for the instruction of His people and of the world, His counsels concerning the Son of man, that all may learn from Him who is the One whom He delights to honor.
Comparing the grant to the Lord as Son of man with those given respectively to Adam and to Nebuchadnezzar, while it has something in common with each, it differs from both. It is unrestricted and unlimited; in this it resembles that given to Adam. But it is also unconditional as to its continuance, and in this it resembles that given to the head of gold, for the Son of man is to be set over all creation, without limitation as to time, or conditions as to continuance.
Thus, as we pass each type in review, we have to say that the antitype far exceeds each and all in glory and greatness. David and Solomon reigned over all Israel. This the Lord will do; but they never bore the title of King of kings. Again, Nebuchadnezzar could boast of a title sanctioned by God, which Adam had not; but he must yield precedence to Adam in respect of the extent of his dominion on this earth. And Adam, who had a place which no fallen man had or will have, must give way before the Lord Jesus, when the greatness of their respective positions in the universe is compared; for, by the light of the New Testament we, learn to read aright and to give its full value to the statement of the psalmist-"Thou hast put all things under His feet."
Of the Lord then the Psalm speaks, and of Him alone; for whereas Adam could only boast of a supremacy resembling that herein described, though man, he was not the Son of man; and during the time he held his place as head of creation on earth, he could not have understood such a term. Thus, apart from the New Testament scriptures, we can see that David was not writing of Adam, nor of the race in general; but with the New Testament writings before us we are taught to put a definite meaning on the language he used, and to discern a dominion and supremacy here hinted at, the extent of which he was surely ignorant of, as he sang, "Thou madest Him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under His feet."
Psalm 8 is clearly a millennial Psalm, and brings before us Israel lost in wonder as they behold the development of God's counsels and the display of His wisdom in thus exalting the Son of man. "0 LORD our Lord, how excellent [glorious] is Thy name in all the earth! who hast set Thy glory above the heavens." The heaven of heavens cannot contain God, as Solomon at a later date declared, yet God deigns to make this small globe-earth-the theater for the display of His wisdom and power; and man, whose normal sphere is earth, He will place in the Person of the Christ over all created things, the hierarchy of heaven included. In connection with this two points are specially brought up; namely, the principle on which God acts, and the great manifestation of it.
The principle on which He acts is this: He uses instruments, humanly speaking, inadequate to effect His mighty purposes in creation. Thus His wisdom and power are both displayed. Were He to act directly, in the greatness of His might, without the agency of any creature, all would behold His power, but His wisdom might not be developed. But He acts in wisdom as well as in power; for, taking up the feeblest creatures and adapting them as instruments for the work that He has in hand, He thereby shows His knowledge of the suitability of the instrument, and His power in rightly making use of it. This He has done and will do. The Psalm (v. 2) speaks of the principle on which He acts, and the little children in the temple at Jerusalem were an illustration of it (Matt. 21:16). He can and does use the feeblest creatures to effect His purpose of stilling the enemy and the avenger. "Our Lord," the remnant will say, acts thus; and the thoughts of their hearts have been prophetically announced, that souls, till the day of Christ's glory arrives, may be led to trust in God. Then the principle enunciated will receive its full and final manifestation by the Son of man, as set over the works of God's hands, destroying all God's enemies.
This leads to the second point. Comparing man, as a creature, with the orbs of heaven, his insignificance and weakness become apparent, and the psalmist might well say, "What is man [Enosh, mortal man], that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man [Adam], that Thou visitest Him?
For Thou hast made Him a little lower than the angels [gods], and hast crowned Him with glory and honor." Heb. 2:8 makes plain to whom these words are to be applied, pointing out at the same time, how far the Psalm has yet received its fulfillment. The moon and the stars appointed to rule by night (Psalm 136:9) are far greater than man-the lowest in rank of God's intelligent creatures-yet the Son of man is to appear some day, set over all things, the director and ruler throughout the universe. Made lower than the angels, He will be seen placed above them. Their relation to man now, 2 Pet. 2:11 sets forth; their present service to the saints, Heb. 1:14 makes plain; their former ministrations to the Man Jesus Christ, the evangelists recount (Matt. 4:11; Mark 1:13; Luke 22:43). They have been, and ever will be, God's servants. Their status never alters. They are ministering spirits (Psalm 103:20-21) and will be, doing God's commandments now, and executioners of His judgments by and by (Matt. 13:41-49). Man's status, however, in the Person of Christ, does alter-and, through Him, that of all God's heavenly saints-for the better; for the future habitable world, we learn (Heb. 2:5), is not put under angels, but under man; and the One who is to have the chief place in that economy, appointed thereto by God, is His own well-beloved Son, the Son of man likewise, who, as man on earth, received the ministrations of angels, but as Son of man in power and glory, will send them forth as His messengers to do His bidding. As yet these counsels of God are unfulfilled; but the fact of the Lord Jesus Christ having been crowned with glory and honor, points Him out as the subject of this Psalm, and therefore the destined ruler of the universe.
Thus, as we read it, we learn what will be the thoughts of the godly remnant of the Jews on beholding the development before the world of the divine counsels about Christ, and we must surely own how different is God's written Word from everything else. To read the thoughts of men's hearts when they are not expressed is the prerogative of God alone; and when the Lord did it, His disciples confessed that He must have come from God (John 16:19-31). Here, however, we have the thoughts that will arise in His people's hearts revealed ages beforehand. None could do this but He who forms the heart and knows the end from the beginning. What Herod, Pontius Pilate, and the Jews would do to Christ and His people, Psalm 2 beforehand announced; and the disciples in Acts 4:24-28 bore witness to the accuracy of that prophetic word. What this Psalm expresses will, in like manner, in its appointed time, be made good.
Reading Heb. 2, we are assured of this, being made acquainted by it with that which God has been pleased to communicate to us about the present position and glory of His Son, as well as the great gap in time between verses 6 and 7 of the Psalm. Writing for the earthly people the psalmist enumerates the living creatures on earth, in air, and sea, as subjected to the sway of the Son of man. Instructing heavenly saints, the Apostle acquaints us with the breadth of meaning which lay concealed in those words. Angels elect and apostate, men lost and saved, saints above and saints on earth-all are to be under Christ's rule, as well as all living creatures and all created things. The joy of God's heavenly saints at this, the feelings of the elect angels at the mention of it, as well as that of all living creatures in heaven or earth, and under the earth, and the expression of the earthly people at beholding it, the Word has beforehand announced (Rev. 5; Psalm 95-98). What a place then in the universe has God assigned to Him, who received the ministration of angels in the wilderness when an hungered, and the support of an angel in the garden when in the agony!
But we have more particulars about the Lord Jesus Christ, and His fulfillment of this Psalm, than what Heb. 2 supplies; for both 1 Cor. 15 and Eph. 1 refer to it, the former telling of the gradual accomplishment of God's mind about His Son, the latter of our special interest in it. The gradual accomplishment we say, for while 1 Cor. 15 declares the purpose for which He is to reign; namely, to put all enemies under His feet, and develops the order in which that will be effected, death being the last enemy whose power He will annul, Rev. 20 which reveals to us the exact duration of His millennial reign, acquaints us also with this fact, that not till after the close of His thousand years rule will death and hades be cast into the lake of fire. That done, He will deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father, God's purpose having been effected by the
Son of man; that is, the subjugation of all His enemies. Nothing then will escape His eye, or remain independent of His scepter; and the Lord will overthrow all that has held man captive, who, as man, visited different regions of His extensive dominions; for in hades, as well as on earth and in heaven, the path of the Son of man can be traced (Eph. 4:9-10).
On earth where Adam was head, in other parts of the universe where Adam's authority was unknown, the Lord's power will be felt, and God, by Him, be glorified. God will set Him over the work of His hands. But this, be it observed, is not mere exaltation above all created things, but the subjection of all things to Him who was made a little lower than the angels, nothing being left that is not put under Christ, except Him by the fiat of whose will all this is to be effected. To resist the Lord Jesus therefore must end in complete discomfiture. And since men, as creatures, will exist forever, sooner or later they must be subject to the lowly Son of man, for God's purposes about Him will be fulfilled, however long they may be of accomplishment.
Viewing then the world's opposition to God and to His Christ in the light furnished by the prophetic announcement of the divine plans, what can we say of it, how describe it, but as, folly and madness in their most intense form, not to speak of the rebellious spirit it displays, and the mutinous character of its acts? Nothing can defeat the establishment of God's purpose; no power arrayed against the Lord can succeed; for the binding of Satan at the commencement of the Millennium by angelic agency, and his final doom at the end of it, as well as the Lord's victory over death (Rev. 20); tell us of powers greater than that of man, which must finally succumb to Christ.
When the Lord God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden as head upon earth, He brought to him all the animals for His creature to name, standing by, as it were, as a listener, to hear what the man, endowed by Him with intelligence, would call each one as it passed before him in review, thus manifesting His delight and satisfaction in the head which He had placed over that creation. With what delight then will He behold the Son of His love set over all the works of His hands!
For Satan there is nothing in store but judgment, final and everlasting. Not so for man, if he will hearken to God's message (2 Cor. 5:20-21). Shall souls have their part forever with Satan, or with Christ? That is the question for those yet unconverted. The portion appointed for the devil, Matt. 25:41 plainly sets forth. God's counsels about Christ and those who believe on Him have been revealed in Eph. 1:9-14. What they, who shall be with Christ forever, were once, Eph. 2 declares in no dubious language, thus pointing out the class, viewed morally, from which the Lord's "fellows" are drawn, and answering at once the question of a sin-convicted soul, Can I ever hope to be with Him in whom all things are to be headed up, both things on earth and things in heaven?
As Messiah, King of the Jews, the Lord was crucified. Israel's King was rejected and cast out of the world, to return when He shall have received a dominion coextensive only with the universe, and before whom, as their Lord and Judge, Pilate, Herod, and Caiaphas must one day stand. "Your King," said Pilate, addressing the Jews- King of a territory very circumscribed and insignificant in comparison with that empire of which Pilate was a servant and representative. But a dominion more extensive than that of the Caesars, and more enduring than that of any earthly dynasty, will be His who stood at that bar of judgment, and was sent there from to the cross. For a thousand years He will reign, and reign too forever, even forever and ever. How blessed will those be then, and are now, who have obtained in Him a full, a rich, and an enduring inheritance!