⁶ But one testified in a certain place, saying: “What is man that You are mindful of him, Or the son of man that You take care of him?

In verses 6–8 we have a quotation from Psalm 8:4–6. This is one of many appeals to Scripture in Hebrews.

Psalm 8 points to the insignificance of human beings in God’s eyes, but Hebrews applies it to the humiliation of Christ when He became a human being and His majesty as the Messiah.

⁶ But

God will not make the future kingdom subject to angels, but He will give it to mankind, especially one Man.

one testified in a certain place, saying:

The author of Hebrews did not specify the source of the following quote. The quotation was so familiar to the Jewish audience that sourcing the quote was not necessary.

The quote is from Psalm 8:4–6, a psalm that glorifies God (Ps 8:1,9) and His works. It shows His eternal power (Ps 8:3) and His providential care of man (Ps 8:4). This is a messianic psalm that deals with the future (He 2:8-9). We can see Jesus clearly in this psalm. Jesus applied Psalm 8:2 in Matthew 21:16 to Himself.

Hebrews places great emphasis on the importance of Scripture. The Bible is clearly authoritative in this book.

“What is man [mankind]

The psalm speaks of all humanity as an individual—”man.” The “what” indicates the insignificance of man. The Psalmist spoke of the glory of the heavens and the work of creation as immense. Then he spoke of man as nothing but a speck of dust, yet God sovereignly cares for him or her.

that You are mindful of him,

Although man is insignificant, God elevates him to consequence.

Or the son of man that You take care of him?

“Son of man” here is every human being. The focus is on a single person who is a member of humanity. God repeatedly called Ezekiel “the son of man,” referring to his humanity.

God sovereignly looks after His people. Humanity is valuable to God. He is actively involved in every person’s life.

PRINCIPLE:

The human being in his sinful frailty cannot gain universal dominion in the world.

APPLICATION:

Adam distorted his dominion over the earth by his sin. However, God will send a Man who will regain the dominion lost by the first Adam. God will put man, not angels, in charge of the coming Millennial Kingdom. Jesus in His humanity will dethrone Satan at that time.