You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, Psalm 8:6 NASB
In an old fable, a king trains his pet monkey in various tasks, from using a sword to swatting flies. One day the king gave his monkey a sword to guard his chamber while he napped. Unfortunately, during his nap, a fly landed on the king’s nose, and the monkey swatted it with the sword.
That monkey did not understand the power that he had, nor the consequences of the weapon that he wielded. This fable came to mind when I read that God gave us humans charge of the earth. We do not understand the power we have or the weapon we wield.
Psalm 8 says we are like nursing infants (v.2); we don’t understand anything. We are like that monkey with a sword. Yet, out of our mouths God has ordained strength, power, security, and praise - to silence the enemy (v.2)!
To silence the religious leaders who opposed Him, Jesus quoted this verse (Matt. 12:16). During His wilderness temptations, Jesus silenced satan by quoting yet other scriptures. Jesus used the Word as a sword of truth to silence the enemy. God ordained that this praise and power should come from our mouths. Yet, we do not appreciate the power we have or the weapon we wield.
Psalm 8 continues to glorify God, the Creator of the universe. He hung the moon and stars, like sparkling gems in the sky (v.3). Yet, He is mindful of us humans (v.4). God has given us a position (a little lower than the angels) of glory and honor and dominion (v.5-6).
Of all the created beings, we are the only ones made in God’s image. We are the only ones given dominion over all other created beings (Gen. 1:26). God gave us the privilege to partner with Him. Yet, we do not understand the position we have or the power it carries.
I may think of a monkey with a sword when I read scriptures about humans having dominion, but God doesn’t. God smiles down with eyes of love on the children He created to have dominion. All along God had a plan to triumph over sin and evil powers at the cross (Col. 2:13-15). Jesus redeemed the ones made in His image - and He handed us a sword (Eph. 1:4; 6:17).