You gave him authority over the works of Your hands, and You placed everything under his feet,
God entrusted to man a responsible authority over creation. “To put under the feet” is an image of authority, yet that authority is not absolute or self-willed. Man remains God’s steward and must govern according to the Creator’s will. Sin often turned that authority into exploitation, violence, and reckless consumption. Therefore, the verse is not permission to destroy the created world, but a call to preserve it with care. In the New Testament this calling of man is not yet fully fulfilled, since everything is not yet entirely subjected to him. Yet in Jesus Christ it reaches its fulfillment: everything was placed under His authority (Hebrews 2:8–9). The believer is called to exercise his authority with service, responsibility, and humility, remembering that the final Lord is God.