11/6 Psalm 8

PSALM 8

AUTHOR: David

The Story Behind the Psalm

This Psalm was written during the harvest time. It is obvious that David was looking up into the sky during the nighttime and feeling his insignificance and God's greatness. Notice verse 4. The word "man" in this verse comes from a Hebrew word which means "weak, insignificant man." David could not imagine how a God so mighty and so wonderful and so powerful could condescend to fellowship with sinful, weak, insignificant flesh.

Then notice in verse I the words, "Who hath set Thy glory above the heavens." In this verse God is likened unto an actor who comes to a platform to perform. That platform is the world, but the world is not big enough for His performance, so the platform is built in the heavens. Then the heavens are found too small for this performer, so a new platform is built above the heavens. Our God is so great that His platform cannot be contained by the heavens themselves. The marvelous thing about this is found in verse 2 when God says He is interested in the little baby and the suckling child. Here is a God so great that He must have a platform above the heavens, and yet, so tender and so personal He is concerned about the whimper and the cry of an infant.

The Way It Was Used by God's People

When a dedicated Jew was feeling proud of himself, he would run to the shelter of humility found in the eighth Psalm. When he felt superior, he would go in the field in the nighttime and quote or sing this Psalm.

Perhaps when we become proud we could find in the eighth Psalm a place of humbling as we view the greatness of our God and His handiwork and the weakness of human flesh. Then we can shout, "Hosanna!" because such perfection desires to visit and fellowship with such weakness.