Psalm 8 - The Glory Of The Lord Series

THE GLORY OF THE LORD

TEXT: Psalm 8:1-9

Psalms 8:1-9 KJV To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of David. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. [2] Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. [3] When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; [4] What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? [5] For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. [6] Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: [7] All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; [8] The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. [9] O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

I. INTRODUCTION—A “NATURE” PSALM

-This psalm is another that has been written by David. Just to refresh your memory, from Psalm 3-41, it is noted in the superscription, “A Psalm of David.” There are only two that do not have this notation with those being Psalm 10 and 33.

-From Scripture there are some things that we can know about David:

• He was skillful at playing the harp—1 Sam. 16:16-23

• He was known as the sweet psalmist of Israel—2 Sam. 23:1

• He was an accomplished songwriter—2 Sam. 1:17-27; 22:1-23:7

• He had an active role in shaping the way that Israel would worship (even until this day)—1 Chron. 16:4-7; 16:37-42; 23:2-6; 25:1-7

-It is obvious that David, at the deepest level of his soul, that he was a man who was inclined to worship the Lord. It was not a thing that he confined to one or two days of the week but his heart rested much on the things of the Lord and he gave himself to the worship of the Lord.

-The previous Psalms that I have preached through, especially those of David have been more in the genre of a cry to the Lord. In fact, all of the psalms leading up to this one have been prayers of David. But with Psalm 8 there is a transition of sorts and we will see why that some have referred to the Psalms as the hymnbook of Israel.

-Psalm 8 is a hymn that can be sung in worship to the Lord. There are other hymns that I can see in the Psalms.

• Hymns of Praise—They call us to worship and point us toward God’s great abilities and His ways. Such as his kindness in Psalm 145, his power over creation in Psalm 93, and the works of his creation as in Psalm 8.

• Hymns of Thanksgiving—They are a response back to God when he answered a prayer as in Psalm 9 and 30.

• Hymns that Celebrate the Law of God—They are designated to encourage us to live up to the righteous standard that God desires. The example of this would be Psalm 119.

• Hymns of Confidence—These psalms helps us to put our trust in the Lord in the midst of all circumstances of life. Psalm 23 is the greatest example of this type of psalm.

• Hymns with Prophetic Themes—These are the psalms that closely resemble the crying calls of the prophets to be faithful. Psalm 81 is an example of this.

-To the chief Musician upon Gittith is the introduction that David gives. The gittith is a harp similar to a guitar that was common to Gath, the home of Goliath, the Philistine. There are songs that come to us in the victories of life and some scholars seem to think that David was expressing a bit of divine irony here in his worship when he was noting that he had a song to sing with an instrument that came from the home of his enemy. There is much power that comes to the redeemed who know their way around in a spiritual battle.

-Even though the fight may be taxing, there will be instruments that are helpful in writing and singing praises to the Lord. No battle that the redeemed walk through are going to be wasted. Don’t lose the connection with this psalm in David’s victory over Goliath. He took an instrument literally from the enemy’s camp and wrote a song for it!

-Psalm 8 is drawing us in to worship the Lord because it shows us His glory in creation. But not only do you read of the greatness of creation, especially that of our solar system, you also are drawn into the power of creation in man.