The Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 8:1-9

The Pulpit Commentary · Joseph S. Exell and contributors · Public domain

EXPOSITION

Psalm VIII. is altogether a psalm of praise and thanksgiving. Its primary idea is the condescending love and goodness of God towards man. That God, who had made the heavens, and sot his glory on them, should have a regard for man, and "visit him," and not only so, but give him so lofty a position, so exalted a destiny, is a thought that is well-nigh overwhelming. The psalmist, filled with the thought, can do no less than pour out his feelings of love and gratitude in song. The Davidical authorship is generally allowed. What "upon Gittith' means is very uncertain, but the most probable conjecture is that a melody, or musical style, which David had learnt at Gath, is intended.

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Matthew Henry on Psalms 8:1-2Psalms 8:1-2 · Matthew Henry Concise CommentaryThe psalmist seeks to give unto God the glory due to his name. How bright this glory shines even in this lower world! He is ours, for he made us, protects us, and takes special care of us. The birth, life, preaching, mi…The Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 8:1Psalms 8:1 · The Pulpit CommentaryO Lord our Lord. In the original, Jehovah Adoneynu; i.e. "Jehovah, who art our sovereign Lord and Master." As David is here the mouthpiece of humanity, praising God for mercies common to all men, he uses the plural pron…The Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 8:1-9Psalms 8:1-9 · The Pulpit CommentaryLord what is man? This is a song of praise equally adapted for men of every nation, country, colour, and clime. Its author was David, £ who, as a shepherd-boy, had cast an observant eye on the works of God, both in the…The Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 8:1-9Psalms 8:1-9 · The Pulpit CommentaryGod the glorious Creator. It is midnight. The sky is bright with stars. As the psalmist muses, the fire burns, and he bursts into song. The psalm is not for Israel alone, but brings before the mind such a vision of the…The Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 8:1-9Psalms 8:1-9 · The Pulpit CommentaryGod's glory revealed. "The great spiritual truth contained in the first passage of Scripture, that God made man in his own image, flashes forth in this psalm in true lyric grandeur, a ray of light across the dark myster…

commentaryMatthew Henry on Psalms 8:1-2The psalmist seeks to give unto God the glory due to his name. How bright this glory shines even in this lower world! He is ours, for he made us, protects us, and takes special care of us. The birth, life, preaching, mi…Matthew Henry commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 8:1-9Lord what is man? This is a song of praise equally adapted for men of every nation, country, colour, and clime. Its author was David, £ who, as a shepherd-boy, had cast an observant eye on the works of God, both in the…Joseph S. Exell and contributors commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 8:1-9God the glorious Creator. It is midnight. The sky is bright with stars. As the psalmist muses, the fire burns, and he bursts into song. The psalm is not for Israel alone, but brings before the mind such a vision of the…Joseph S. Exell and contributors commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 8:1O Lord our Lord. In the original, Jehovah Adoneynu; i.e. "Jehovah, who art our sovereign Lord and Master." As David is here the mouthpiece of humanity, praising God for mercies common to all men, he uses the plural pron…Joseph S. Exell and contributors commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 8:1-9God's glory revealed. "The great spiritual truth contained in the first passage of Scripture, that God made man in his own image, flashes forth in this psalm in true lyric grandeur, a ray of light across the dark myster…Joseph S. Exell and contributors commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 8:2Out of the month of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength. By "babes and sucklings" are meant young children just able to lisp God's praises, and often doing so, either through pious teaching or by a sort of n…Joseph S. Exell and contributors commentaryMatthew Henry on Psalms 8:3-9We are to consider the heavens, that man thus may be directed to set his affections on things above. What is man, so mean a creature, that he should be thus honoured! so sinful a creature, that he should be thus favoure…Matthew Henry commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 8:3When I consider thy heavens (comp. Psalms 19:1; Psalms 33:6; Psalms 104:2). David, in his shepherd-life, had had abundant opportunity of "considering the heavens," and had evidently scanned them with the eye of a poet a…Joseph S. Exell and contributors