Psalm 8 is the Psalter’s first actual praise hymn, and unlike all of the other praise psalms, Psalm 8 addresses God and God alone; there is no invitation or call for man to praise, nor is there any “because” clause offering any reasons to praise. It is perhaps the closest example of heavenly praise that we have example of in the Psalter, yet it is offered from earth. It teaches us that we must approach the throne of God with the utmost humility (vs. 3-4), but more than this it reveals to us that man is remembered and visited by God! It demonstrates that we, as His children and babes and sucklings, may without presumption expect God to hear us and take pleasure in our praises!
It is interesting that scholars suggest that the eighth Psalm was used in the Feast of Tabernacles liturgy to celebrate and worship God as Creator, recognizing that God’s creation helps us to understand the importance of our relationship with Him on earth. Psalm 8 paints a picture that belongs to earth in this age, yet it does so with great optimism. It links creation with present experience and reflects upon promises that still hold – what God intended humanity to be, what they are in Christ and what they will be in the consummation – God will complete His specific plan for man despite his fall. Like the eight day Feast of Tabernacles, the eighth Psalm looks at the eternality of God from the standpoint of human weakness and concludes that God still holds majestic power in all the earth (vss.1 & 9).
