put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?

Question

Psalm 56:8 KJV - Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?

What does all that mean? Lots of love all.

Answer 1

This is yet another case where a lack of knowledge of the customs of the times leads to an inaccurate conclusion although it's not serious in this case.

David spent much of his life hiding from people who wanted to kill him. He would have much preferred to be building the first temple, but that wasn't his lot in life.

At the time, it was a Jewish custom for women to collect their tears in a small flask they hung on a cord around their neck when their husband was gone for a long period of time. When the husband returned, they would give him this flask to show how much they missed him.

If you read the psalm carefully, you might come to the conclusion that David is crying out for G-d to change the hearts of those coming after him, but at the same time, he is willing to accept what G-d decrees without question.

Answer 2

As recorded at Psalm 56:8, David makes these intriguing statements: “My being a fugitive you yourself have reported. Do put my tears in your skin bottle. Are they not in your book?” What a touching description of Jehovah’s tender care! When we are under stress, we may cry out to Jehovah with tears. Even the perfect man Jesus did so. (Hebrews 5:7) David was convinced that Jehovah observed him and would remember his agony, as if preserving his tears in a skin bottle or inscribing them in a book.

Answer 3

Young David was a fugitive. Overwhelmed and distressed, eyes glistening with tears, he called upon the kindness and compassion of his God, Jehovah. (Psalm 83:18) The skin bottle was familiar to David. It was a container used for holding water, oil, wine, or even butter. Nomads of the Sahara, such as the Tuareg, still use skin bottles, made out of the whole skin of a goat or a sheep. Such bottles can hold large quantities of water, depending on the size of the animal. Skin bottles have earned a reputation for keeping water cool, even in the intense heat of the desert sun. In the past, they were generally transported by donkeys or camels. These days, you might even see one attached to the front of an all-terrain vehicle! David’s touching words about the skin bottle can also have meaning for us. How so? Well, the Bible explains that Satan controls this world and that he has “great anger” in our day. As a result, the earth is experiencing terrible woes. (Revelation 12:12) For that reason, there are many who, like David, are faced with emotional, mental, or physical suffering—especially those who are trying to please God. With courage, “even weeping,” such faithful people never stop trying to live a life of integrity. (Psalm 126:6) They can be assured that their heavenly Father sees not only the trials they face but also the emotional impact of those trials. He truly understands the pain afflicting his servants, and he compassionately remembers their tears and sufferings, figuratively storing them up in his skin bottle or inscribing them in a book. David was convinced that Jehovah God observed him and would remember his agony, David requested God, in whom he placed his trust, to put his tears as if in a skin bottle in order to remember them.

Answer 4

I like Gershon b's answer. That is very interesting.

I mean the part about the tears in the bottle being an ancient custom.

Answer 5

God has a bottle and a book for for His people's tears, both for their sins and those for their afflictions. This intimates, that He observes them compassion and tender concern, He is afflicted in in their afflictions, and knows their souls in adversity. As the blood of His saints, and their deaths, are precious in the sight of the Lord, so are their tears.

Answer 6

The bottle would be the wineskin. Put them in your wineskin.
In the NIV the translators says write them in your book. It was a call for God to hold transgressors to account.

Answer 7

The road I am about to embark on!

Answer 8

The Bible is straight from God, Our Truth of what Jesus Christ went and done for us.