Psalm 8 Glory, Power & Grace
Intro: Psalm 8 is one of the early Psalms that David penned
– it was written somewhere in the time frame of his Battle w/ Goliath
A)It
has been classified as one of the shepherd Psalms meaning that it was written
during that time when David was tending Sheep
B)David’s
life as a shepherd gave to him countless opportunities to consider the heavens.
1)
His keen interest in nature & his poetic heart were like kindling for this
Psalm. /
C)
I can almost see David. It’s midnight.
The sky is bright with stars. As the fire burns, so does the heart of David.
1)
David is overcome by
the GREATNESS of God.
D)
But as He contemplates the heavens He becomes painfully aware of the SMALLNESS
of man.
1)
Yet it is there at
that moment in light of the GLORY of God that David begins to grasp the GRACE
of God.
E) The GRACE of God in CONSIDERING & VISITING fallen mankind.
David Begins w/ THE GLORY OF GOD
Psalm 8:1
O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have set Your glory above the heavens!
A)David
is overwhelmed by the greatness and glory of God, and rightly so.
1)
The whole of creation is a testimony of His Power & Majesty / The universe was founded upon His wisdom and is
upheld by His power.
B)But David realizes that the glory that he
perceives in the moon & the stars in the heavens falls short of the reality
of God’s glory:
1)
Consider the end of
v.1 Who
have set Your glory above the heavens!.
C) There is glory that belongs to God that is yet to be
revealed to us.
1)
Yesterdays sunrise –
Glorious – 78 from airport – Incredible –
Rev
1:16 His countenance was like the sun shining
in its strength. 17And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.
D)
Jesus appeared to Saul – Blinded by a light
brighter than noonday sun
E)
New Heaven & New earth – No need for the sun- because the Glory of God
Illuminates the Place !!!!
Though David is awestruck by the glory of God manifested in
the universe, he BEGINS and ENDS this psalm of praise by recognizing the GLORY
of God’s name.
Psalm 8:1; 9 O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth,- Repeats in v.9
9 O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is
Your name in all the earth,-
A)NOTE:
O LORD our Lord literally
means“O Jehovah our sovereign master”
B)
Lord is a TITLE of God. – King ruler
Sovereign
1) But LORD
is the NAME of God.
C)
It is the holy name of God. It is so holy that
they would NOT pronounce “The Name” when reading the Scriptures.
In the Hebrew text we only find the consonants YHWH. This is
the TETRAGRAMMA. – Guessing JEHOVAH and
YAHWEH
In the Book
of Exodus God revealed His Glory to Moses by declaring His name – Ex.33:18 – Show me your Glory
19
And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim
the name of the LORD before thee…… Exodus 34:5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there,
and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6 And the LORD passed by before him, and
proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and
abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving
iniquity and transgression and sin…. (KJV)
B)
Earlier in the Book of Exodus when Moses was being called by God – who shall I
tell them has sent me ? – Ex 3:14
14And
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the
children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
C)
The name Yahweh/Jehovah, means “I Am That I Am.”
1)
It speaks of God’s
self-existence, but it means more than that. It can be understood to mean that
God is The
Becoming One.
D)
We learn from this that His NAME speaks
of His RELATIONSHIP to His people. - EXAMPLE:
1)
Abe was going to
Sacrifice Isaac – fire & the wood – where Sacrifice
God will provide
Himself…….
E)
And God did – Abe named the place Jehovah Jireh - the Lord provides’
1)Thus we see that the Lord becomes to us our source of
provision.
In somewhat similar fashion, after the defeat of the
Amalekites, Moses erected an altar and called it Jehovah Nissi ‘the Lord
is my banner’
A)The
Lord becomes our victory.
Jehovah-shalom – was
the name given by Gideon to the altar he erected in Ophrah, ‘the Lord is peace’ (Jdg. 6:24). The Lord becomes our peace.
A)Jehovah-tsidkenu -
This is the name by which Messiah shall be known, ‘the
Lord is our righteousness’
/ The Lord becomes your righteousness.
B)APPLICATION
: The point is - “I am anything you have need of.......
Fill
in the blank”
1) Jesus did just that He came to this Earth to help us fill in the
blank.
C)When
He was being taken in the garden they asked: Are you Jesus of Nazareth?
1) He answered: Ego
Eimi..... I AM.....DEITY And they fell backward.
D)
Jesus filled in the blank when He said; John
6:48 I am that
bread of life.
John 8:12 , I am the light of the world:
John 10:7; 9 , I am the door.
John 10:11; 14 I am the good
shepherd.
John
11:25 , I am
the resurrection, and the life.
John 14:6 I am
the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me. AND John 15:5 I am the vine
E)
The NAME of the Lord is GLORIOUS because it tells us that God wants to
become to us all that we need.
This sheds light to what David was thinking when He said to
Goliath you come to me w/ a Sword & a
spear – but I am coming to you in the Name of the LORD OF HOST
A)David
faced the Giant Goliath – faith & trust that God was going to be what he
needed to be victorious in that fight
B)
Whatever was needed to be victorious would be provided by David’s Becoming one
– that is what He was banking on !!!!
Next David moves
to Consider the Power Of God In The
Praises Of Children v.2
Psalm 8:2 Out of the mouth
of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your
enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.
A)What
a contrast between the glory above the heavens, and the mouths of babes &
nursing infants yet by both the name of God is made excellent.
B)God
CAN and DOES work powerfully through mere children.
1)
How often will
CHILDREN tell us adults of God whom we have
forgotten!
C)The
simplicity of a child singing songs of Jesus can move even the most hardened
heart.
1) Men have had to hold their tongues while
children have born witness to Jesus.
EXAMPLE: Matthew 21:15-16 15But when the chief priests and scribes saw
the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and
saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant 16and
said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?”And Jesus said to them, “Yes.
Have you never read,‘Out of the mouth of
babes and nursing infants
You
have perfected praise’?”
CHS – said it well He
who delights in the songs of angels is pleased to honour himself in the eyes of
his enemies by the praises of little children.
D)Early
church history records many amazing instances of the testimony of children for
the truth of God,
1)
Foxe tells us, in the
Book of Martyrs, that when Mr. Lawrence was burnt in Colchester, he was carried
to the fire in a chair, because, through the beatings, he could not stand
upright,
E)
several young children came about the fire and cried, as well as they could
speak, “Lord, strengthen thy servant, and keep thy
promise.”
God answered their prayer; for Mr. Lawrence died as firmly
and calmly as any one could wish to breathe his last.
A)When
one of the Popish chaplains told Mr. Wishart, the great Scotch martyr, that he
had a devil in him, a child that stood by cried out, “A devil cannot speak such words as yonder man speaketh.”
STORY: During a Billy Sunday evangelistic campaign,
a mentally impaired boy came faithfully each night to
sing in the choir. "Joey was not very bright," said Homer
Rodeheaver, the well-known song leader, "but he never missed any of our
meetings and wouldn't leave until he shook my hand. Sometimes I
was embarrassed by the way he constantly tailed me, and I secretly wished he'd
go away."
Then one evening a man came to Rodeheaver and
said, "Thank you for being kind to my son Joey. He's not right mentally, but never has he enjoyed anything so
much as singing in the choir. He worked hard doing simple chores for people so
he could contribute to the collection. Through his pleadings my wife and five
other children came to this evangelistic campaign and
have now received Christ.
Last night his 75-year-old grandfather, who has been
an atheist all his life, was saved, and tonight his grandmother also came
forward.
Now our entire family is converted!"
B)Me
w/ My Dad - God is in the Business of using the weak & the Small –
1) When it was time to over throw the Great
Empire of Egypt – did he send an Army from Babylon or Assyria – No – He sent a
Baby named Moses
C)
David is also a Good example of this –
1)
Encouragement to us –
God can use little Children –He can use US
STORY:
There was a lady who reported her dog missing and posted an add that read: LOST
DOG with 3 legs, blind in left eye, missing right ear, tail broken and recently
castrated. Answers to the name of "Lucky."
You might feel like “Lucky” the dog. You
might feel just as lame, blind, ugly and impotent as “Lucky”, but that makes
you an even greater candidate for God to use.
Weak unlikely
After being Contemplating the Glory of God – David then
considers THE GRACE OF GOD v.3-8
A)It was David’s
observation of the Glory and Power of God in the heavens that made him
understand how far God must stoop in order to bless us.
B)
When I consider the Heavens - & realize they were the works of your fingers
–meaning – No effort involved – spoke into existence
1)
I am blown away – that
you an awesome mighty & Majestic God – would even consider man at all.
C)
Especially in light of what man did to you
1)
David in v 5-8
describes man in the Glory of his original existence put over the earth –
crowned w/ Glory & honor all things put under his feet
D)
But as the writer of Hebrews puts it in Ch 2 we don’t now see all things put
under man –
1)
Man forfeited his
position of Dominion at the Fall
David knows this – which makes it even more powerful when he
says –I don’t understand why you are mindful of man
A)Understanding
God’s greatness, David understands the GRACIOUS CONDESENCION of God to man.
B)“Lord, what is man” - Sinful, weak, miserable man. “That You are mindful of him” –
1)
Man is a creature so forgetful of God and his duty to God
C)
AMAZING God takes time to be mindful of man who is NOT mindful of Him.
1)APPLICATION This should change the way that we look at the unbeliever.
PERSONAL: The “Sagittarius girl” at the Bed and
Breakfast. He wanted to get up and leave but the Lord said: Be polite to her… She isn’t mindful of Me, she’s worshipping
the stars, but I am mindful of her.
I was so convicted when he told me that because I can be
so impatient w/ unbelievers like that –
blow them off – ignore –
A)But
God is mindful of them – So this should change our outlook toward the
unbeliever & it should change our outlook of ourselves
B)
Reminded: Your life matters to God. You are SIGNIFICANT because God is
interested in you.
1) IN reality - The search for significance ends when
you understand that God is mindful
of you.
C)
But catch what else David says there in v.4 - 4What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?
God not only thinks of man, feeds man, protects &
provides for mankind, but God visited him as one friend visits another.
A)The
word VISIT means much more than what
we normally would think .
PROPHETIC - It points powerfully to Jesus Christ.
B)VISIT = to
seek, look about for.
1) We could read this verse as What is man that God should come and seek
for him?
Luke
19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (KJV)
C) WHY
would God do that? Man has done nothing but rebel against and walk away from
the God of the universe.
1) God WANTS to have fellowship with man…..
With YOU.
D)
So Jesus LEFT His throne of glory, left the worship of angels, emptied Himself
of the rightful expression of His glory,
1) and became a man to VISIT mankind….. SEEK for
mankind.
The writer of Hebrews put it this way – But now we do not
yet see all things put under MAN. 9But we see Jesus, who was made a
little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and
honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.
2 Corinthians
8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that,
though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his
poverty might be rich.
QUOTE:
He descended that we might ascend (John 6:38, 14:3).
He
became poor that we might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9, Jas. 2:5).
He
was born that we might be born again (John 1:14, 3:2,7).
He
became a servant that we might become sons (Phil. 2:7; Gal. 4:6, 7).
He
had no home that we might have a home in heaven (Matt. 8:20; )
He
was hungry that we might be fed (Matt. 4:2; John 6:50).
He
was thirsty that we might be satisfied (John 19:26).
He
was stripped that we might be clothed (Matt. 27:28; Gal. 3:27).
He was forsaken that we might not be
forsaken (Matt. 27:26; 28:20).
He
was sad that we might become glad (Isa. 53:3; Phil. 4:4).
He
was bound that we might go free (Matt. 27:2; John 8:32-36).
He
was made sin that we might be made righteous (2 Cor. 5:21).
He
died that we might live (John 5:24, 25).
He
came down that we might be caught up (1 Thess. 4:16, 17).
APP That He, being so great, would be mindful of you , visit you,
and seek you, should make you want to
love Him and worship Him forever. A)David found himself moved to write this psalm of praise unto the Lord
because of God’s Glory, God’s Power, and God’s Grace.
B)
This Psalm tells us that We should want to praise God for His:
GLORY is above the heavens -
C)
Because God’s NAME is glorious.
It tells us that He wants to become to us all that we could ever need.
1) He wants to become your PROVIDER, your
VICTORY, your PEACE, and your RIGHTEOUSNESS.
For HIS POWER!
A)His
power working in children. His power working in weak people like us
For HIS GRACE!
A)Grace
that makes God REMEMBER you and made God REDEEM you.
B)You
have significance
because God is mindful of you. You have salvation
because God sought you.
O
LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth