Pastor Ed's Series of Psalms

Psalm 1 | Psalm 2 | Psalm 3 | Psalm 4 | Psalm 5 | Psalm 6 | Psalm 7 | Psalm 8
Psalm 9-10 | Psalm 11 | Psalm 12 | Psalm 13 | Psalm 14 | Psalm 15
Psalm 16 | Psalm 17 | Psalm 18 | Psalm 19 | Psalm 22 | Psalm 23
Psalm 27 | Psalms 28-30 | Psalms 31-32 | Psalm 33 | Psalm 34
Psalm 35 | Psalm 36-37 | Psalm 38 | Psalm 39 | Psalm 40 |
Psalm 41 | Psalm 42-43

Psalm 8
1-3-10

In the past few weeks, David has talked about running from his enemies, and crying out for mercy after his personal sin...

But now, in Psalm 8, he interrupts his laments and his suffering and his brokenness to just rare back to praises and thank the Lord.

David is awed by the majesty of the Sovereign Lord, the Creator of the Universe, but he is also overwhelmed by the love and goodness of God.

As we study this Psalm tonight, let's put ourselves in the position David was when he composed this Psalm. He might have been gazing up at the stars. Let's use the words of this Psalm to take us into a position of awe as we think about the our Lord, and to reflect on his goodness!

Verse 1: O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the Earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.

“Our Lord” - not some far off creator, but someone who is near to us, who wants to know us. How majestic is your name!

Your word tells us that you are all powerful, ever present, all knowing:

Job declared I know you can do all things, no plan of yours can be thwarted. The Lord spoke to Jeremiah and declared Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him? Do I not fill the heavens and the earth? David said that you determine the number of the stars and calls each one of them by name.

Can we fathom the size of God?

I gave an example this morning where it would take 80 billion libraries with a million volumes each containing 500,000 names just to name all the stars. And yet, as small as we are, the same God who knows the name of every one of these stars knows yours and mine.

Verse 2 – From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and avenger.

Human weakness is mentioned here – The Lord reminds us in 1st Corinthians 1:27 that He chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; and he chose the weak things of this world to shame the strong.

The contrast here is that recognize our own weakness as a starting point in our dependence on the strength of God.

The Message bible translation says:

Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you, toddlers shout the songs that drown out the enemy talk, and silence atheist babble.

In verse 3, David marvels at the creative hand of God: When I consider the heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

The “finger” of God is not mentioned very often in the Bible. We have mention of it in Exodus 31:18 when Moses was on Mt Sanai– When the Lord finished speaking to Moses, he gave him the two tablets of stone inscribed by the fingers of God.

Have you ever just looked up at the sky on a clear starry night and wondered how far does the universe go?

We'll be showing a video on Wednesday night called “Indescribable” by Louie Giglio, who is going around the country with this message – his tour is called the Passion tour and in fact they will be in Atlanta this week, where over 20,000 college students are expected to attend.

The video shows just how big our God is and how small we are – it's amazing how big the universe is that we have been able to see with the Hubble telescope.

We discover more and more with the Hubble. It's like God is saying, there is more for you to discover – keep building stronger telescopes so I can show you more.

But also, what about creation itself? Have you thought about what it means to create something out of nothing – it's called ex nihilo – created out of nothing. Imagine the power of creation – it just boggles our minds doesn't it.

We have both a universe that is beyond our comprehension, and we have the intricate cells that make up our bodies.

But even though God is so large and magnificent and beyond our comprehension look at verses 4-5:

What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

Davis is wondering: after I have consider the grandeur of the Lord's Glory, why would you give any consideration of me? I am not worthy of your attention.

But then he remembers the words of Genesis 1: vs 26-27:

when God said, let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock over all the earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.

Jesus reminds us how important we are in Matt 6:26: Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap, or store away in barns, and yet, your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

If we think about how great God is, we feel pretty insignificant don't we? One commentator describes us as insignificant specks of dust on on a rock revolving around one of the thousands of stars in but one of countless galaxies flung across the universe.

Yet, God is still mindful of us – so much so that he has a plan for each one of us!

Jesus takes it a step further for us:

In John 15:15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his father's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything I have learned from my Father, I have made know to you.

So we have an all powerful, all knowing, present everywhere, unimagineable God who created all things out of nothing down to the most intricate detail – and He wants to be your friend.

But notice that David combines the two references to man in this verse – man, and then the son of man. Jesus used the term “son of man” to describe himself. Hebrews 2:9 it says:

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

So it is through Jesus, that man has been restored back to his created position. Jesus has brought us back into a right relationship with the Father, even after the Fall and corruption of man has become.

This is an amazing prophecy from David, as he reflects on the position of man in relationship to the creator God.

Verses 6-8 talk about the dominion man was designed to have over creation:

You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim in the paths of the seas.

It's interesting to think about these verses in the context of today. The “all things” of today are considerably more than the “all things” of David's time. Think of the inventions involving electricity, and other parts of science where God has allowed us to discover more and more of his creations and how man can use them.

But think of the creation of man itself. One commentator said that the if the heavens stood alone, there would be silence. But when man was created, there was an eye made to see, and a heart to feel, and a voice to proclaim God's praise.

So we're created so that God could talk to us!

This should put some great excitement in our prayers – Lord, as great as you are, and you want to talk to me?

Man has been described as the head of creation – the last and fullest expression of God's thought – a being like himself, that He can communicate with.

An even though man got into trouble when sin entered the world, God created a way, the only way that He could reveal himself. And he used that way, through Jesus to reconcile us back to himself.

It takes incredible love for us for God to privide this way back to him.

As Ephesians 1:9-10 says:

And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which is purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times have reached their fulfillment – to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

And that's why we're here praising him tonight.

Which also leads David to proclaim in verse 9 as he did in verse 1:

O Lord, O Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth!

As we reflect on God's glory tonight – his awesome creation – let's enjoy place he has given to us through Jesus.

Let's consider this as we live our life. Are we living our life for the Lord's pleasure?

The scripture says that's why we were created.

Even though He is so big and awesome that we can't even comprehend, He created you for himself. He wants to be involved in everything you're doing – he wants you to live life abundantly.

He knows your problems and challenges, but since he created you for himself. he doesn't want you to be harmed. He wants you to prosper.

He's calling you tonight with his love. Accept his open arms. Be initmate with Him. Pray tonight that you can know him better. Ask him to help you. I'd like to read some of his promise.

Isaiah 43:2 says that When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, the flames will not set you ablaze.

Jesus said:
Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me.

Deut 14:2 says that you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession.

And Isaiah 43:1 says that this is what the Lord says – he who created you O Jacob, he who formed you O Israel. Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name, you are mine.