The wonderful theologian J. I. Packer says of the era in which we live, “We stand at the end of four centuries of God shrinking” in the public mind. We try to make Godsmaller so we can be bigger. The Bible does not see it this way. We cannot know who we are without also knowing who God is. If we lose sight of who God is, we will lose sight of who humans are (Smith)
Without the knowledge of self, there is no knowledge of God…. Without the knowledge of God, there is no knowledge of self. John Calvin
Psalm 8:1–9
1O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
2Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.
3When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?
5Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
6You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,
7all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
8the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Psalm 8 is an amazing psalm. It is as if Genesis 1 is turned into a song (Harman).
1. Our Lord is majestic!
▪ The psalm begins and ends (v. 9) with the same exclamation of God’s majesty that extends throughout the whole earth, thus forming an inclusio that gives the poem a strong sense of closure. This opening and closing proclamation indicates that the psalmist’s main purpose is to draw attention to the majesty of God (Longman).
God is majestic in his reign.
1O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
The psalm begins with an invocation of the Lord (Yahweh) and names him as his people’s Lord or master. The Lord is his people’s sovereign. God’s name or reputation is majestic (’addîr), a word that is often used alongside ‘glory’ (kābôd) and denotes that something is excellent or beautiful or splendid (Longman).
God is majestic in his beauty.
▪ “You have set your glory above the heavens.”▪ The word translated glory in the niv is not the main word so translated (kābôd), but, like majestic (’addîr) in verse 1a, it is another closely related term (hôd), which is bettered rendered ‘beauty’ here to maintain the distinction between these words that are often piled up for emphasis. God’s creation, here the heavens in particular, reflect the beauty of God who created it (see also Ps. 19:1 (Longman).
God is majestic in his power.
▪ 2Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. ▪ Developed later.
God is majestic in his creation.
▪ 3When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, ▪ God’s creation of the heavens, here identified as the work of your fingers, the sense being that God is personally and intimately involved (Longman).▪ Maybe David recalled lying in the fields at night staring at the stars? (Boice).
2. Our majestic Lord triumphs through weak babies.
▪ 2Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. ▪ God’s majesty seen in his power through babies.▪ How were “babies and sucklings” involved? The OT mentions “babies” twenty times, usually as victims of oppression, war, and death (e.g., 137:9; Lam. 1:5; 2:11, 19, 20). “Sucklings” appear eleven times, often alongside “babies” and again usually as victims (e.g., Deut. 32:25; Lam. 2:11; 4:4). In the OT, then, the mouths of babies and sucklings are not likely to be crying out for milk or in praise or as a sign of life,5 but crying out in pain or for protection or justice, as the babies in Matt. 2:16–18 might have done (Goldingay).▪ See Piper message, too.
3. Our majestic Lord reigns through small people.
▪ 4what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?
5Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
6You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, 7all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
▪ What is man?▪ The words chosen for ‘man’ in this verse (Hebrew ʾenôsh and ben ʾâdâm) seem to be deliberately chosen to highlight his frailty (Harman). ▪ In contrast to God, the heavens are tiny, pushed and prodded into shape by the divine digits; but in contrast to the heavens, which seem so vast in the human perception, it is mankind that is tiny (Craigie).▪ How many have been to the Grand Canyon? Feel small.▪ How many enjoy seeing the ocean and mountains? Feel small.
God remembers us.
God cares for us.
▪ We are not out of sight or out of mind. He sees you. He knows you by name. He has honored you, his image bearer (Smith).
▪ God distinguishes us.▪ We are not mere animals but we are also not God.▪ Creator-creature distinction.▪ The Hebrew word rendered angels is ‘ĕlōhîm, more naturally translated ‘God’, as in the niv footnote (so nrsv). True, ’ĕlōhîm (‘gods’) is sometimes used for what are ‘angels’ (Ps. 82) or ‘demons’ (Exod. 12:12). But here it is much more likely that ‘God’ is intended. Humans are less than God, to be sure, but they are closer to God than anything else in the created order. After all, according to Genesis 1:27, human beings are created in the image of God. That is, more than any other creature, humans reflect and represent God (Longman).
God crowns us.
▪ We are majestic as small k kings.▪ God has crowned us with “glory and honor” (v. 5). This means that he has given human beings, mere specks in this vast universe, a significance and honor above everything else he has created (Boice).▪ “Glory and honor” are attributes of God’s kingship (29:1; 104:1) extended to man’s royal status (VanGemeren).▪ God has crowned humanity, as image-bearer, with glory (and here at last we have kābôd) as well as honour (hādār, the fourth word in the semantic range with kābôd, ’addîr and hôd). God is glorious, and humanity, as created in the image of God, reflects that glory. It is a derivative glory, analogous to the way in which the moon reflects the light of the sun (Longman).▪ Glory in all the earth▪ Glory above the heavens▪ Glory in creation▪ Glory in humans
God reigns through us.
▪ We not only have a special identity, we have a special function.▪ We have been given dominion.▪ Authority not to prance. Not to domineer but to serve the ultimate King.▪ Responsibility▪ Dominion, authority, as stewards, servant-leaders▪ To serve God and others, not to exploit▪ Vice-regents, kings under the King▪ We serve God’s creation (6).▪ We serve all of it: all things under his feet.▪ We serve all of God’s creatures.▪ Man’s position over creation was granted before the Fall (Gen 1:28), but it was not taken away from him (Gen 9:1–3, 7). Man is God’s appointed governor (vassal) over creation. His function on earth is to maintain order, to shine his light on creation, and to keep a good relationship with all that God has created on earth and in the sea: beasts of the field, birds of the air, fish and the creatures of the sea (vv. 7–8). The Great King has appointed man to maintain dominion over creation (“put everything under his feet”) and not be controlled by creation (VanGemeren).▪ He has made us “kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (Rev. 1:6)
Creating us with such astounding dignity does not lead us to think that creation is by man, for man, and to man. Quite the opposite: created by God, for God, and to God.
Our high view of God does not lead to a low view of humanity.
A high view of God leads to a high view of humanity. We have meaning, we have purpose, we have an identity, we have a role, we are used by God to serve His creation, His purposes, and His glory.
No wonder David begins and ends with: 9O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You are created with dignity! You matter!
Every human is created with dignity, and they matter!
▪ Do I treat them according to their true worth?▪ Dignity, Love, Justice▪ Honor, Respect▪ All human beings have dignity. God created all humans in His own image. ▪ The unborn baby is made in the image of God and has dignity.▪ People with disabilities are made in God’s image and have dignity. ▪ Everyone in every nursing home is made in God’s image and has dignity. ▪ People of all ethnicities bear God’s image. ▪ Men and women bear Gods’ image. ▪ The rich, the poor, and all in between bear God’s image.▪ Citizens and immigrants bear God’s image.▪ People of all ages, young and old, bear God’s image. ▪ All people, no matter which sins they commit, are made in God’s image.
Murder is sin: God created people who are made in God’s image.
Abortion is sin: God made these unborn babies in His image.
Racism is sin: it disregards and hurts God’s image-bearers.
Sexual abuse is sin: it disregards and hurts God’s image-bearers.
Even slander is sin: James 3:9-12 tells us to honor not dishonor or talk evil about people, because we are all made in the image of God.
C.S. Lewis: It may be possible for each to think too much of his own potential glory hereafter; it is hardly possible for him to think too often or too deeply about that of his neighbor. The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor’s glory should be laid daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken….
There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors….
Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. The Weight of Glory
God is majesty and we matter.
God is ultimate but we are important.
God rules, but he rules through us as his servants.
God triumphs, but through the weak, even helpless babies.