DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

This Psalm begins with the statement, “O LORD, our Lord.” How is submission to God’s Lordship essential to our praise?
How does this psalm speak to worship being a corporate activity? Do you, at times, find it difficult to praise corporately? If so, why?
Spend a few moments discussing verse 2. How does this verse speak to God’s power?
When we observe all of God‘s creation, we walk away feeling very small and insignificant. How does this psalm affirm our “smallness” but push back against our “insignificance?” How does this impact the way we worship?
How does Psalm 8 direct our attention to Jesus?

SERMON MANUSCRIPT

Could it be that we worship best when we feel the smallest? Could it be that when we see God for who he truly is, we will begin to truly worship? Could it be that a right view of God leads to right worship? Could it be that a proper view of God leads to proper praise? Could it be that our unwillingness to engage in worship, at times, stems from a faulty view of God? Could it be that, at times, our silence is a byproduct of a limited view of God?

Today, in Psalm 8, David takes us outside to gaze upon God’s creation so that we can see God for who he is and praise him for what he has done. If I could summarize the takeaway for today, it would be this: God deserves my praise!

Let’s dive in.

“To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.

[1] O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.

[2] Out of the mouth of babies and infants,

you have established strength because of your foes,

to still the enemy and the avenger.

[3] When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

[4] what is man that you are mindful of him,

and the son of man that you care for him?

[5] Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory and honor.

[6] You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;

you have put all things under his feet,

[7] all sheep and oxen,

and also the beasts of the field,

[8] the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,

whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

[9] O LORD, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

As we’ve highlighted over the past few weeks, this psalm begins with a brief introductory statement. “To the choirmaster” reminds us that this psalm was intended to be sung by God’s people, and “according to gittith” is likely an instruction on how it should be sung.

In verse 1, the psalm begins with the declaration, “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” This opening statement contains something we don’t see in our English language. David uses two different names to describe God here. In the Hebrew, it reads, “O Yahweh, our adoni.”

Yahweh is God’s personal and formal name. When God met Moses at the burning bush and called him to return to Egypt to set His people free, Moses asked God who he should say that sent him. God says, “I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The LORD (YHWH), the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’”

So, the LORD is a term of greatness and holiness, but also a term of closeness and belonging.

“Adoni” is a term that conveys authority. YHWH, my Lord. YHWH, the one I belong to. YHWH, the one I submit to. YHWH, the one I trust. YHWH, the one I worship. David is saying the Sovereign, great, and personal God of the universe is the one who possesses authority over his life.

This tells us that submission to God's authority is a central element of the Christian faith. Authority is good, and it belongs to God. You do not possess ultimate authority over your life; God does. As followers of Jesus, we say, “My life belongs to you, and I want to honor you. You are the boss of my life.”

Notice the corporate language here— “O LORD, our Lord.” We submit to God together. The church is a people who confess God’s authority over our lives together. God is our Lord, and we openly confess our desire to submit to his will in every aspect of our lives.

A corporate acknowledgment of God’s lordship should always lead to corporate praise—“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” This demonstrates to us that submission and praise go hand in hand. Those who submit to Jesus praise Jesus, and those who praise Jesus submit to Jesus. Worship extends far beyond singing. Submission is essential to praise. Authentic praise on Sunday should drift alongside a heart that seeks to obey the LORD on Thursday.

Verse 1 teaches us that while praise can be given privately, it is best enjoyed publicly with other believers. We were created to praise God with God’s people—“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” One of the many beauties of the Christian faith is how I/me turns into we/our. A vital element of the Christian faith is praising God with other believers.

David leads the congregation in singing, “How majestic is your name in all the earth!” The Hebrew word for majestic here is ʾaddir, which describes something or someone who possesses great power. It’s used elsewhere in the Old Testament to describe a “mighty” ship (Isa. 33:21), “leader” (Jer. 30:21), or “nobles” (Judg. 5:13). This declaration sets up the theme of this song, which is that God is far greater than anything we could ever imagine. The name of God is impressive, grand, intimidating, and powerful, and it’s on full display for all to see on this earth! There is no place on this earth where God’s name is not demonstrated as mighty. He’s worthy of praise on every square inch of this planet. From the slums of Argentina to the depths of the Atlantic to the tip of Antarctica, God’s name is majestic and grand! His name is glorious from the mountaintops to the valleys, and “his glory is set above the heavens.” So, as you gaze out into the night sky, counting the stars and observing the moon, God’s glory extends far beyond the dark depths of the heavens.

David then leads the congregation to sing, “Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.” The language here is a tad bit strange. But, I think David is highlighting God’s ability to ”use weak things in the world to shame the strong.” God is so majestic and strong that he doesn’t depend upon man's strength. God is so strong that he can use the words of babies to still his greatest enemies.

In 1 Corinthians 1:27-31, Paul (in speaking about the cross) says, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Listen. God needs nothing. He doesn’t need your money. He doesn’t need your strength. He doesn’t need your popularity. In fact, he’s chosen to use the opposite. He’s chosen to use what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. He’s chosen to use the weak to shame the strong. “The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. The foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men, and the weakness of God is stronger than the strength of men. God’s power can be made perfect in our weakness. God is in the business of using the words of babies to still the enemy. And if God can use the words of babies to still his enemies, he can use you to advance his kingdom today.

David then takes us outside to sing, “[3] When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, [4] what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”

Given the reference to the moon and stars, we can conclude that “heavens” here refers to the sky (the galaxy, if you will). David is looking out into the night sky and standing in awe of how small he is.

Nothing puts you into a proper perspective like the vastness of the universe. We live on a giant ball (EARTH) that spins around a massive ball of fire (SUN) that is 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The giant ball we live on is close enough to this ball of fire that we don’t freeze. But it’s also far enough away that we don’t burn up. And there’s also a giant, but smaller, ball (MOON) that spins around the giant ball we live on. This ball helps stabilize our ball and causes tides, which move water around, helping distribute nutrients.

The big ball of fire we rotate around is one of our galaxy's 100-400 billion stars. And our galaxy is just one of two trillion galaxies in the universe. There are more stars in the sky than grains of sand on Earth. The number of stars in our universe is so vast that if you took a penny for every star and stacked it on each other, your stack of pennies would extend to the moon, 238,900 miles away.

In poetic fashion, David attributes all of this to the work of God’s fingers. The universe is something He can hold. It’s something He set in place.

When you begin to think about how grand and complex the galaxy is, you start to feel overtly small, leading you to ask, “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”

The Hebrew word for man here intentionally draws a stark contrast between God and man. It’s a term sometimes used to highlight man’s smallness, which sets up a great chasm between God and man. Yet, despite this great chasm, God is still mindful of us. Mindful means he remembers and cares for us. He doesn’t forget us.

Have you ever been rummaging through your closet and come across an old shirt or jacket and thought, “Oh, I forgot I had that!” Those words are never on God’s lips regarding you and me. God is mindful of us. As Gerald Wilson puts it, “In the world of human kings, a peasant subject might languish unknown and uncared for in the furthest reaches of the empire, but Yahweh remains mindful of all whom he has made for a purpose.”

But God’s not just mindful of us; he cares for us— “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” Care assumes watchfulness and proximity; it’s shepherding language. As a shepherd cares for his flock, God cares for his people. He makes us lie down in green pastures. He leads us by still waters. He leads us in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil, for God is with us. His rod and his staff comfort us. God cares for us.

David then leads us to sing, “Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.”

What are the heavenly beings being referred to here? I tend to side with the apparent interpretation of the book of Hebrews in the New Testament.

The author of Hebrews says,

“[5] For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. [6] It has been testified somewhere,

“What is man, that you are mindful of him,

or the son of man, that you care for him?

[7] You made him for a little while lower than the angels;

you have crowned him with glory and honor,

[8] putting everything in subjection under his feet.”

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.”

So, I believe David is standing in awe that God isn’t just mindful of us. He doesn’t just care for us. He has given us the highest possible honor by making us a little lower than the heavenly beings, angels. The God who has created all things has created you for a specific purpose. He has crowned you with glory and honor. He has given us dominion over the works of his hands. We have a responsibility to steward and oversee his creation, as he has put all things under the feet of man, “all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.” The almighty God knows you, cares for you, and has a purpose for you. You are not a faint thought to God. You are not a meaningless being. You are made in the image of God and commissioned by God with a purpose.

As we land the plane today, I want to direct our attention to the hope of the gospel. In a very real sense, all of Psalms points ahead to Jesus. So, as we look to Jesus, we see that there was a baby born from the Virgin Mary who silenced sin, death, and Satan, the ultimate enemy and avenger. This baby lived the life we could not live. And he marched willingly to the cross to die the death we should have died. And on the third day, he rose from the dead. And he is now seated at the Father's right hand in the heavenly places (Eph 2:10).

The majestic LORD became flesh and dwelt among men. The sovereign God was made a little lower than the heavenly beings, and he was crowned with glory and honor. We have seen his glory, and it is full of grace and truth. All things were put under the foot of the Son of Man, Jesus, and he possesses authority over every living being(1 Cor. ). And, now, God’s power is being made perfect through our weakness as we fully rely upon the Holy Spirit. The majestic God of Psalm 8 has become flesh and lived among us. He died the death we should have died, and he rose from the grave. Jesus is worthy of our praise— “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”