Is The Majestic God Your Lord?

[0:00] but we've got some extras. We'd love for you to just take one. It's our gift to you. So we started in Psalm 1, and this is our eighth week this summer going through the Psalms.

[0:10] And so this will be our last one until next summer, Lord willing. Psalm 8 is one of the most glorious, most famous Psalms out of all 150 in the Psalter.

[0:23] Psalm 8. Well, as I read Psalm 8 and you follow along, we believe that this is God's very own word for his people.

[0:40] It's God's inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear and sufficient word. And so as I read this, after we're done, I'll say, this is the word of the Lord and the people of God say, thanks be to God.

[0:53] Psalm 8. To the choir master, according to the Giddeth, a Psalm of David. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.

[1:06] You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouths of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes to silence the foe and the avenger.

[1:19] When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him.

[1:33] You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands.

[1:43] You have put all things under his feet, 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.

[1:56] O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

[2:07] You may be seated. The Bible says that the grass withers and the flower fades, but it's the word of the Lord that endures forever.

[2:19] Would you pray with me? Father, please show us how all of Scripture testifies of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[2:37] May his gospel ring forth clearly with the power of your Holy Spirit through Psalm 8 and that your purpose will be done in each soul for the glory of Christ alone we ask.

[2:50] Amen. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, when God is your Lord, worship is warfare.

[3:07] Last time we had an open air service, one of our brothers here said, we need to keep doing that because it's warfare. When we are worshiping publicly, unashamed of the gospel, it's spiritual warfare.

[3:20] We don't know what's happening in the spiritual realm. But look at verse 2 in Psalm 8. Verse 2 says, God has enemies and there's an avenger.

[3:35] That's Satan. He wants to spoil everything God has done. But yet, Psalm 8 verse 2 says that God has ordained, God has established his praise.

[3:45] And it's through his praise out of the mouths of babies that he attacks the enemy and silences him. Well, there it is. Worship is warfare.

[3:58] I was trying to imagine, what if this exact congregation right here got surrounded by enemies? And then, our strong men, we have many strong men here, one by one came to the front, but then came one appearing as an angel of light and began to recall all the sins of each of these strong men till each one takes the back seat again and fades away.

[4:24] Well, I picture out of this congregation comes one of our littlest children. And from those mouths in a squeaky, high-pitched voice, Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.

[4:38] And at the name of Jesus, one little word from an infant shall fell that enemy. And that, that one that was the accuser that appeared as the angel of light, it reveals to be a pulley on the dragon, whips around and runs away at the name of Jesus who loves his people.

[5:03] So, I hope that this is less of a sermon of teaching, it's more of a sermon as worship and worship as warfare. As we go through Psalm 8, I want to bring up five questions to you for reflection and then one exhortation from Psalm 8.

[5:20] So, number one, doesn't all of creation move you to declare God's majesty? The superscription is also part of inspired scripture.

[5:33] and there's a Hebrew word that they decided to not even translate, just leave it. And it's, do you see it in the superscription right above Psalm 8? It's the gideth. And that word is translated winepress.

[5:45] But it's probably a melody that was familiar and when you think of the winepress in ancient Israel, that would be a time of the harvest. That would be a time of joy and abundance. And you can see people singing even as the sun is down and the stars are coming out, they're stomping those grapes and the red juice is flowing.

[6:06] O Lord, our Lord is the lyric to this glorious, joyful melody. How excellent, how majestic, how exceedingly good is your name in all the earth.

[6:21] The first book of the Psalms, this first cluster of Psalms from the pen of King David, they tell of a king who's being accused. Isn't that comforting that as the king's own heart and flesh fears the men all around him, the enemies and the foes, the king is encouraged by looking at the faithful people of God singing this melody, O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.

[6:52] God ordains his strength even for that accused king out of the mouths of babes and infants who are praising God. Faith like a child brings strength to the people of God.

[7:05] Hasn't that been true in your experience? Well, then, this glorious Psalm picks up momentum and nothing is beyond the reach of the imagination when it comes to Psalm 8 declaring the majesty of God.

[7:21] Look at verse 3. King David, the harp-playing psalmist, says, I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place.

[7:36] King David was a shepherd when he was younger, so you can almost picture him out there in the pasture late at night. Everybody in his home forgot that he was even part of the family, but he's out there all alone laying with his back on the dewy pasture looking up.

[7:50] There's no light pollution, there's no artificial light anywhere. And the majesty of God is on display. Maybe now in the midst of the congregation these little babes and infants that come close, they ask him, how did those stars get there?

[8:05] How come the moon travels that way? And do you see the answer in verse 3? It's because God has set each one in their place. That's the childlike faith.

[8:16] That's the answer. It's that this is all the work of God's fingers. If that was true true in ancient Israel, you would think that perhaps now with scientific advancements, we would realize well Christianity and this Judeo-Christian God of the Bible of the Psalter is very archaic.

[8:36] And all of modern science dispels those false notions. In the 1990s, the Hubble telescope, which is a giant telescope about the size of a school bus, it was set to fly about 340 miles above the Earth's crust.

[8:54] And the pictures that the Hubble telescope take reveal even more God's majesty rather than denying it. Just one example is what's called the Whirlpool Galaxy.

[9:05] If you want to, be blown away, look up HD photos taken by the Hubble telescope of the Whirlpool Galaxy. This galaxy is 31 million light years away.

[9:17] We don't even know enough about science, most of us, to even appreciate how far that is. 31 million light years away. This one galaxy has 300 billion stars.

[9:31] You think there's a lot of people in the world? There's about 8 billion people in the world. This one galaxy has 300 billion stars in it. How did all those stars get to be in this Whirlpool Galaxy?

[9:44] And how did their light travel 31 million years from there until Earth so that it could even be viewed? It's because God said, let there be light.

[9:57] So to speak, the light traveled from the mouth of God at 300 million miles per second. And the Whirlpool Galaxy was formed.

[10:10] Doesn't that sound big? Well, this one galaxy is only one of hundreds of billions of other galaxies, and that's only within the known cosmos of God.

[10:28] Let me give you a comparison of how big one billion is compared to one million. We're throwing out these astronomically large numbers. One million seconds, if you had to estimate, how much time would pass with one million seconds?

[10:43] It's only 12 days. One billion seconds is 31 years. Modern science does not deny the majesty of our Creator.

[10:57] If anything, it humbles us even smaller than what ancient David would have thought looking up at the stars. That's why we can say like that wonderful poem by Milton Vincent, Beholding the heavens, I now understand God measured them all with the breadth of His hand.

[11:16] He fashioned the trillions of stars in the sky, the sun and the moon He established on high, all heaven and earth which He made in six days, show daily and nightly His merit of praise.

[11:32] Now look at verse 1. We think that the stars reveal the majesty of God. Verse 1 says that God set His own glory above the heavens.

[11:45] Isaiah 40 verse 22 says that God sits on His throne above the horizon of the cosmos. This was our call to worship that God stretched out the heavens like a piece of cloth.

[12:00] You see how much more majestic God is. Then we can even fathom or put into words one of the most beloved hymns of the church is How Great Thou Art and How Great Thou Art is written about Psalm 8.

[12:17] And that's exactly what we declare when we sing it. Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds Thy hands have made, I see the stars, I hear the roaring thunder, Thy power throughout, the universe displayed.

[12:35] Aren't you moved to declare the majestic name of our God? Don't you want to worship this majestic God, creator of all? Well the second point of reflection is this, when you do see the majesty of God, don't you marvel then by contrast at your place in this universe that He's created?

[12:57] See, God set His glory even above those heavens and then you look at yourself like David, look what he says in verse 4, what is man?

[13:13] Who am I that you are mindful of a guy like me? Or even the son of man that you care for him? Isaiah 40, 22 says man is like a grasshopper before God.

[13:24] But yet, this psalm tells us that God does care for His creation. Every single one, not a hair can fall from our head without the knowledge of the Father in heaven.

[13:38] Milton Vincent's poem goes on to say, so wondrously caring is God every day, creating, sustaining my life every way. Each breath I intake, every beat of my heart, all pleasures well tasted are His to impart.

[13:55] In fact, for this purpose He brought me to be that I might His glory and kindliness see and cherish Him fully in all of my days obeying with pleasure whatever He says.

[14:11] Well, David takes his eyes off of the heavens and he looks at the earth next in verse 5. He says, you have crowned man with glory and honor. He says, I look at all the other beasts, all the other creatures.

[14:26] None of them have a soul. No other creature is called an image bearer of God. When God made all the creation He says it is good but when He made Adam and Eve He says it is very good.

[14:42] Do you marvel at this majestic God who cares about you? not only has He made you in His image He has placed you over His creation in a special role.

[14:55] Look at what He says in verse 6. You have given man dominion over the works of your hand. In verse 7 He says all sheep, oxen, and the beasts of the field. In verse 8 He says it's also the birds of the heavens, the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

[15:13] Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. The nation of Israel was doing spiritual warfare by calling out specifically how God is majestic in all His creation.

[15:30] What comes to your mind when you think of all that God has created that declares His majesty? What comes to mind? When we rehearse this together, we're worshiping God and we're doing this as spiritual warfare.

[15:44] That simple little pigeon in Israel, that pigeon declares the majesty of God. The piranha in the Amazon declares the majesty of God.

[15:58] The palatopis off the beach in Australia declares the majesty of God. What else declares the majesty of God? Well, the penguin on an iceberg in Argentina declares the majesty of God.

[16:12] The porcupine in a Canadian forest declares the majesty of God. There's a pike fish right now in a lake in Mongolia that declares the majesty of God.

[16:25] We worship God by looking at all that He has made. And when we praise God for His majesty in all the creation, His spirit is winning the war.

[16:37] His kingdom is advancing as we worship Him. I thought about picking on the poodle in Paris but that was just too obvious. But even the poodle would declare the majesty of God.

[16:48] You want a couple more? Okay. No one said yes but okay. Well, the panther in the Brazilian jungle declares the majesty of God. The panda in a forest in China declares the majesty of God.

[17:01] And even for those who fear snakes, yes, even the python in subtropical India declares the majesty of God. Anywhere we travel or walk or visit, any hike you go on, it's declaring the majesty of God.

[17:16] You can say this is my Father's world. He shines in all that's fair. In the rustling grass I hear Him pass and He speaks to me everywhere.

[17:29] The third point of reflection. The more you marvel at creation, doesn't it make you want to know your majestic creator? You want to declare His majesty but don't you want more than that too?

[17:42] You want to know Him. Look back at verse 1 again. He says, O Lord, our Lord. And He's not just repeating the same word.

[17:56] In the Hebrew He says, O Yahweh, our Adonai. Yahweh is the unspeakable name of God. It's not even including the vowels. It's just Y-W-H.

[18:08] It's the name that should not be spoken because of fear of taking the Lord's name in vain. So when you behold all of God's majesty and all of creation, you say, that's Yahweh. I can't even say His name.

[18:21] But yet, He says, O Lord, O Yahweh, our Adonai. And Adonai was the word they could say when they speak of God without it being irreverent. So yes, this majestic Lord that is transcendent, He is our Adonai.

[18:36] He's our covenant keeping God who draws near to us. We marvel at His creation, but we want to know Him. We want to be able to call Him by His name and worship Him.

[18:49] But see, the psalm, He's always got this tension going through it because He says, God has set His glory above the heavens like it's out of His reach. All of creation, it's pointing to how majestic God is almost beyond the grasp of any sinful human.

[19:05] In fact, it is beyond the grasp unless God were to do something. This is what the church has always recognized and declared of God. Nehemiah 9.6 says, You alone are the Lord.

[19:17] You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is in it, the seas and all that is in them. You can just hear the longing of God's people as they're coming back from exile.

[19:30] We want to know You, Lord. We see all that You have done, and You have been faithful to us as our Adonai. We want to know You. In verse 5, He says, You made man, this is interesting how He words it, You made man a little lower than the Elohim.

[19:48] You made man a little lower than those heavenly beings, those angels and spiritual beings. Now, He could have drawn the comparison looking down, couldn't He? He said, You have made man a little above the beasts.

[20:00] But that's not where He sets man's sight. He says, You made man a little lower than the spiritual beings, and on top of that, You crowned him with Your own glory and honor. We can find some good help here from classical theism, from men like Thomas Aquinas, who synthesized what the church believed of God in the Middle Ages.

[20:22] Thomas Aquinas looked at Psalm 8, and he says, Okay, here we have man that is formed out of the dirt, like Adam was made from the dirt that God put, and then God breathed with the Holy Spirit a spirit and a soul into Adam.

[20:36] And that's exactly the picture we see here, that Adam was put over all the animals, but yet on top of that, he was made spiritual like those heavenly beings.

[20:47] So man has this position of being earthly, but yet being spiritual. There's no other creature that God made that is that way, that has a body and also has a soul.

[21:00] Nehemiah echoes this in that same passage, Nehemiah 9, 6, he says, God, not only did you create everything, you gave life to everything, and what's more, multitudes of heaven worship you.

[21:13] That longing to worship God belongs to spiritual beings. Man longs to worship the creator as the heavenly beings worship him as spirit.

[21:27] The more you marvel at creation, doesn't it make you want to know this true God, this creator? And as you want to know him, you're met with that reality that I can only tremble.

[21:40] I want to worship him, but I'm so small. I am like a grasshopper. And you're overwhelmed with fear. Scottish pastor Eric Alexander, he said, the fear of the Lord is just the proper reaction of sinners to God's infinite holiness, or of creatures to God's infinite majesty.

[22:02] As we grow in the knowledge of God, we will learn to truly tremble before his great glory and his burning purity, and see this is indeed the beginning of wisdom.

[22:13] wisdom. Well, because we are spiritual creatures, here's the fourth point of reflection. Don't you long for a new creation in which you truly can feel closer to God?

[22:31] We are spiritual beings. Don't you have that inner longing to be closer and feel even closer to God, the creator? There's a problem with Psalm 8.

[22:49] The problem is this. It cannot be speaking of Adam, and it cannot be speaking of any son of Adam. Let me try to make that case for you. Before Adam sinned, did he have any children?

[23:03] Were there any born of the seed of Adam that were sinless, born sinless unto the earth? No. Well, then how can verse 2 be referring to Adam? Look at verse 2. The promise in Psalm 8 verse 2 is that God will silence his foe and the avenger from the mouths of babes and infants.

[23:22] Well, there were no infants in the Garden of Eden. On top of that, did Adam silence the foe and the avenger?

[23:33] No. He did just the opposite. He failed. Adam did not guard and keep the temple dwelling presence of God in Eden from the serpent. Instead, Adam joined the rebellion, fell to sin.

[23:48] And Adam brought a curse on all of the first creation. Did Adam, look at verse 6 in Psalm 8, did Adam have all things put under his feet? Adam never did.

[24:01] Yes, he was supposed to name the animals, but here comes the rebellious serpent, and the serpent wins that battle against Adam. So the psalmist asks in verse 4, what is man?

[24:14] What is Adam that you should care about him or the son of Adam? Who's the son of Adam? It's everyone born of Adam. Why should God care for anyone under the curse of the first creation sin through the first federal head?

[24:34] That's why you and I have problems. In Psalm 8, it elevates the majesty of God, but it also exposes us before this majestic God as sinners standing in need of God to do something on our behalf.

[24:48] We are spiritual beings that long to worship our creator, but yet we're fallen sinners in Adam. We need a new creation.

[25:02] Some of you are feeling that now, and though you are part of the new creation in Christ, you still feel that distance from God. I just want to encourage you right now.

[25:15] You get to pray. You and I get to pray to this mighty God, the creator. And we get to hear his word ministered to us by his spirit.

[25:27] Martin Luther felt that. He felt, he knew he was saved forensically, but yet he felt distance from God. He struggled so much throughout this whole life. And he devoured God's word and translated the whole Bible into German.

[25:41] And Martin Luther said this about prayer and your fellowship with the Lord on a daily basis. Martin Luther's conclusion, see if you agree. We don't pray for God to make us want to read the Bible.

[25:53] We read the Bible, and God uses that to make us want to pray. We want to fellowship with God. We get to pray, but it's a spiritual battle as long as we are in this body of flesh, under the curse of Adam, on this world.

[26:08] But you have a soul, and it's your soul that longs to worship God like the heavenly beings. And it's that soul that is united to your Savior, Jesus Christ.

[26:18] Christ. Well, Jesus is foreshadowed in Psalm 8. God says, I will make my majesty, my exceeding good name known to all the earth.

[26:30] I will do it. It will not come from the son of Adam. It will come from the seed of woman. The sons of man will forever be slaves to the serpent.

[26:42] But Genesis 3.15, like our older children are memorizing, God promised in the curse of the serpent, I will put enmity between Eve's offspring and Satan.

[26:54] And from Eve's line shall rise up one, my one seed that shall crush Satan's head, and Satan shall bruise his heel. We long for a new creation. We long to feel closer to God.

[27:07] Trust Him. Trust this majestic God will come to save. If, Augustine said, if you ever are longing, be ever praying.

[27:21] So the last, the fifth and last point of reflection is this, that Psalm 8 can only be fulfilled if the majestic God Himself does it.

[27:34] Do you see, here's what you need to reflect on, do you see Christ in Psalm 8? Let's march through this. Psalm 8 verse 5 says this, God made Him a little lower than the heavenly beings.

[27:50] How was this fulfilled in Christ? Philippians 2.5 says that though Jesus Christ is God, He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. Psalm 8.4 says, how mindful is God of man and how much does God care for the fallen line of Adam?

[28:06] Philippians 2.7 answers that question. Taking on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. Psalm 8 says, it will be sinners on earth who will praise the majestic name of God.

[28:21] And when Jesus Christ walked this earth and He was casting out demons, in Luke 9.42 and 43, the Pharisees and scribes, they were the foes and the avengers.

[28:31] They were plotting to kill Jesus and as they were plotting against Him, Jesus interpreted Psalm 8 for them and said, God has ordained praise for me out of the mouths of these babies and infants.

[28:44] And He did that and fulfilled that to strengthen your faith. God silenced Satan once and for all. Taking on the form of a man by being crushed on the cross.

[28:58] Putting death to death for our sins. Philippians 2.8 says that in human form, God humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

[29:11] How majestic is the name of our great God. Our hymn says it so well, and when I think that God, His Son, not sparing, sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in.

[29:26] That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin. Psalm 8 verse 5 says that God crowned Him with glory and honor.

[29:41] God crowned Jesus Christ the new man, the firstborn of the new creation, the second Adam, with glory and honor. Hebrews 1.3 interprets this for us, that Jesus Christ is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the world, by the word of His power.

[30:02] After making purification for sins, Jesus Christ sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. Jesus has fully and finally fulfilled all that God promised in Psalm 8, so that you can call Him your Lord.

[30:26] Philippians 2.9 says that God has highly exalted Jesus and bestowed on Him God's majestic name that is above every name.

[30:37] Psalm 8.6 says that God has given Him dominion over the works of His hands and put all things under His feet. Because the new creation is inaugurated spiritually by the finished work of Christ, you can approach this great God, our Creator.

[30:57] You can know Him. You can enjoy fellowship with Him spiritually, though it's a battle with the remaining flesh. So here's our exhortation.

[31:09] It's the first and the last verse of Psalm 8. The exhortation for us, if you know Christ, is to worship His majestic name in this life in preparation for the life to come.

[31:25] David calls all of God's people to sing it. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth. We worship His majestic name in spirit now with all of creation confirming the gospel truth that our Creator came to save sinners like us.

[31:45] And we can declare again, this is my Father's world. Why should my heart be sad? The Lord is King. Let the heavens ring. God reigns.

[31:56] Let the earth be glad. You will feel distant from God in this life from time to time. you will feel spiritually cold in worship.

[32:09] And it's good that we long to be closer and closer and closer to God, our Creator. When you worship Him, you are fighting in the battle.

[32:20] We need to fight to worship our God, fight against our own flesh in private and in public. Worship is warfare. I love how Don Whitney said, can we expect the flames of our worship of God to burn brightly in public on the Lord's day when they barely flicker for Him in secret on other days?

[32:42] Worship on this earth will always be warfare for us. Hebrews 2, 5, and 6 says that there is a world to come. There is a new heavens, a new earth.

[32:54] And it says that God will not subject the world to come to angels. That's why Jesus Christ was lower than the angels becoming a man, becoming a mediator because it's to Him that God will entrust that new world that is to come.

[33:09] God has set Jesus Christ on His throne of glory above the heavens. And soon He will usher in this new world. And in the meantime, we worship God in spirit, believing the truth of all that He has revealed and fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

[33:28] How majestic is the great name of our Lord. We worship now as a fool before the world, trusting that He will come from heaven with all of His glory unto the whole earth one day very soon.

[33:46] Philippians 2, 10 says that when He does come, you know this, every knee will bow in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. Why will they bow?

[33:58] At the name of Jesus Christ. Worship the majestic name of God in this life in preparation for that great, glorious life with Him that's to come.

[34:10] What will that be like? Well, when this life is over for you, Christ Himself will usher you into His heavenly realm. Psalm 45, verse 5, describes what that will be like this way.

[34:21] It's with joy and rejoicing that you will be brought and you will enter into the King's palace. How majestic is the great name of our God.

[34:35] Psalm 16, verse 11 says that when you're there in His glorious presence, there is fullness of joy at the right hand of God, our pleasures forevermore.

[34:48] So you worship His majestic name now by faith. By faith, you know His kingdom is coming. Your spirit inside of you longs for that. And one day, our faith will be made sight.

[35:03] How great is our God. The hymn says that when Christ shall come with shout of acclamation and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.

[35:16] Then I shall bow in humble adoration and then proclaim, my God, how great thou art. So we worship this majestic name of our Lord now.

[35:29] It's a battle, but it's preparing our souls for the world that is to come. If God has revealed His majestic name to you, as the Father foreordained, as the Son came to fully reveal, and as the Spirit now comes to minister the fullness of God to you, then you praise the majestic name of the Lord, our God, now in preparation for all of eternity.

[35:58] Glory be to God. Would you pray with me? O Lord, our God, may the majesty of your most excellent name be on display in our lives and in this congregation.

[36:24] We pray from Jude 1, 12, that through Jesus Christ our Lord, the only God, our Savior, to you alone be all glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and now and forevermore.

[36:41] Amen.