If you have a Bible, please turn with me to Psalm 8. While you do that, let me just explain
! what we're going to be looking at this weekend. I've called the series Glorious Dust, the Christian
! Doctrine of Humanity. Glorious Dust, the Christian! Doctrine of Humanity. Our talk tonight is looking
at man as ruler. Tomorrow morning we'll look at man as ruined. Then we'll look at the true
man, Jesus Christ. And then on the Lord's Day in the morning, we'll look at man renewed.
And in the evening, man resurrected. So ruler, ruined, true man, Jesus, renewed, resurrected.
Tonight, we're looking at man created to rule. Surprise. That's what's at the heart of this
psalm. It's a psalm about the unexpected, the surprising. But if we miss the surprise factor,
then we miss the whole point of the psalm. Because the element of surprise causes David
to extol God's greatness in the refrain, O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in
all the earth. We get the hint of surprise in verse 1, where we're told that the God who
has set his glory in the heavens has also displayed his glory, his majesty in all the earth. The
God whose glory cannot be contained by the heaven of heavens has displayed his majesty in all the earth.
Now when you hear that, when you hear that God's majesty has been displayed in all the earth,
what do you think of? Think of creation, don't we? We think of Mount Everest or Victoria Falls in
Zimbabwe or the plains of the Serengeti teeming with wild animals. We think of the Amazon rainforest
or the Grand Canyon. We think of a beautiful star-studded night in the Lake District or a beautiful sunset.
Isn't that what we think of when we hear of God's majesty displayed in all the earth?
Here's the unexpected thing. Here's the big surprise in this psalm. When it comes to talking about God's majesty in all the earth,
David talks about babies and mankind. God's name is majestic in all the earth because
weak little babies defeat God's enemies, verse 2, and because
puny little man
rules God's world, verses 3 to 8.
That's the logic of this psalm.
The catalyst for praise for David is not cute little babies,
verse 2. It's not creation, verse 3.
It's not even mankind, verse 4.
No, the catalyst for praise in this psalm is the surprise
that weak little babies defeat God's enemies
and that puny little man rules God's world.
The first surprise in verse 2 is obvious enough.
Out of the mouth of babes and infants you have established strength
because of your foes to still the enemy and the avenger.
The word here for babes is literally sucklings.
In the Old Testament, or for infants, sorry, is literally sucklings.
In the Old Testament, it's used in the context of oppression where babies are
vulnerable victims of war and death.
And yet, verse 2 says literally,
from the mouth of babes suckling on their mother's breasts,
God has established praise or strength, literally.
I mean, David, are you having a laugh?
If he would ever speak of strength coming out of a baby's mouth,
out of a weak, vulnerable, dependent baby.
It's strength going in the wrong direction, isn't it?
I mean, isn't a baby's mouth supposed to receive nourishment and strength,
not give it out?
Yet God reverses the direction.
From, out of the mouth of babes and infants comes strength.
The surprise factor continues in the purpose given for this strength.
To still the enemy and the avenger.
The great and mighty enemies of God that rise up proud and arrogant against him
are defeated not by armies of men, not by chariots and horses,
not by tanks and fighter planes,
but by weak, vulnerable children.
How humbling for God's enemies.
Now, if we had time tonight, we could look at Matthew chapter 21
and see how Jesus applies this verse to his own day.
The strength is the praise of God coming from little infants as they're running around
and singing,
Hosanna to the Son of David.
Save us, Son of David,
as he rides into Jerusalem on a donkey.
But I want to focus our attention on the bigger surprise in this psalm.
And that is in verses 3 to 8.
God's name is majestic in all the earth because
puny little man rules God's world.
Verses 3 to 8.
Weak little babies defeat God's enemies.
Verse 2.
And puny little man rules God's world.
Verses 3 to 8.
We just glance down at verse 3
and compare it in length to verse 4 and 5 and 6.
You'll notice that it's actually longer.
It doesn't have the parallelism of verse 4.
Hebrew poetry has this structure of parallelism.
It will say something on the first line
and then it will repeat the same thing on the second line
often with a wee bit of a surprise factor or it adds something.
But verse 3 has no parallelism.
It sort of just keeps on going
as if to underline the sense of awe of creation.
When I look at your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars which you have set in place.
The mention of God's fingers is perhaps
the most striking thing in the verse.
God made the heavens
and the moon and the stars with his fingers.
Of course it's just a way of describing God in human terms
which the Bible does often.
But we know God is a spirit.
He doesn't actually have a pair of fingers.
But we mustn't rush to protect God too quickly here.
He's quite happy to be described symbolically
as having fingers.
We should let the metaphor wash over us.
We should meditate on the metaphor.
God used his fingers to create the heavens
and the moon and the stars.
Now what does that communicate to you?
He's an artist.
He's a sculptor, a painter.
The metaphor conveys the delicate, intricate, detailed care
with which God made the world.
But I think the metaphor suggests something else too.
I'm sure most of us in this room have been on an aeroplane.
You know as you sit at the window
and the plane rises, takes off and rises up above the clouds
and there out the window is that endless expanse of blue sky
for thousands of miles.
Or if you've never been in an aeroplane,
you go out in the countryside on a dark night
and you stand there and you look up at that canopy of stars above your head.
Now think about the metaphor here.
That endless blue sky, that star-studded night sky
which God fashioned and shaped in such intricate detail,
all of it is just at the tips of his fingers.
It's so tiny, so small
that God only needs to push and prod it
with the divine digits.
It's as if God picked up the moon like a marble
and rolled it between his thumb and first finger
and then just placed it in the night sky.
Or like he picked up a star like a teacher does,
those little gold stars for her child's homework
and then just stuck it on the canvas of the night sky.
God made the heavens with his fingers.
He's an artist, but he is an incredibly big artist
in comparison to his world.
He molded the endless skies with just the tips of his fingers.
Now if you're like me, you would think that the refrain of the psalm
would kick in here.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars which you have set in place,
O Lord our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth.
But that's not how the psalm progresses.
David doesn't make an exclamation of praise.
He asks a question.
When I consider the blue skies and the fact that you made them
in such fine detail and in comparison to you
they are so small at the tips of your fingers
and man in comparison to them is even smaller,
what is man that you are mindful of him?
There's no exclamation of praise.
There's just a question of puzzlement.
What is man that you are mindful of him
and the son of man that you care for him?
The word man here and the phrase human being
if you have a NIV or son of man
both speak of our fragility, our weakness, our humanness.
We are minuscule specks of dust on a rock
revolving around one of billions of stars
in but one of billions of galaxies.
So why would God even bother with us?
I mean, did you bother with the ants
on the pavement out there tonight
as you walked in here?
Didn't see them?
Insignificant?
Yet here is God.
We are even more insignificant
compared to the ants.
And here is God caring for us.
Do you feel your puniness,
your minuteness,
your insignificance?
David wants you to feel it.
He wants you to feel
how insignificant you are.
But he also wants you to feel something else
and that is
that though you are insignificant
compared to this vast universe
which is so small
in comparison to God,
God still cares for you.
Puny little you
are on the mind of the God
who cast billions of stars
into billions of galaxies
with his fingers.
Now again, you'd expect the refrain
to kick in here, wouldn't you?
When I consider the 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?
And since you do care for him,
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name
in all the earth.
But again, that's not the logic of the psalm.
The refrain is withheld
until verse 9.
Which means that the catalyst
for praise in this psalm
is not creation, verse 3.
It's not even God's care for us,
verse 4.
No, the catalyst for praise in this psalm
is seen in the contrast
between verses 3 to 5,
3 to 4,
and verses 5 to 8.
There's a yet, a but,
at the beginning of verse 5.
The NIV, if you have an NIV,
completely misses it.
But the ESV does get it.
There's a yet, a but,
at the beginning of verse 5.
When I look at your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars
that you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
Yet, yet,
insignificant though we are,
yet 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,
and you have put all things
under his feet.
Psalm 8 is about the clash
of man's insignificance
and man's significance.
Man is utterly insignificant
in comparison to God's world,
verses 3 and 4.
Yet, man is supremely significant
as ruler over God's world,
verses 5 to 8.
Puny little man,
verses 3 to 4,
rules God's world,
verses 5 to 8.
And it's only when those two
paradoxical truths
are set side by side
that David bursts
into praise again.
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic
is your name
in all the earth.
Well, let's take a closer look
at verses 3 to 5.
You have made him a little lower
than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory
and honor.
Charles Darwin said
that as human beings
we bear the image
of our lowly origins.
The 20th century psychiatrist
Murray Bowen said
man is an evolving form of life.
He is more related
to lower forms of life
than he is different from them.
Man is a biological,
instinctual animal,
an emotional,
reactive product of nature.
Look again at verse 5.
Yet you made him
a little lower
than the heavenly beings.
The word there
could refer to angels,
which I think it does,
or to God.
Hebrews 2
picks up this verse
and translates that
as referring to angels.
But whatever way
you translate the word,
Elohim,
it could refer to God
or to angels,
we get the sense
of our original state.
We do not bear the image
of our lowly origins
as Darwin put it.
We are not biological,
instinctual animals,
more related to the lower
forms of life
than we are different from them
as Bowen put it.
Rather,
we bear the image
of high
and holy origins.
we fall short
only a little
from the angels
in God's presence.
Well,
verse 4
spotlighted our humanness,
how insignificant we are.
Verse 5
spotlights
our God-likeness.
The words glory
and honor
are two
descriptives
that are only ever used
of God
in the Bible.
And here we
are being given
those descriptions.
And the significance
continues in verse 6.
You've given him dominion
over the works
of your hands.
You've put all things
under his feet.
We weren't just created
with this high
and glorious state.
We were given
a high and glorious job
to do.
Ruler
over all things.
And then David
lists them.
All sheep
and oxen,
all the beasts
of the field,
the birds of the heavens,
the fish of the sea,
whatever passes
along the paths
of the seas.
Do you hear the echo
of Genesis 1
where God formed
three realms,
water,
sky,
land,
in that order.
And then he filled
each realm
with fish,
birds,
animals,
in that order.
Well,
this psalm captures
all of those realms
but in reverse order.
First there are
the beasts
of the field,
then there are
the birds
in the sky,
then there are
the fish
in the sea,
Genesis works
from water
to sky
to land,
Psalm 8
works from land
to sky
to water,
man is given
rule over every realm
and over every creature
and you'll see
it's not just
the pet pony
or poodle,
it's the alligator
and the antelope,
the lion
and the cobra,
the beasts
of the field,
it's not just
budgies and parrots,
it's eagles
and hawks,
it's not just
goldfish
and turtles,
it's the blue whale,
the great white shark,
all that swim
the paths
of the sea,
not all that swim
the paths
of your fishbowl
in your living room.
Everything
has been placed
under the rule
of man,
all creatures
and all realms.
In fact,
the phrase
all things
or everything
in verse 6
may hint at even more
than just planet earth.
Do you notice
the phrase there
in verse 6
over the works
of your hands?
What does that recall?
Verse 3,
the works
of your fingers.
If this is just
a case
of stylistic
variety
and I think
that's the only
explanation,
then we have
a profound
statement here.
Think about it.
The very thing
in verse 3
that made us
feel so puny
and so small,
the works
of God's fingers,
is now
the very thing
in verse 6
that we've been
given dominion
over.
The stars
and the moon
make us feel
so small,
so insignificant.
But they are
ours to rule.
And we've done it,
haven't we?
We've been to the moon,
we've stuck a flag
in it,
we've said ours,
one small step
for man,
one giant leap
for mankind.
But I know
technically speaking
it was the Americans
and we've never
heard the end
of it since,
but the Irish
settled America.
So it was really
the Irish
who ruled the moon.
But you get the point.
We were made
to rule the moon.
I remember
a BBC series,
The Wonders
of the Solar System,
Empire of the Sun,
that explained
that in the 1970s
we sent,
the Irish,
we sent a probe
out into space
in the 1970s
that was measuring
the heat waves
coming off,
the winds
that were coming off
the sun,
travelling billions
of miles
out into space.
And that probe
is still in space
sending back signals
to Earth.
I mean,
we rule the stars,
don't we?
Is it too much
of an exaggeration
to say
that we
were made
to rule things
that even David
at this point in time
couldn't have imagined?
Perhaps he was
speaking better
than he realised.
But in any case,
what Samet gives us
is a magnificent
picture of man.
There is no
sniff
of Darwinian
lowly origins
here.
Not a sniff.
We are
the pinnacle
of God's creation,
the paragon
of all creatures.
We are
his vice-regents,
commissioned
to rule the world
and everything
in it.
And it is
this surprise,
the surprise
that puny
little man
rules God's world
that causes
the refrain
in verse 9
to kick in.
That's when David
praises God
again.
O Lord,
our Lord,
how majestic
is your name
in all the earth.
Weak little babies
defeat God's enemies.
Puny little man
rules God's world.
O Lord,
our Lord,
how majestic
is your name
in all the earth.
And that's the
psalm in a nutshell.
Those are the two
great surprises
that are at the
heart of this
psalm.
The question is,
what are we
to do with it?
Well,
I want to suggest
five points
of application.
Number one,
be amazed
at what you
were made
to be.
Be amazed
at what you
were made
to be.
What this
psalm says to us
this evening is,
do you have
a high enough
view of yourself?
Because the
world's your oyster.
It really is
your oyster.
There's not a
square inch
of the whole
of this created
universe over
which God
does not say
to us,
it's yours.
It's all
yours.
Now,
of course,
there's the
danger that
we take this
too far
and see our
rule as
independent,
autonomous,
from God,
rulers of
everything,
apart from
God.
Our culture,
our society
preaches the
gospel of
self-sufficiency,
autonomy.
It's a
blasphemous
message.
The only
person in
the universe
who is
self-sufficient
and autonomous
is God.
He alone
is autonomos,
a law
unto
himself.
It reminds
me of that
famous story
of Muhammad
Ali.
He's on an
airplane.
They're coming
into land
and the
captain comes
over the
intercom.
Would all
passengers
please return
to their
seats and
fasten their
seatbelts?
And as the
air hostess is
walking through
the cabin,
she lifts
down and she
sees that
Muhammad Ali
doesn't have a
seatbelt on.
And she
says,
excuse me
sir,
the captain
has asked
all passengers
to fasten
their seatbelts
and he
said,
Superman
don't need
no seatbelt.
And she
said,
Superman
don't need
no airplane.
Now put
your seatbelt
on.
See,
the problem
with Muhammad
Ali is,
he thinks
he's completely
self-sufficient,
independent,
autonomous,
a law
unto himself.
But if he
really was,
then he'd
need no
airplane.
And it's
the exact
same with
man's
dependence
on God.
It's an
unavoidable
fact.
It cannot
be escaped.
Did you
notice how
God is
the subject
of all
the verbs
in verses
5 and
6?
Yet you
God
made him
man a
little lower
than the
heavenly
beings.
And you
God
crowned him
with glory
and honour.
And you
God
gave him
dominion.
And you
God
put all
things under
his feet.
I mean,
you can't
get a
clearer
statement
of man's
dependence
on God.
Man in
the Bible,
man in
the world,
is man
dependent
on God,
whether he
likes it
or not,
believes it
or not,
acts like
it or not.
Even
atheists are
dependent on
God for
their own
worldview.
I mean,
where do you
get the
definition
atheism from?
You get it
from theism
and sticking
an A on
the front of
it.
They're
dependent
on theism
for their
very
worldview.
Theism
is not
defined by
taking
atheism
and taking
the A
off it.
It's like
Cornelius
Van Till
who said
atheists are
like the
little girl
who wants
to slap
her father
in the
face,
but she
has to
climb onto
his lap
to do
so.
So,
man in
the Bible
is dependent
on God,
that is
clear,
but keeping
that perspective
and that is
the right
perspective
of ruling
under the
ruler,
of lording
over the
world under
the Lord,
let's not
miss the
point,
the jaw
dropping
point that
David is
making,
the surprise
that though
we are
mere specks
in this
vast universe,
God made
us to
rule it.
I love
that bit
in C.S.
Lewis's
Prince Caspian
where Badger
is speaking
of Narnia,
it's not
men's
country,
but it
is a
country for
a man
to be
king of.
This
world is
not our
world,
it's God's
world,
but it
is a
world for
man to
be king
of.
It is
a world
for us,
male and
female,
to rule
it.
And there's
a sense
in which
this evening
we need
to praise
God for
that.
Sometimes we
rush so
quickly to
the gospel
that we
forget this
aspect of
God's
common
grace.
Puny
little
man
really
does
rule
God's
world.
We do.
We photograph
stars and
determine when
they'll appear
and disappear.
We send
robots to
planet Mars
to take
photographs
and collect
rock samples.
We've
mastered
human
language so
that we
write beautiful
poems and
great pieces
of literature.
We've
built bridges
over the
impasse of
miles of
water.
We've
blown holes
into mountains
to make
tunnels.
We've
tamed the
tiger.
We swim
with killer
whales.
We've
created the
internet which
can send a
photograph from
London to
Los Angeles
in two
seconds.
We've
developed drugs
that can
cure Ebola.
There's a
sense in
which tonight
we say,
O Lord,
our Lord,
how majestic
is your name
in all the
earth because
you have
given us
this world
to rule.
You may
be saying,
yes, but
I'm not so
sure.
Maybe this
is David
reflecting on
Eden before
the fall.
Well, then
why does he
talk about
enemies in
verse 2?
And even
after Noah
comes out
of the ark
in a fallen
world, what
does God
tell Noah
to do?
To rule
it.
And he
says, it's
all yours.
I've placed
everything into
your hands.
So even
after the
fall, this
is still
the structure
of the
world.
Clearer
still we
see your
hand in
man whom
you have
made for
the ruler
of creation's
glory, image
of your
majesty.
Music, art,
the fruitful
garden, all
the labor of
his days are
the calling
of his
maker to
the harvest
feast of
praise.
The
structure of
creation was
not ruined,
by the
fall.
Be amazed
at what
you were
made to
be.
Number two,
but be
aware of
what you
have
become.
Be aware
of what
you have
become.
Think if
you're honest
tonight as I
was giving
you that
list of
our
accomplishments,
was there
a niggle
in your
mind saying
yeah but
I mean
really?
Yes we've
sent probes
into space,
yes we've
planted a
flag on
the moon
but in
Larry Norman's
words I
say you
starved your
children to
do it.
Yes we've
mastered human
language but we
also know how
to twist words
to tell a
lie.
Yes we've
blown holes in
mountains but
we've also
blown holes in
buildings and
killed people
deliberately.
Yes we swim
with killer
whales but
sometimes they
turn on us
and kill us.
Yes we've
created the
internet and
can send
photos to
friends but
we've also
used it for
the exploitation
of women and
children in
pornography.
Yes we've
developed drugs
that can cure
diseases but
we've also
developed chemicals
that can commit
ethnic genocide.
Yes God has
given us rule
over our family
relationships and
work and
university
friendships but
who of us
tonight can say
that any of us
have lived
perfectly in
those relationships?
I mean let's
be honest while
we were made
to fall only a
little short
from the angels
we have fallen
very far short
from what God
made us to be
and why?
Because we
tried to live
independently.
We tried to
pretend there's
no God.
We tried to be
like Muhammad
Ali fly without
a seat belt.
But man left
to himself man
in rebellion
against his
creator is
never a
pretty picture.
I said earlier
that this psalm
asks us the
question do you
have a high
enough view of
yourself?
But this psalm
said in the
context of the
whole Bible
asks us the
question do you
also have a
realistic view
of yourself?
Because the
reality is we've
messed up and
we've messed
the world up.
Just turn your
TV on.
The world's an
absolute mess.
I love that
story of G.K.
Chesterton who
was reading the
newspaper one day
and the editor in
a column said
what's wrong with
the world?
Please send in your
answers.
G.K.
Chesterton wrote
dear sir in
regards to your
question what is
wrong with the
world?
I am yours
sincerely G.K.
Chesterton.
He hit the nail
right in the head.
What's wrong with
the world?
It's not your
next door neighbour.
It's not the
environment.
It's you.
It's me.
Why?
Because we have
abandoned our
creator.
We have rebelled
against him.
But though we
have rebelled
against God
God has not
abandoned his
basic plan
to rule the
world through
man.
Just like I
was saying the
fall does not
remove the
creation, the
created order.
And God did
not abandon
his plan to
rule the
world through
man or to
be more precise
to rule the
world through
one man.
That has always
been God's
intention.
To rule the
world through
one man.
He created
Adam.
He was to
rule the
world through
one man and
his bride.
But Adam
failed and we
failed with him.
Which brings us
to the third
point.
Be amazed at
Jesus, the
proper man.
Be amazed at
Jesus, the
proper man.
Now, before I
unpack this
point, I just
want to step
back a little.
I've been
speaking this
evening quite a
bit of
ourselves.
Perhaps you've
been a bit
uneasy.
What's all this
man-centered talk,
Johnny?
I mean, isn't
that the problem
with modern-day
Christianity?
We are too
people-centered,
too self-centered
instead of God-centered.
John Piper puts
his finger on it
when he says,
we evangelicals
are okay being
God-centered
so long as
God is man-centered.
And he's
right.
But I just
want to tweak
it a little.
I know what he
means, Piper,
and he's right.
There is a form
of Christianity
that's so
preoccupied with
ourselves that
God is not
God.
He's just the
servant who
meets our
needs.
But I want to
tweak that a
little.
The reason I
can speak
tonight, and
the reason
Sam, it speaks
so man-centeredly,
if I can use
that language,
is because of
the person of
Jesus Christ.
See, in
Christ, God
is both God-centered
and man-centered
to the exact
same extent.
It has
always been
God's plan
for a man
to rule the
world.
For one
man to
rule the
world.
Indeed, isn't
it interesting
that at no
point in
this, Sam,
does David
speak about
man or
mankind in
the plural?
If you have
an ESV, you'll
see that it's
followed that.
The new
NIV, sadly,
has missed
it.
You have
made him
a little
lower.
You crowned
him.
You have
given him.
You have
put all
things under
his feet.
You see
the singularity
here?
Of course,
David is
speaking about
mankind, the
generic mankind,
but he speaks
about generic
mankind,
in the singular.
And that
allows this
psalm to
therefore be
applied to
a man, but
not just any
man, the
one man who
himself embodies
mankind.
The last
Adam, who is
himself the
embodiment of
a new
humanity.
and when we
read the
New Testament,
we see that
this psalm is
picked up and
used and
related and
applied to
Jesus.
You could,
of course,
think of what
Jesus does in
the Gospels.
He walks on
water, he
calms the
storm.
He is
showing in
those miraculous
acts that he
himself is the
man of
Samia, who
literally rules
over everything.
But come with
me to
Ephesians
chapter 1
and see how
Paul picks up
this psalm and
applies it
directly to
Jesus.
Ephesians
chapter 1.
Reading from
verse 20.
According to
the working of
his great might
that he worked
in Christ when
he raised him
from the dead
and seated him
at his right
hand in the
heavenly places,
far above all
rule and
authority and
power and
dominion and
above every
name that
is named,
not only in
this age but
also in the
one to come,
and he put
all things
under his
feet,
there's the
allusion to
Samia,
and gave him
as head over
all things to
the church,
which is his
body, the
fullness of
him who
fills all
in all.
Do you
notice what's
going on here?
This is an
application of
Samia, but it
is also an
unwrapping of
what the all
things really
meant.
It's not just
this physical
universe that
is placed under
Christ's feet.
Now it is
every rule and
authority, every
power and
dominion in
the universe,
but notice not
only in this
age but also
in the age to
come.
Jesus is Lord
not just of this
world in this
age, but he is
Lord of that
world in that
age as well.
Hebrews 2 says
something similar,
God has
subjected the
world to
come under
Jesus'
authority.
1 Corinthians
15 picks up
Samia and
says that death
itself will be
placed under
his feet.
I love that
hymn of
Francis of
Assisi, all
creatures of
our God and
King, you
know the hymn,
all creatures of
our God and
King.
And thou
most kind and
gentle death,
waiting to
hush our
latest breath.
Oh, praise
him.
Death, praise
him, because
you are now
under his
feet.
And so here
we have the
physical world,
the spiritual
world, the
present world,
the future
world, all of
it, all of
it placed under
the feet of
Jesus Christ.
God has left
nothing that is
not subject to
him.
Doesn't the
phrase Jesus is
Lord now take
on a whole
new meaning
when you read
it in the
light of
Psalm 8 as
it is applied
in the New
Testament.
And so this
should alleviate
any concern
with a man
centeredness of
Psalm 8.
God is as
man centered as
he is God
centered because
of Jesus Christ.
He is, as
Martin Luther
called him,
the proper
man.
But here's
the surprise.
Who is this
proper man?
Where did he
come from?
He was born
in a manger
in the dark
streets of
Bethlehem.
He grew up
as a carpenter's
son.
He was
despised in
the town of
Nazareth.
During his
ministry he
had nowhere to
lay his head
and in the end
his own people
gave him a
death befitting
a criminal
and a murderer.
He was
despised and
rejected, a
man of sorrows
and familiar with
suffering like
one from whom
men had their
faces.
He was
despised and
we esteemed
him not.
He was
puny, he
was insignificant,
he was
despised, but
it has always
been God's
plan for
puny,
insignificant
little man
to rule his
world.
And it is
that humble,
frail,
despised you
that God
has placed
as king
over the
world to
come.
Oh Lord,
our Lord,
how majestic
is your name
in all the
earth.
Number four,
be amazed
at what is
now yours
in Christ.
Be amazed
at what is
now yours
in Christ.
When we
become
Christians,
we bring
ourselves back
under the
rule of
God's new
king.
We're no
longer under
the ancient
King Adam
from whom
we descended.
We are
now under
the present
King Jesus
to whom we
are united.
And because
we are now
united to
the proper
man who
reigns over
all things,
there's another
surprise here.
In Christ,
all things
have now
become ours.
Come with
me to
1 Corinthians
chapter 3.
1 Corinthians chapter 3
in verse 22
Paul is speaking in the
context of the celebrity
pastor cult in Corinth
but the point he makes
is applicable not just to the celebrity
pastor context but to
all contexts
so let no one boast in men for
all things are yours whether Paul
or Apollos or Cephas or the world
or life or death or the present or the future
all are yours and you are
Christ's and Christ
is God's
do you see that the world
life death the present
the future
is all yours
why is it
yours
because you are in Christ
and Christ belongs to
God and God has
exalted Christ over all things
so be amazed
at what is now yours
in Christ
what God says to us
this evening is what he always
what he intended us to be
he still intends us to be
as we are remade
in the person of his son
Jesus Christ
so whatever it is you do
whether it's baking or ballet
basketball
or the Higgs
Boas and particle theory
whatever you do
rule over it
master it
to God's glory
why
because it's yours
under Christ
the world is still
your oyster
because it's
his oyster
and you are connected
to him
all things are yours
fifth and finally
be amazed at what you will
become in Christ
be amazed at what you will
become
in Christ
in Hebrews chapter 2
9 to 10
the writer says that
Jesus was made a little
lower than the angels
so that he might taste
death for every one
of his family
in order to bring
many sons
to glory
in other words
or in C.S. Lewis'
words
the son of man
became a man
in order that men
might become
sons of God
the son of God
became a man
in order that men
might become
sons of God
and that's the final
surprise
brothers and sisters
when Jesus restores us
to a new humanity
and a new heavens
and a new earth
he will not
take us back
to Adam in the garden
the story of the Bible
is not from a garden
to a garden
it's from a garden
to a garden
in the middle of the Bible
to a garden city
there is a progression
we will be
co-heirs
with Christ
Adam was made
a little lower
than the angels
but when Jesus
takes us to that
garden city
we will rule
angels
isn't that what Paul
says in 1 Corinthians 6
do you not know
that the saints
will judge the world
do you not know
that you will judge
angels
Adam never judged
an angel
but you
puny
little you
one day
will sit
and judge
angels
oh Lord
our Lord
how majestic
is your name
in all the earth
let us pray
God