WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.919 Psalm 8, verses 1 to 9. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:33.280 To still the enemy and the avenger. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:04.099 All sheep and oxen and also the beasts of the field. 00:01:04.439 --> 00:01:07.040 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea. 00:01:07.379 --> 00:01:10.120 Whatever passes along the paths of the seas. 00:01:11.219 --> 00:01:15.900 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:23.879 We're, I think, hardwired to ask the question why. 00:01:24.659 --> 00:01:27.819 And we always ask what is the purpose? 00:01:27.819 --> 00:01:29.519 Why do we have to do these things? 00:01:30.259 --> 00:01:34.459 And, of course, the biggest question facing us is why are we here? 00:01:35.140 --> 00:01:36.119 Why do we live? 00:01:36.199 --> 00:01:37.539 What's the purpose of humanity? 00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:45.519 And this psalm teaches us that the only way we can make sense of that is with reference to the God who created us. 00:01:46.120 --> 00:01:54.379 And the fact that we find our rightful place in creation only when we worship the God of heaven as his representatives on earth. 00:01:54.379 --> 00:02:01.599 And this psalm in verses 1 to 4 tell us about man's dominion over the earth. 00:02:01.599 --> 00:02:03.919 I mean, God's dominion above the heavens. 00:02:04.119 --> 00:02:09.099 And then secondly, in verses 5 to 9, it tells us about man's dominion over the earth. 00:02:09.539 --> 00:02:15.519 And then through it all, it teaches us that we have to assume our rightful place in creation by worshiping God as it represented. 00:02:15.520 --> 00:02:19.100 And you read with me in verse 1. 00:02:19.240 --> 00:02:21.140 That's the kind of chorus of this psalm. 00:02:21.580 --> 00:02:25.180 Oh, Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. 00:02:25.840 --> 00:02:29.020 And then it ends with the exact same frame in verse 9. 00:02:29.020 --> 00:02:39.280 And this psalm is unlike any other psalm in the whole Psalter in the sense that the whole entirety of the psalm is a praise to God. 00:02:39.760 --> 00:02:41.340 So it's directed to God. 00:02:42.620 --> 00:02:48.439 Most, all the other psalms have at some point something directed to the people. 00:02:48.879 --> 00:02:50.620 They say, do this, praise God. 00:02:50.740 --> 00:02:51.680 It's like call to worship. 00:02:52.060 --> 00:02:55.520 But this psalm through and through is actually a song of worship to God. 00:02:55.600 --> 00:02:56.719 It's directed directly to him. 00:02:56.719 --> 00:03:00.359 So, Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. 00:03:01.699 --> 00:03:07.300 And then if you read the end of verse 1 and verse 2, it's kind of a difficult verse. 00:03:07.460 --> 00:03:09.579 It says, you have set your glory above the heavens. 00:03:09.939 --> 00:03:16.120 Out of the mouths of babies and infants you have established strength because of your foes to still the enemy and the avenger. 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:20.039 If I read that in a room full of people and ask them, what does that mean? 00:03:20.079 --> 00:03:23.659 I think most people will be kind of clueless because it's kind of hard to understand. 00:03:23.659 --> 00:03:33.500 What does it mean to establish strength out of mouths of babies and infants and then also to steal the enemy and the avenger by doing the same? 00:03:33.500 --> 00:03:41.979 But I think the confusion is largely due to a transcriptional error, translational error. 00:03:42.180 --> 00:03:47.800 Because in the old original Hebrew text, there's no punctuation marks. 00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:52.139 And I think they misplaced the punctuation mark here. 00:03:52.139 --> 00:04:00.559 So, that's the period that's at the end of you have set your glory above the heavens really should be at the end of out of the mouths of babies and infants. 00:04:01.439 --> 00:04:08.500 And then we have two parallel lines, metric lines as in the rest of the psalm, which fits really nicely. 00:04:08.919 --> 00:04:13.959 Which says, you have set your glory above the heavens out of the mouths of babies and infants, period. 00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:19.419 And then you have established strength because of your foes to still the enemy and the avenger. 00:04:19.420 --> 00:04:31.620 So, then God, and then it becomes kind of a really beautiful poetry where God establishes, he sets his glory above the heavens out of the mouths of babies and infants. 00:04:31.780 --> 00:04:37.340 Referring to, metaphorically, people who are weak, people who are humble, who place their faith in him. 00:04:37.900 --> 00:04:42.439 Just like, you know, Jesus says in Matthew 18, 3-4. 00:04:42.439 --> 00:04:47.139 Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:51.240 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:53.240 So, he's talking about people like that. 00:04:53.300 --> 00:04:58.339 It's out of those people's praises that God establishes heavenly glory, his heavenly dwelling. 00:04:58.860 --> 00:05:00.439 That's where his glory dwells. 00:05:02.060 --> 00:05:05.540 And then, but in contrast, he established strength. 00:05:05.540 --> 00:05:11.740 So, the word strength could also be translated as a stronghold or a fortress. 00:05:12.340 --> 00:05:15.819 And that's exactly how it's translated in Psalm 61, verse 3. 00:05:16.140 --> 00:05:19.920 It translates the same word as a strong tower against the enemy. 00:05:20.480 --> 00:05:22.100 And here, it's a strength. 00:05:22.180 --> 00:05:24.720 It refers to his fortress, his heavenly dwelling. 00:05:25.300 --> 00:05:30.000 But here, it's open to the babies and infants who praise him. 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:31.899 But it's closed to his foes. 00:05:32.180 --> 00:05:36.879 And the fortress is used to steal, the stronghold is used to steal the enemy and the avenger. 00:05:37.279 --> 00:05:43.459 So, then there's a beautiful parallelism where those who are humble and dependent on him have access to God's heavenly glory in heaven. 00:05:43.819 --> 00:05:46.459 But those who oppose him are shut off from heaven. 00:05:47.160 --> 00:05:48.759 His fortress is set against him. 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:50.439 He steals his enemies through that. 00:05:50.439 --> 00:06:01.240 And then, once you do that, that's also, that emendation fits better with how Jesus later quotes this verse as well in the gospel. 00:06:02.019 --> 00:06:07.180 And then, also, it then fits the symmetrical structure of the psalm. 00:06:07.180 --> 00:06:13.319 Where in verse 1 and 9 is the refrain that begins and closes the psalm. 00:06:13.699 --> 00:06:19.439 And then verse 2, at the end of verse 1 and verse 2, becomes about God's dominion in the heavens. 00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:26.519 And then verse 5 to 8 becomes man's dominion over the earth. 00:06:26.939 --> 00:06:34.120 And then verse 3 becomes about man's relative lowliness compared to God's highness, his greatness. 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:40.220 And then verse 4 becomes about man's loftiness compared to the rest of earthly creation. 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:42.819 So, there's a beautiful symmetrical structure. 00:06:42.819 --> 00:06:52.459 And then, so then once you recognize that, then it goes to talk about the comparative lowliness of man compared to God who created the heavens. 00:06:52.659 --> 00:06:54.480 Whose glory is above the heavens. 00:06:54.599 --> 00:06:55.579 It's not even in the heavens. 00:06:55.680 --> 00:06:57.459 It surpasses, transcends the heavens. 00:06:57.560 --> 00:06:58.480 It's above the heavens. 00:06:59.420 --> 00:07:00.539 And then verse 3 says, 00:07:00.540 --> 00:07:08.800 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place. 00:07:09.879 --> 00:07:17.340 And so, do you remember David's writing in the context, I mean, before the man invented how to fly, right? 00:07:17.340 --> 00:07:22.180 So, he looks above at the sky and it represents a limitless possibility. 00:07:22.379 --> 00:07:24.320 It's vast, almost seemingly infinite. 00:07:24.319 --> 00:07:33.099 But even for us, who are in a generation that's, you know, traveled to outer space, the universe is bigger than we can imagine, right? 00:07:33.599 --> 00:07:40.480 Like, our galaxy, I mean, is smaller than most of the galaxies that are out there. 00:07:41.079 --> 00:07:45.879 Yet, even our galaxy, the Milky Way, is 100,000 light years in diameter. 00:07:46.939 --> 00:07:50.920 And one light year is 6 trillion miles. 00:07:50.920 --> 00:07:53.800 So, I mean, and 100,000 light years. 00:07:53.879 --> 00:07:55.500 So, that's a number that we can't even fathom. 00:07:55.620 --> 00:07:57.220 So, that's how big this universe is. 00:07:57.259 --> 00:08:00.560 And that's just one small galaxy in the whole, all the galaxies. 00:08:00.960 --> 00:08:02.160 And that's where we are. 00:08:02.319 --> 00:08:05.480 And yet, God created all of this with his fingers. 00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:07.420 The work of his fingers. 00:08:08.020 --> 00:08:10.220 So, that really shows how big God is. 00:08:10.259 --> 00:08:14.420 And if that's how big this universe is, then how big is the God who created it with his fingers? 00:08:14.780 --> 00:08:20.420 And yet, when we consider that, then we can't help but ask the same question as the psalmist in verse 4. 00:08:20.920 --> 00:08:23.500 What is man that you are mindful of him? 00:08:23.879 --> 00:08:26.699 And the son of man that you care for him? 00:08:26.699 --> 00:08:41.919 It's only when we appreciate the greatness of God that we can really feel the undeservingness of his care that we have. 00:08:42.500 --> 00:08:46.460 And I want you guys to really feel the emotional force of that question. 00:08:46.659 --> 00:08:49.700 When he says, what is man that you are mindful of him? 00:08:49.740 --> 00:08:52.279 And the son of man that you care for him? 00:08:52.279 --> 00:08:54.579 So, just think about that. 00:08:54.699 --> 00:08:56.000 Like, let that sink in for a second. 00:08:56.059 --> 00:09:01.939 Because the God who created the cosmos with his fingers, he cares what kind of a day you're having. 00:09:01.940 --> 00:09:09.020 And the God who created the cosmos, he is listening to us right now. 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:10.820 He's with us here. 00:09:11.560 --> 00:09:16.240 And the God who created the cosmos mourns over our every sin. 00:09:16.700 --> 00:09:19.060 And he rejoices over our obedience. 00:09:20.020 --> 00:09:24.600 That he cares about our thoughts, hears our faintest groans. 00:09:24.600 --> 00:09:27.840 That's such a humbling reality when we think of how great God is. 00:09:28.340 --> 00:09:30.860 And so then we ask, like the cosmos, what am I? 00:09:31.259 --> 00:09:32.120 What is human being? 00:09:32.240 --> 00:09:34.759 What is man that you are mindful of him? 00:09:34.779 --> 00:09:35.779 You're thinking of me. 00:09:36.060 --> 00:09:38.480 And the son of man that you actually care for me. 00:09:38.659 --> 00:09:42.680 That's when we realize our relative insignificance, lowliness before God, 00:09:42.740 --> 00:09:46.379 that we can truly appreciate his gracious condescension and care. 00:09:46.379 --> 00:09:53.539 So, this verse 1-4 is about God's dominion above the heavens and man's relative lowliness compared to him. 00:09:54.019 --> 00:10:01.059 And then verses 5-8 then is about man's dominion over the earth and his relative loftiness compared to the rest of creation. 00:10:02.159 --> 00:10:03.879 It says in verse 5, 00:10:04.039 --> 00:10:11.279 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 00:10:11.279 --> 00:10:17.019 So, the heavenly beings can be literally translated as gods. 00:10:17.259 --> 00:10:20.439 It's the same word for God used in Genesis, for example, for God. 00:10:21.019 --> 00:10:26.699 But it's used sometimes in the plural form like that to refer to angelic beings. 00:10:27.939 --> 00:10:31.480 And so he's saying that the man's created just a little lower than the angelic beings. 00:10:32.220 --> 00:10:38.259 In fact, he's so lofty, he's been crowned with glory and honor. 00:10:38.259 --> 00:10:45.559 We are created in God's image and we are his, as his image bearers, we reign over the earth as his representative rulers. 00:10:46.019 --> 00:10:47.799 So, we're the crown jewel of his creation. 00:10:47.960 --> 00:10:52.819 He has given us glory and honor and dominion, it says, over the works of your hands. 00:10:53.379 --> 00:11:02.399 So, this amazing cosmos, the work of God's fingers, has given dominion to us. 00:11:02.700 --> 00:11:04.659 The work of his hands has given us dominion. 00:11:04.740 --> 00:11:07.039 And so that's a staggering thing that we have. 00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:09.899 And that includes all creation. 00:11:10.740 --> 00:11:16.500 So, you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen and also the beasts of the field, 00:11:16.779 --> 00:11:21.860 the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the sea. 00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:25.620 So, that's livestock, fish, birds. 00:11:25.779 --> 00:11:31.579 So, that all three, you know, can make categories of the animal kingdoms to signify man's rule, 00:11:32.379 --> 00:11:34.139 the humanity's rule over all the earth. 00:11:34.139 --> 00:11:37.120 So, that's how lofty we are. 00:11:37.860 --> 00:11:42.600 And I think C.S. Lewis captures this really well in his essay, Weight of Glory, 00:11:42.740 --> 00:11:48.659 talking about how, what a powerful, wonderful creature man is created by God. 00:11:48.659 --> 00:11:49.839 So, he writes, 00:11:49.839 --> 00:11:55.500 It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, 00:11:55.600 --> 00:12:01.879 to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, 00:12:02.259 --> 00:12:05.219 if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, 00:12:05.839 --> 00:12:10.399 or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all only the nightmare. 00:12:10.399 --> 00:12:16.340 All day long, we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. 00:12:16.980 --> 00:12:19.500 It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, 00:12:20.019 --> 00:12:22.919 it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, 00:12:23.120 --> 00:12:25.699 that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, 00:12:25.980 --> 00:12:30.240 all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. 00:12:31.299 --> 00:12:33.919 There are no ordinary people. 00:12:33.919 --> 00:12:42.039 God bestowed on us such staggering glory and honor and dominion and authority. 00:12:43.319 --> 00:12:47.620 And that's kind of, so this psalm really captures that paradox, right? 00:12:47.719 --> 00:12:51.019 So that our real insignificance compared to God, 00:12:51.139 --> 00:12:54.779 but warms as another psalm describes us. 00:12:55.240 --> 00:12:57.419 Yet at the same time, compared to the rest of creation, 00:12:57.639 --> 00:13:01.539 we are significant lofty beings, just a little lower than the heavenly beings. 00:13:01.539 --> 00:13:06.399 And if we live every day with this truth in mind, 00:13:06.459 --> 00:13:08.959 I think it would radically change how we interact with each other, 00:13:09.259 --> 00:13:18.699 and especially in a culture where people protest the use of rats in laboratory experiments, 00:13:19.179 --> 00:13:23.419 yet don't bat an eye at the 40 million abortions that happen throughout the year, 00:13:23.500 --> 00:13:25.299 of human lives being terminated, right? 00:13:25.699 --> 00:13:29.500 And so that's the kind of where we're so skewed. 00:13:29.500 --> 00:13:34.019 But if we had a proper perspective about our relative lowliness before God, 00:13:34.100 --> 00:13:36.159 our relative loftiness compared to the rest of creation, 00:13:36.580 --> 00:13:39.600 then we would truly rule as God's representatives, 00:13:39.820 --> 00:13:43.100 as faithful stewards of the resources God's given us in his environment, 00:13:43.700 --> 00:13:46.879 but also making sure that they are, 00:13:47.139 --> 00:13:51.340 all the creation is properly submitted to God and living in light of his design. 00:13:51.340 --> 00:13:57.280 But unfortunately, we don't occupy this mediatory role very well. 00:13:58.019 --> 00:13:59.420 As you guys know, we sin, 00:13:59.980 --> 00:14:02.180 and instead of ruling as God's representative, 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:04.700 we rebel against him and rule as tyrants, 00:14:05.259 --> 00:14:07.340 as sinners, tyrants over the earth. 00:14:08.720 --> 00:14:13.860 And that's the situation that this world is in. 00:14:13.860 --> 00:14:18.220 So this psalm really captures an ideal more than a reality. 00:14:19.320 --> 00:14:22.279 And that's why God sends his son, Jesus Christ, 00:14:22.399 --> 00:14:25.800 to make a way for the fulfillment of the psalm. 00:14:26.460 --> 00:14:29.279 And in Matthew 21, 16, 00:14:29.539 --> 00:14:31.720 Jesus is entering Jerusalem, 00:14:32.279 --> 00:14:33.899 and the children are praising him, 00:14:34.039 --> 00:14:34.680 saying, you know, 00:14:34.740 --> 00:14:36.419 Hosanna to the son of David. 00:14:36.919 --> 00:14:39.179 And then Jesus quotes verse 2 of the psalm. 00:14:39.379 --> 00:14:39.599 It says, 00:14:40.019 --> 00:14:42.379 Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies, 00:14:42.500 --> 00:14:44.279 you have prepared praise, right? 00:14:44.379 --> 00:14:44.979 So once again, 00:14:45.079 --> 00:14:46.839 that fits that anandation of the psalm. 00:14:47.240 --> 00:14:51.679 So he's appropriating the glory that's given to God in this psalm for himself. 00:14:52.860 --> 00:14:54.779 And then Hebrews 2, 49, 00:14:54.919 --> 00:14:55.899 also quotes this psalm. 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:56.159 It says, 00:14:56.299 --> 00:14:58.139 What is man that you are mindful of him, 00:14:58.179 --> 00:15:00.139 or the son of man that you care for him? 00:15:00.139 --> 00:15:03.299 You made him for a little while lower than the angels. 00:15:03.500 --> 00:15:05.779 You have crowned him with glory and honor, 00:15:05.779 --> 00:15:08.019 putting everything in subjection under his feet. 00:15:08.059 --> 00:15:09.899 So that's almost word for word quotation. 00:15:10.679 --> 00:15:14.360 And then the author of Hebrews takes a different turn 00:15:14.360 --> 00:15:16.720 and applies this not to humanity in general, 00:15:16.839 --> 00:15:17.419 but to Jesus. 00:15:18.100 --> 00:15:21.360 And he says in verse 9 of chapter 2 of Hebrews, 00:15:22.019 --> 00:15:26.259 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, 00:15:26.699 --> 00:15:27.839 namely Jesus, 00:15:28.600 --> 00:15:31.679 crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, 00:15:31.679 --> 00:15:35.799 so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 00:15:36.859 --> 00:15:41.199 So then the author of Hebrews is describing Jesus as the ultimate son of man. 00:15:41.579 --> 00:15:43.139 We as sons of man, 00:15:43.339 --> 00:15:44.259 as sons of Adam, 00:15:44.459 --> 00:15:46.339 were supposed to fulfill this call 00:15:46.339 --> 00:15:47.479 and rule as his, 00:15:47.739 --> 00:15:50.099 occupy that rightful place of worshiping God 00:15:50.099 --> 00:15:52.559 as mediatorly represented rulers. 00:15:52.959 --> 00:15:53.939 But because we didn't, 00:15:54.059 --> 00:15:56.379 Jesus came and he makes atonement for us 00:15:56.379 --> 00:15:58.359 and experiences death on our behalf, 00:15:58.439 --> 00:15:59.539 the punishment that we deserved. 00:15:59.539 --> 00:16:02.279 And then finally, 00:16:02.579 --> 00:16:04.919 1 Corinthians 15, 21 to 28, 00:16:05.279 --> 00:16:06.419 also quotes this song. 00:16:06.919 --> 00:16:09.639 And it describes Jesus as the second Adam 00:16:09.639 --> 00:16:12.659 who fulfills what first Adam failed to do 00:16:12.659 --> 00:16:15.779 by failing to rule over the earth as God's representative. 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:19.339 And he says of Christ in verse 25, chapter 15, 00:16:20.059 --> 00:16:23.799 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 00:16:24.019 --> 00:16:26.439 The last enemy to be destroyed is death, 00:16:26.440 --> 00:16:30.180 for God has put all things in subjection under his feet. 00:16:31.280 --> 00:16:33.880 So Jesus is the ultimate son of man 00:16:33.880 --> 00:16:36.860 who fulfills Adam's unfulfilled commission 00:16:36.860 --> 00:16:39.180 to exercise dominion over the earth. 00:16:39.300 --> 00:16:40.000 And in doing so, 00:16:40.060 --> 00:16:42.840 he subjects even death and sin under his feet. 00:16:43.780 --> 00:16:44.260 So then this, 00:16:44.480 --> 00:16:47.520 Jesus then really is the key for us to living in light of that. 00:16:47.820 --> 00:16:50.380 How do we rightfully occupy that place 00:16:50.380 --> 00:16:53.020 of recognizing our relative lowliness before God, 00:16:53.019 --> 00:16:56.399 but our relative loftiness with the rest of creation, 00:16:56.799 --> 00:16:58.639 and then living as faithful stewards 00:16:58.639 --> 00:17:00.579 and represented rulers over this world. 00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:03.360 The only way we can do that is when we are transformed 00:17:03.360 --> 00:17:06.079 and live in light of what Christ has done 00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:07.460 in dying for us 00:17:07.460 --> 00:17:09.779 and making what was wrong right 00:17:09.779 --> 00:17:11.420 and occupying that rightful place 00:17:11.420 --> 00:17:12.519 that we were supposed to be. 00:17:12.519 --> 00:17:15.559 And so, 00:17:16.079 --> 00:17:19.420 I hope you feel, 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:22.519 this is one of my favorite psalms 00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:24.420 in that I often use it in prayer 00:17:24.420 --> 00:17:27.660 when I thank God for the things that he has done for me, 00:17:28.299 --> 00:17:31.200 of the fact that he hears me about things, 00:17:31.299 --> 00:17:34.379 and this kind of rolls off my tongue. 00:17:34.519 --> 00:17:34.759 This is, 00:17:34.900 --> 00:17:36.759 what is man that you are mindful of him, 00:17:37.160 --> 00:17:39.059 and the son of man that you care for him. 00:17:39.059 --> 00:17:40.980 And I think if we are in that place 00:17:40.980 --> 00:17:42.879 where we really live by that psalm, 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:47.200 it will change the way we relate to everything else, 00:17:47.319 --> 00:17:50.179 to God and to the Creator and to creation. 00:17:51.220 --> 00:17:52.059 So with that in mind, 00:17:52.119 --> 00:17:52.619 let's pray. 00:17:54.919 --> 00:17:56.359 Jimmy, maybe you want to lead us in song.