Good morning, brothers and sisters. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Tyler. I'm one of the lay elders here at Trinity.
And it's a joy and privilege for me to be up here to bring you God's word. We've been going through numbers recently, but we're going to take a detour this Sunday, Lord willing, and we're going to be going through Psalm 8.
And normally I'm assigned a text to preach, but every so often I'll get the rare opportunity to choose a text. And I've had this text on my heart for several months now.
It's one of the most majestic psalms in the entire Psalter. And I believe it's an ancient word that speaks the time we find ourselves in today.
And my prayer is that you'll be encouraged by this psalm. So let's go to the Lord for help before we look at his word together.
Father in heaven, how majestic is your name in all the earth.
Father, we pray that that would be made clear in this sermon. Father, would you open our eyes to see your wonderful majesty.
Open our ears to hear the glad tidings of the gospel. And Father, would you be glorified.
Father, give me freedom. Give me love. Father, help the truth to resound forth.
And Lord, would you draw all people to yourself by your son.
And would you get all the glory in our time together this morning.
Praise in Jesus' name. Amen.
Thank you.
Well, in a recent New York Times interview, former columnist Ross Douthit, a New Haven
resident, was interviewing Peter Thiel, a Silicon Valley billionaire.
And Ross asked the question to Peter, would you prefer the human race to survive?
Thiel hesitates for a disturbingly long amount of time.
Well, I don't know.
Well, in all fairness to Peter, what to do with the human race has always been a very perplexing
question.
It's a question that's been raised in almost every age.
Almost 100 years ago, humans grappled with what to do with humanity coming out of World
War II, where the best and worst of humanity was on display.
And today, that same question is as relevant as ever.
For Peter and for many, humanity has run its course.
Humanity has now stagnated.
We need something new, something better.
A successor species.
A merger between our mind and a machine.
Let's transform humanity into something fundamentally different, something better.
We've stagnated, the thought goes.
Look at the cultural malaise.
The moral emptiness.
Fewer world-changing scientific discoveries.
Lower economic output.
Surely the universe would be much better off without humans as they currently exist.
If you listen to some of the current conversation, Peter Thiel is not alone.
Some argue that this is the only ethical thing to do to embrace this kind of engineered future.
I mean, how else are we going to reduce our carbon footprint on the earth?
What do you think about that?
Okay, well, maybe you wouldn't go as far in this bizarre techno-utopia where humans are eradicated.
But if you're like me, you find yourself asking a similar question.
What is humanity for?
What am I here for?
What should I aspire to in my life?
In an age of smartphones, screens, and social media, how can I flourish?
How can I help my kids steward these technologies?
Was I created to mindlessly scroll on the screen?
And with everything being created on TikTok like 10 minutes ago,
is there anything permanent that I can build my life upon?
How can I flourish in today's world?
Well, these are some of the questions I've been asking myself for a while now.
I'm sure some of you have been asking the same questions.
And I think Psalm 8 helps us here.
To get an answer, we're going to go back 3,000 years and look at this psalm,
which was written by a humble shepherd,
taking care of his sheep, and he looks up at the stars,
and he starts to think to himself,
Who am I?
What am I?
God, why would you even listen to me?
You are majestic, and I am just a little speck of dust.
And the words of Psalm 8 were formed in his mind.
So let me invite you to open Psalm 8.
It will be on the screen.
I don't have the page number for you.
Let's look at Psalm 8 together.
David writes this,
Oh Lord, our Lord.
How majestic is your name in all the earth.
You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to steal the enemy and the avenger.
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,
and the son of man that you care for him?
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.
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 path of the seas.
Oh Lord, our Lord.
How majestic is your name in all the earth.
This is God's word.
Well, Psalm 8 is the first song of complete and total praise
in the book of Psalms.
From start to finish,
this psalm celebrates the majesty of God.
That's the main point in verse 1.
Oh Lord, our Lord.
How majestic is your name.
In all the earth.
If you look down at verse 9,
that question gets repeated.
That question sandwiches this entire psalm.
And God's majesty is the main point of this text.
David's great aim is that you and I would stand in awe
and worship of this majestic God.
What the rest of the psalm is going to unpack
and develop this thought,
David wants you to see why God is majestic.
And if you follow David's hymn of praise,
we'll look at this text in three parts.
The first part will be the greatness of God's name.
The second, the greatness of God's works.
Number three, the greatness of God's son.
So let's consider that first point together.
David considers the greatness of God's name.
He asks the question,
how majestic is your name in all the earth?
Now majesty, in effect,
means the name of God takes David's breath away.
God's name is his reputation.
His name is majestic.
Is it just in Jerusalem that God is majestic?
No.
His majesty is worldwide.
It is known in all the earth.
You know, even if you can move somehow
throughout the entire universe,
and you could somehow get to the very edge
of the universe,
God's glory wouldn't run out.
In verse one,
God's glory is even above the heavens.
The name of God takes David's breath away.
And David here begins with God's covenant name,
Yahweh.
Oh Lord.
You'll see in verse one in the English,
you'll notice that first word,
Lord,
is in all caps.
That's referring to the name that God gives himself
when God reveals himself out of the flames
in the burning bush to Moses.
You remember in Exodus chapter three,
Moses is tending the sheep of his father-in-law
on the backwoods of nowhere.
And suddenly he's confronted
with an astonishing sight.
A burning bush wasn't being consumed
and God begins to speak to him out of the bush.
And God tells Moses to go back to Egypt
as he will save his people out of slavery.
Moses says,
look,
I'm a nobody.
And he asked in verse 14,
but what if I come to the people of Israel
and say to them,
the God of your fathers has sent me to you.
And they ask me,
what is his name?
What shall I say to them?
God responds,
that I am,
that I am.
Yahweh.
That's what you're to say.
Tell them that I am sent you.
This is the God of Abraham,
of Isaac,
of Jacob,
the God of the covenant,
Yahweh.
I am who I am.
That's referring to God's raw existence.
I will be who I will be.
I don't change my identity.
There never was a time when I am was not.
God simply is.
He always was.
He had no beginning.
He had no middle.
And he will have no end.
God's existence depends on no one.
And what this means in Psalm 8
is that there's no place on the planet
that you are not totally supreme.
He is absolute reality.
There is none beside him.
God.
But then David continues.
Because he is not a distant God.
He is a personal one.
David says,
O Lord,
our Lord.
And he uses a different term.
The term Adonai.
Our Adonai.
And Adonai was an everyday personal title
that would have been used.
So when you had a human master,
you would call him Adonai.
Master.
Lord.
See, he's not only in absolute existence.
He's the very God who rules my everyday life.
He is not distant and far away.
No, in fact, he's near.
He acts in personal covenant relationship
with his people.
And David here is speaking on behalf
of the entire covenant people of God.
Our Lord.
It reminds me of the first line
of the Apostles' Creed.
I believe in God,
the Father Almighty.
A father.
A loving parent.
But then almighty.
A sovereign potentate.
God is both supreme king,
but he's also compassionate.
He is a king of glory.
The heavens cannot contain
the glory of this God.
You know, I did my undergrad years
in D.C.
And I remember being captivated
by the grandeur,
the greatness,
the glory of the city.
My dorm was on Foggy Bottom
right near the Lincoln Memorial.
And I've always enjoyed running,
so I would run around the Capitol
at night,
feeling like I was immersed in history.
You know, you see the lines
etched into the Lincoln Memorial,
things like this,
the government of the people,
by the people,
for the people,
shall not perish from the earth.
And the architecture,
the architecture was glorious,
designed to echo the glories
of ancient Rome.
I would walk around
the Capitol building,
giving tours,
and I'd say to myself,
this is where Lincoln,
this is where Adam stood.
How glorious is that?
But then I realized
those voices once booming
in those halls
are but a distant memory.
That glorious fleeting,
fading away.
Those elected to power
are here for a minute,
gone the next.
It's not just the elected leaders,
but America is fleeting
and fading.
What kind of glory
are you seeking
this morning?
To be known
in the halls
of political power,
maybe?
Success in the industry?
Athletic achievements?
Intellectual respect?
When all those things
will soon fade away
like a fading flower,
like a rainbow
that appears for a moment
and is soon gone.
But you see,
here in Psalm 8,
God's majesty
is not fleeting
nor is it fading.
This is what you can
build your life upon.
God's character,
God's essential nature
is glorious.
His intrinsic nature
is unsearchably majestic.
See, we human beings
were created for worship,
for praise.
Not that we would be praised,
but that we would find
our hearts,
our imaginations,
our minds
filled with the glory of God.
Isn't it the greatest
motivation for missions?
That all the peoples
of the earth
would have this
greatest joy
to see and savor
God's majestic name.
And this majesty
is unique,
as David will show us.
It's different.
It's paradoxical.
And the rest of the psalm
unpacks why.
And it leads us to point number two,
the greatness
of God's works.
In verse two,
out of the mouth
of babies
and infants,
you have established strength
because of your foes
to steal the enemy
and the inveterant.
That's odd.
It's paradoxical.
After just saying
the heavens
cannot contain
this majesty,
David shifts gears
and begins talking
to his enemies
in a moment.
He can just say,
you there,
I'm taking the breath
out of your lungs.
To dust you shall return.
Yet,
God chooses
to use
babies.
He uses babies
to triumph
over his enemies.
My daughter Sarah
turns one today.
Are we supposed
to understand
that babies
her age
are taking God's
enemies to the mat?
I mean,
kind of like turning
into the Hulk?
Don't make me angry.
You wouldn't like me
when I'm angry.
Okay,
my kids act like that
sometimes.
Are babies
suddenly a superhuman
strength and agility
to defeat God's foes?
No,
clearly not.
God doesn't use
babies because of
their strength,
wisdom,
or knowledge.
It's because God
chooses to use
those who are
weak,
those who are
low,
those who are
insignificant
in the world's eyes.
You see,
God doesn't use
raw power.
God chooses
to display
his power
in weakness
to silence
his enemies.
It's the same
principle that we find
in 1 Corinthians
chapter 1.
God chooses
what is weak
in the world
to shame the strong.
Friend,
this is a deep
principle,
that God ordains
strength
from weakness.
Now,
as I was reflecting
on this,
I get up here
and I preach the word
every so often
and I feel like
inevitably
this point has
always come up.
Every time
it seems
that God is using
a weak creature
to accomplish
his ends.
I think it's
because this
is a truth
that's evident
on every page
of the Bible.
God's strength
in our weakness
is a topic
I could preach
from any page
of the Bible
because that's
how he acts.
And commentators
note that David
here may be using
figurative language
of babies
to refer to
the people
of Israel,
weak in comparison
to the surrounding
nations.
And through
these insignificant
small people,
God reveals
his majesty.
I think that's
right.
Friend,
can you say
that God
ordained strength
in your weakness?
Now,
many of you
are familiar
with this psalm.
Some of you
have even memorized
it.
And we can recite
verse 1
and we mean it.
God's name
is majestic.
O Lord,
our Lord,
how majestic
is your name
in all the earth.
We can say it
in good times
and we mean it.
When that bonus
check,
where the tax
refunds
hits the bank
account,
we say,
O Lord,
how majestic
is your name
in all the earth.
When that cancer
screening comes
back negative,
we praise God.
When you finally
get recognized
for something,
or ladies,
when that guy
finally works up
the courage
to ask you
on a date,
or even better,
proposes,
God,
I praise you,
how majestic
is your name
in all the earth.
But what about
when the times
aren't good?
What about
the times
when you feel
weak,
when the bank
account is empty?
When those
relationships,
they're falling
apart.
When you're
in a desperately
dark place,
you're helpless,
you're like a baby,
all you can do
is cry out.
I think David
knew firsthand
what that was like.
Because if you look
at the surrounding
psalm,
you'll find
Psalm 8 lives
in a very
troubled neighborhood.
And to the left
of the house,
in the neighborhood,
there are lots
of problems,
lots of pain.
From Psalm 4
to 7,
David is distressed.
He's facing slander.
His enemies
are hunting him
down.
He's emotionally
exhausted.
He's crying
himself to sleep
at night
in Psalm 6.
And to the right
of Psalm 8,
you'll find
even more problems.
And here
in Psalm 8,
we see that
David's reflecting
that God
can ordain
strength
from his weakness.
David knew
that God
can use
weak,
vulnerable,
helpless babies
to defeat
his foes.
And we can
praise him
even in our
weakness.
It's interesting
that Jesus
quotes this
passage
in his triumphal
entry into
Jerusalem
to make that
very same point.
In the Septuagint,
the Greek translation
of the Old Testament,
it reads
that out of
the mouth
of babies
and infants
you have
produced
praise
because of
your foes
and still
the enemies
and the
Avengers.
And it's
the Septuagint
that Jesus
quotes.
You remember
when he
makes his
triumphal entry
into Jerusalem
and the cloaks
are put out
on the floor
and people
are yelling
out,
Hosanna!
Jesus goes
in and cleanses
the temple
of money changers
and thieves.
In the temple,
children are
yelling out,
praise!
Hosanna!
to the son
of David.
And the
reaction
from Jesus'
enemies,
the chief
priests
and the
scribes
is anger,
indignant.
And Jesus
quotes,
have you never
read?
And he quotes
Psalm 8.
In other words,
he's saying,
it is right for
them to praise
me because it's
right for people
of all ages
to praise God.
No matter what
anyone else
says,
David is saying,
the praise
of the weak
is going
to be used
to drown
out the
threats of
God's enemies.
His name,
his character
is our
protection.
God can
produce praise
from babies.
And David
doesn't just
stop there
and look at
the greatness
of God's
works.
He looks
in two
additional
directions
to reveal
God's
majesty.
To the
heavens
and to
humans.
First,
let's consider
the heavens
in verse
3.
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?
Think
with me
for a
moment about
the splendor
of a
single
star.
Consider
the sun,
a star
that is
93 million
miles from
earth.
On the
sun,
there are
these
things called
sunspots,
violent
hurricanes that
happen on
the surface
of the
sun.
And late
last year,
scientists
detected one
of these
hurricanes on
the sun
was larger
than 10
earths put
together.
And this
powerful storm
creates an
explosive release
of solar
flares.
And the
release can
move 5
million miles
per hour.
It's so
intense,
these massive
solar storms
can cause
blackouts
here on
earth.
And that's
just the
sun.
There are
stars 2,000
times the
size of
the sun.
God
created all
of these
stars.
All of
this was
the work
of God's
finger.
The divine
digits create
the stars.
Now, of
course, God
doesn't physically
have fingers.
Fingers are
a figurative
way of
describing,
expressing his
capabilities.
How great
is his
power.
And this
was light
work for
God.
He didn't
grow weary
when creating
trillions of
stars.
He didn't
need to
enlist
volunteers at
a work
day.
He didn't
need heavy
machinery.
He created
the sun,
moon,
and stars
with his
finger.
How can
he declare
this is
the case?
Well, it's
because David
reads the
Bible, isn't
it?
David is
looking up at
creation with
his Bible
open in
his other
hands.
And he's
reading Genesis
chapter 1.
He had eyes
of faith and
he saw that
God's
fingerprints were
all over how
he created
the world.
And the idea
of God's
fingers doesn't
just show his
power, it
also shows
his skill,
his craftsmanship
in how he
creates.
God's
creation is a
skillful work
of God's
fingers.
It's like the
way an expert
pianist is
able to
command every
joint,
tendon,
muscle,
and their
fingers to
strike the
key at
just the
right time.
Lifting their
fingers at
just the
right moment
to strike the
next key,
to give a
melody the
right emphasis.
And so the
listener can
savor the
subtle brilliance
of the music
of a pianist.
Or it's like
the expert
brush stroke of
a painter on
the canvas.
Or a way a
woodworker is
able to craft
a piece of
furniture using
a chisel when
cutting with
the grain.
God is a
craftsman.
And if you
read the
psalms,
it's true
just how the
psalms are
written.
God is a
poetic lyricist
employing rhyme
schemes in
his word.
God is an
artist that
crafts things
with skill.
If you pay
attention to
some of the
conversation
around AI
these days,
one of the
hopes is that
this technology
will produce
greater productivity.
And with that,
the hope is that
one day,
AI will deliver
us from the
drudgery and
boredom of
working.
More leisure,
less work.
Now, maybe
for some of you
who are working
ridiculous hours,
that will serve
you very well.
But I think we've
come to a point
in our culture
where we view
work as we do
it just enough
to support our
play.
Where heaven
will be one
long vacation.
You know,
Islam's view
of heaven
involves no
working.
It's just a
never-ending
vacation.
A vacation
for Muslim
men.
Sorry, ladies.
A type of
vacation that's
so explicit I
can't describe it
in detail to
you.
It's TGIF
except the F
never stops.
But, you
know, work
is a function
of God's
good creation.
Our creativity
in how we
work is a
part of being
made in the
image of God.
God is a
craftsman.
So, if you're
younger here,
aim to learn
a craft.
He has
created you
to work
excellently,
honestly,
creatively.
And for those
of you who
are working,
ask yourself
if your use
of AI is
helping you
do that.
Or is it
helping you
becoming a
more excellent
sub-creator
in imaging
God?
Now, this
will depend
on the
task and
what industry
you're in.
But ask
yourself,
is this
tool
helping me
be a
craftsman,
learning a
craft to
image God
and how
I'm working?
See, David
could look up
at the sky
and he saw
God's
craftsmanship.
But, you
know, from
the macro
to the very
micro,
the cosmos
teemed with
complexity,
with design,
with beauty.
You know,
how much more
can we see
this at the
molecular level?
You know,
preparing for
this sermon,
I spoke to
a couple of
Yale-trained
scientists who
are experts in
cellular biology,
and I asked
them, where do
you see God's
craftsmanship as
you observe God's
good creation?
And they had a
bunch of
examples.
They both
mention the
amazing proteins
in our body,
ATP synthesis.
Apparently,
there are these
microscopic turbines
that exist within
your cells that are
spinning thousands
of times per minute
in order to produce
energy for your
body.
It's pretty
amazing, isn't
it?
They mention the
information-carrying
capacity of DNA.
It's stunning.
One human body
holds vastly more
information than
all the data of
the tech giants.
The Amazon,
Facebook, Google,
all that data
together pales in
comparison to the
amount of data
that your DNA
holds.
If you've
translated all the
books ever written
into DNA, you
could put
everything on a
hard drive the
size of a
teaspoon.
God's creation
is teeming with
complexity, with
his craftsmanship.
And scientists
can answer the
how, the why,
and the when
sometimes, but
scientists can't
tell you the who
and the why.
We have copyright
law because we
care about who
gets credit for
a work of art.
The entire
universe displays
the ingenuity of
the creator's
artistry and how
he's created the
world.
The universe
declares who
God is.
The stars are
chorus singing
his majesty.
Psalm 19 says
the heavens declare
the glory of God.
They declare it,
they sing it,
they testify,
they proclaim,
they shout,
this God is
glorious.
Let me ask you,
you, if you
aren't reaching
this crescendo
of praise that
David is reaching
here, where are
you looking?
David says,
when I look at
the work of
your hands.
And so often
our praise is
tied to where
we are looking.
In our modern
life, how many
of us, rather
than looking up
at the cosmos,
we look down.
We look down
at our screens,
it gets dark
outside, we flip
our lights on, we
go inside, we
start watching TV.
All of us,
myself included,
will be so well
served if we
found opportunities
to look at
God's good
creation more,
and to receive
God's creation
as a gift,
which glorifies
him.
Now, I love
Basil of
Caesarea once,
one of the
Capendocian
fathers once
said this,
I want creation
to penetrate
you so much,
with so much
admiration,
that everywhere,
wherever you may
be, that each
plant may bring
to you the
clear remembrance
of our creator.
May that be so.
Receive God's
creation,
the witness
of creation
that glorifies
their creator.
And David
doesn't just
stop looking,
he doesn't
stop at the
heavens, he
looks at
something even
more glorious,
something even
greater than
the heavens.
He shifts his
focus to
humans.
And David
sees a contrast
in verse 4.
What is man?
The vastness
of space, he
looks down at
his puny
finger, there's
no contest.
Outwardly, we
pale in comparison
to the pristine
beauty of the
heavens.
Aren't we just
specks of dust
in the vastness?
We're tiny.
We have no
significance
whatsoever.
Now this
same sentiment
was expressed
recently by the
astronauts in the
recent Artemis
2 mission, for
those of you who
followed it.
In April of this
year, NASA
performed the
Artemis 2
mission, which
launched humans
the furthest
into space than
we've ever gone.
They went into
the dark side of
the moon.
like a Pink Floyd
song.
And during the
mission, the
astronauts observed
a total eclipse
as the sun
disappeared behind
the moon.
And all they
could see was a
bright halo.
At a news
conference afterward,
the crew said
they felt
infinitesimally
small.
They felt
fragile.
They didn't have
the vocabulary to
describe what
they saw.
The chief broke
down into tears.
He needed to
talk to somebody
about what he
saw in space.
That's what David
experiences in
verse 4.
He feels his
smallness.
But amazingly,
in verse 4, he
knows this
transcendent God
whose glory is
above the heavens
is mindful of
him, of us,
of you.
He cares.
Notice it's not
whether you care
for us.
He knows that
God does.
Do you live in
wonder that God
is mindful of
you?
If not,
pray.
Pray that God
helps you to
feel your
smallness.
That's
humility.
Make little of
me, God,
and so be amazed
at God's care of
you.
And if you
double-click on
that word care,
in verse 4,
it means to
visit, in the
sense that God
takes careful
notice of you and
comes to your
aid when in
trouble.
The God who
is transcendent,
he is imminent.
He is near, he
is close, he is
not far away.
But sometimes
it's hard to see,
isn't it?
It's hard to
believe that God
cares for you,
especially when
you're experiencing
pain, like David
was.
I mean, you feel
the pain of a
broken past.
You look in the
mirror and you
think to yourself,
I'm made in the
image of my past
wounds.
But God is like
the owner and the
manager.
of everything that
exists in the
entire world.
He is not too
busy to take
notice of you.
He is mindful of
you.
He cares enough to
keep your heart
beating and your
lungs pumping oxygen
every moment of
every day.
He cares enough to
bend down and hear
your prayer when you
call upon it.
Why?
Why does God take
notice of us?
We're like little
worms, grasshoppers.
Well, David answers
his own question in
verse 5.
David sees the
dignity of humanity
in the exalted
place of honor and
glory given to
every human.
Know the terms in
verse 5 that he
uses?
Yet a little lower
than heavenly
beings?
Where men and
women are just a
little bit below the
exalted status of
the heavenly courts.
You have crowned
him with honor and
glory?
humanity owns a
place of dignity and
honor.
Glory even.
Back in verse 1,
David talks about
God's own glory.
His own intrinsic
glory.
You have set your
glory above the
heavens.
How can it be that
you and I have
glory?
Well, David again
here is reflecting on
Genesis 1.
He knew his Bible.
It's because we were
stamped with the
royal image of the
glorious God.
When God said,
let us make man in
our image after our
likeness, he was
designing us, friends,
to reflect his glory
in the way that
heavens could never
do.
Humans are distinct.
They're special.
They're full of
dignity and worth.
What does it mean to
be crowned with glory
and honor?
Well, it's exposit
in verse 6.
He has given us
something that he has
not given to any
other being.
He created us as
image bearers to have
dominion.
God's authority and
rule would be mediated
by humans.
He would establish
his kingdom through
his human
representatives, the
vice regents.
Think about like a
vice president acting
on behalf of a
president.
We are to exercise
dominion in his
stead.
Now, he didn't leave
this task to angels.
He didn't program
robots to carry the
function.
He made us to
carry out this
mission.
Weak humanity is
called to rule the
universe.
You know, I was able
to exercise dominion
this week by organizing
my sock drawer.
Order from absolute
chaos.
And you could do the
same thing.
The smallest thing has
significance, friends.
Take out the garbage,
make your bed,
organize your sock drawer.
The way you work is
exercising God's
dominion in the
earth.
And to know the
value of something,
isn't it true that
you need to know what
that thing is for?
Let's say we could
travel back in time,
hop at a time machine
and you could bring
your smartphone with
you.
And suppose we went
back to the year
1825 and you left
your smartphone on the
ground for someone to
find.
And someone traveling
by horse and buggy
just happened to pick
it up.
And they look at it
and think, what in the
world is this thing
for?
Well, it must be a
small mirror.
So they put it and
they start looking at
the reflection and
you're on the phone.
Well, maybe it's used
as something to hold
a candle on.
Or maybe a coaster to
hold my drink.
No, that's not what
it's used for.
You don't know the
value of something
unless you understand
what it's meant to
be used for.
And we have to know
what God made us
for, to know the
value of who we are
as human beings.
You know, Calvin, in
the opening line of
his work, The
Institutes, wrote
this.
Our wisdom, insofar as
it ought to be deemed
true and solid wisdom,
consists almost entirely
of two parts.
Number one, the
knowledge of God.
And number two,
and of ourselves.
To know ourselves,
friend, we need to
have knowledge of God.
And to reject the
knowledge of God is to
degrade your own
humanity.
You know, oftentimes
we want to create our
own identity apart from
God.
Because we don't see the
beauty of who God
created us to be, made
in his image.
We think, if I can just
insert whatever, my
body, my job, my
spouse, if I can just
change those things,
then I'll feel very
valuable and worthy.
But what's the most
important thing about
you is that you were
created in God's image.
Do you believe that?
Do you believe that you
were created with
dignity and honor?
That every single human
being carries this same
glory and honor?
Many don't.
Maybe look at Peter
Singer, a very low view
of humanity.
If it came between
saving the life of a
disabled child or a
fully healthy Labrador,
well, the decision's
easy.
The lab wins every
time.
Now, we might chafe at
that undervaluing of
humanity.
But do we functionally
act the same way?
That a dog is more
valuable than an image
bearer of God?
If you believe this, how
does this change how you
treat people?
You cannot worship and
glorify the majesty of
God and then treat his
creation with contempt.
God's grace.
When you are carrying a
grudge and you say, I
can't stand him or her.
When you ridicule someone
when you find out who
they voted for in the
last election.
Parents, when you lash out
at your children.
Parents, do you understand
that our children are made
in God's image with
dignity and honor even
when they're smaller than
us?
When you dismiss people,
people who can't help
you, old folks, special
needs folks, poor folks,
the unborn being butchered,
and you say, ah, that
ain't nothing.
You are dismissing those
who have a place of honor
in God's sight.
1 John 4, verse 20, it
says,
You know, it seems here
that the psalm is tying
the greatness of God's
works and recognizing
that greatness with the
worship of God as
creator.
How you look at God's
works, his heavens or
his humans, affects the
way you look at God as
creator.
If you don't love people
made in God's image,
friend, you don't love
God.
Some of you are thinking,
well, what you're saying
is kind of true, but
isn't there more to the
story, though, Tyler?
I mean, what about sin?
What about evil?
I mean, look at the
world around you.
Turn on the news,
Tyler.
There are tsunamis,
there are hurricanes,
there are wildfires.
We haven't exercised
dominion over the earth.
Isn't Peter Thiel
right?
Humans have stagnated.
Things are so terribly
wrong.
Well, that's the last
point, the greatness of
God's Son in verse 7a,
and David addresses this.
And of course, Adam did
fail, and sin entered the
world.
Sin has defaced, but
friend, it has not erased
God's image in sinners.
So we are made in the
image of God with dignity.
Yes, yes we are, but we
are sinners deserving of
hell and God's wrath.
That is true.
We rebel in ways that the
sun and moon and stars
never have.
And as descendants of
Adam and Eve, we are
prone to shout out,
how majestic is my name
and all the earth, as you
look in the mirror.
David knew this.
He saw it in his own
life.
And like Adam, he failed
to exercise this God-given
dominion over the earth.
But you see, he is painting
a portrait of what humanity
ought to be.
This is poetry from David.
And despite our sin, God
is committed to making his
name majestic throughout the
whole earth.
God made a binding covenant
with David, a promise, a
solemn promise, that one day
his line, there would come a
king who would exercise
perfect dominion.
That is the story of the
Bible.
God will silence his enemies.
And in Hebrews 2, the author
tells us this.
The author sees a set of
contrasts, just like we see.
He says, we don't yet see
this reality where humans
are exercising perfect
dominion.
But we see the one who
went before us, a
forerunner who did exercise
perfect dominion.
Jesus, far superior than
anything that came before
him.
He is far superior than any
king in the line of David.
And David knew that one day
God would bring down his
foe and the avenger.
Look at verse 2 again.
It's interesting, isn't it,
that David uses the enemy
in the singular, echoing
that single enemy that
slithered into the garden,
and then God promising to
crush that serpent's head.
And I love the way Jim
Hamilton put it.
He says this, God answered
Satan's triumphant roar
with a baby's cry.
out of the mouth of babies
and infants, you have
established strength because
of your foes, to steal the
enemy and the avenger.
You see, in the fullness of
time, Yahweh became a man
to execute a divine rescue
plan, the one who made all
things.
This one whose glory cannot be
contained.
The one who made this moon,
the sun, the stars, and given
them splendor.
The one who made us, who
made you, this king of glory,
of grace.
He took the form of a servant.
See, in Christ Jesus, the
eternal Son of God, who was
the radiance of the glory of
God, the exact imprint of his
nature, he did what no one
else could do.
See, Christ was the perfect
man.
He left the eternal realm of
majesty, and he did what David
describes here.
He exercised perfect dominion
when he took on human flesh.
He did what no one could do
since Adam.
He never sins.
See, he lived the perfect life
for you and me.
Jesus, the true king, crowned
with all glory and honor, took a
crown of thorns.
The one who set his glory in the
heavens, who hung the stars, the
moon, and the sky.
He himself was hung high in the
sky on a cross.
And was not his majesty on full
display as he hung there?
As he hung on the cross, he came
to give you and I a new creation.
He came to redeem what sin has
broken, to bring many sons and
daughters to glory.
And he will save you, friend.
He will set you free to praise him
with the psalmist, to save all
people everywhere if they turn from
sin and put their trust in him.
And on the third day, he rose
again from the dead.
And he's crowned with glory, honor,
and majesty.
He is the true and better David,
who is reigning forever.
And as the author of Hebrews says,
we don't yet see it now, but one
day we will.
We see the one who went before us.
We see him who, for a little while,
was made lower than the angels.
Namely, Jesus, crowned with glory
and honor because of the suffering
of death.
So that by the grace of God, he might
taste death for everyone.
See, this God is a God of grace.
That's why he's majestic.
Who is a God like him?
A king who would die for his enemies?
Whose grace is so rich and free?
Oh, friend, there is none but him.
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name
in all the earth.
Let's pray.
Father in heaven, we thank you that you,
God, are a majestic God.
God, your glory is above the heavens.
O Father, you've made your glory known to us
in your son.
Father, would we look to him today?
Help us to look to Jesus and define
our ultimate satisfaction in him.
O Father, would you raise us up
to newness of life,
that we would walk as image bearers of God,
doing the work that you've given us to do.
Father, we pray that you would be glorified
even now, in Jesus' name.
Amen.