How Majestic is Your Name!

Introduction:

Engage:

Creation is amazing.

A around a year ago my wife and I took a little trip down to Arkansas and rented a cabin out in the middle of the woods.

And on that little trip, we got to explore so much of that little plot of creation, and we just enjoyed it all.

It was really close to Beaver lake, and it was in April, so there weren’t many people there.

So one day we just went out to the lake, all alone. And sat on the dock, and stuck our toes in the cool water.

And when I looked around, I was filled with a sense of awe, looking at the beauty of everything that was around me.

The water was crystal clear, the whole shore was quiet, and I didn’t want to move or go anywhere else than where I was at that moment.

Most of us have probably had moments like that.

Where we got to enjoy creation on a beach, in the mountains, looking up at the night sky, and you just felt like everything was alright.

The reason for this, is that God uses his creation to teach about himself. We can see a little bit of God in the creation around us.

All throughout scripture, and especially in the Psalms, God uses his creation to teach us about himself.

And we need to learn these lessons, becuase these lessons from creation can help us see God more clearly in the world around us.

These lessons from creation can help us remember his presence. That he is with us.

Whether it’s a mountain or a man, God has shown us his character.

So In our scripture today, we will get to sit down, and learn with King David as he meditates on God’s creation and writes this psalm.

And I think that in our passage, God teaches us two lessons about himself through his creation.

So I you have your Bibles with you, Please flip to Psalm 8.

And the first lesson that creation teaches us about God is #1.

I. God is Glorious!

In creation, we can see the beauty and majesty of God. When we look around at the world that he has made, we notice his glory.

And David can see that Glory as he writes this psalm:

David looks up at the sky, and watches the moon and the stars.

David looks at the way the world works, and he can see that God is in charge.

And he looks at humanity, and asks an important question.

So let’s read what he has to say, starting at v.1.

Psalm 8:1–4 ESV

O 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 still the enemy and the avenger. 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?

God’s Glory:

I want to start off by defining what I mean when I say that God is glorious. Glory is a hard word to define, but when I picture God’s glory, i picture the sun.

Most of the time we experience the light of the sun, we aren’t looking right at it. Which is a good think becuase we’d probably burn our eyeballs out.

We don’t have to stare right into the sun to view its effects. We can see it’s light. It is obvious the sun is up in the sky, becuase you see the things around you.

You can feel the heat of the day. Even in October, it’s still 85 degrees right now becuase of that sun.

God’s glory is the same way.

If you want to see God’s glory, look at what he does.

We don’t have to see God to know he exists, becuase we see his creation. Puppies and kittens, the sun, moon, and stars, the flowers and trees, the mountains and oceans.

God’s whole creation, including us, display God’s glory.

Like the light from the sun, we don’t have to see God to know he exists, becuase his glory is everywhere. Only a beautiful, majestic, and great God like ours could create this world, and so we must know that he is glorious.

David says that his glory is throughout the whole world, and sits above the heavens.

Which means that we can’t go anywhere without seeing his glory. No matter how far away we feel from God, his beauty and majesty and presence is near.

Illustration:

This morning, I came across an article about a group of Orthodox Monks in New York that began a dog training program.

They felt an obligation to take care of creation, so they started taking in dogs to help them and their owners. When a reporter asked about this whole operation, here’s what one of the monks said:

“One of the things that a dog teaches is about God — forgiveness and love and connection, those are attributes of God, In the rough and tumble of life, we don’t always exhibit God’s love as well as the dog does.”

This is just one example of how God shows his glory in creation, and if we slow down to look, we can see many more.

Babies and Infants:

But David’s not just talking about places and things and animals, he’s also talking about people.

Human beings show that God is glorious.

David says in v.2 that even Babies and infants show God’s glory.

Even out of their small babbling mouths come the glory that stops God’s enemies.

God’s glory in creation is so great, that even the smallest and most vulnerable in his creation, babies and infants, still praise his name.

Jesus quotes this verse as he was riding into Jerusalem getting ready to die on the cross. And crowds of people are cheering for him. Here’s the story.

Matthew 21:15–16 ESV

But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, “ ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?”

And just like in the story, this praise fights evil.

The religious leaders can’t stand to hear these children giving God glory.

This is becuase God uses the weak of this world to shame the strong. To shame those who are against God.

This is how God shows his glory.

The Question:

But after praising God’s glory in all of creation, and in the babies and infants.

In v.3, David looks up at the sky, the moon and the stars.

He sees all the lights of the sky that God molded together with his fingers.

And he has a question. A question we should all reckon with.

A question about the core of God’s heart.

Let’s read his question again at v.4

Psalm 8:4 ESV

what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

He asks, What is man? That you are Mindful of him.

“Mindful”

We know that God created everything out of nothing.

And at all times, God holds it all together. He upholds the whole universe with his powerful word.

We know that God created the sun, the moon, the stars, every planet in our solar system.

But not only that, he created billions of solar systems in our galaxy alone.

But not only that, he created trillions of galaxies across the whole universe.

And so, In the bigness, and vastness, and beauty, and majesty of God’s creation,

We are a speck, of a speck, of a speck. And yet.

He is mindful of us.

David asks this question, becuase it’s unfathomable that a glorious king like this could care for us.

In the midst of holding everything into being,

God remembers us.

He thinks of us.

He is mindful of us.

And so we should ask:

What is it about us, that makes God care?

Who are we, that we should enjoy God’s creation.

Who are we that we should walk through a meadow, or have the privilege to look at the stars?

What is it about us, that deserves such love?

I believe we find the answer to that question in creation as well.

And we can find in the second lesson that creation teaches us something else about God.

#2, that

II. God is Gracious!

a. When we ask why God cares about us, the only answer is grace. God is gracious to us, and he has chosen to exalt us like royalty.

And we can see this in our text. David starts to meditate on the ways that God has shown grace to humanity.

So let’s finish our reading, starting at v.5

Psalm 8:5–9 ESV

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 paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Show, Don’t Tell

I want us to notice something, here.

When God teaches David about himself in creation, he doesn’t just speak it to him.

He could have, there’s lots of instances in the Bible where God speaks to people and makes it really clear what he’s saying.

But here, God doesn’t tell about his grace, he shows his grace.

People who write stories know this trick. It’s called, Show, don’t tell.

For example, in a movie, when the writers want to tell the audience that Molly, the main character, has a bad relationship with her family, they could just put some dialogue in there, where someone mentions her family relationships in a negative way.

But if the writers wanted to show, and not tell, they could include a powerful scene, where Molly goes home to try to reconnect with her family, and has a bad fight with her parents during thanksgiving dinner. There’s name calling, there’s cursing. And when Molly leaves, she’s in tears. She wonders if she’ll ever have a normal relationship with her parents again.

In the first instance, we just gain information.

But In the second instance, we actually experience Molly’s home life.

And in the same way, David doesn't just tell us that God is gracious.

He shows us what he’s experienced. What we’ve all experienced.

And that experience is one of grace.

Becuase to be human, is to be royalty.

Royalty:

We are royalty becuase God has made us a little lower than the angels, or the heavenly beings.

We are a slightly lower rank than the angels, beings who worship and serve God day and night in heaven.

And We are made in his image. In the image of the royal King of Heaven.

And so being human means that we are the intersection of heaven and earth.

We are God’s royal representatives, we are his royal ambassadors to the world.

He shares his glory and honor with us, David says he crowns us with it.

God values us, like a King values a his sons and daughters.

And he wants us to inherit his kingdom.

Luke 12:32 ESV

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

God is gracious to do this for us. When we deserve none of it.

And We should also look at this royalty when it comes to our relationships with other people.

This grace of royalty and dominion was given to every single human.

And if God makes someone royal, who are we to dehumanize them?

How can we treat God’s royalty as trash?

To discard them simply when they offend us?

To insult them simply when we disagree?

To make fun of them when their back is turned?

To hold a grudge against the crown of creation?

Who are we to use God’s royalty for ourselves?

To exploit someone else for personal gain?

Who are we to take what God has made royal, and dehumanize them with lust?

I’m guilty of all of these things too. I’m not perfect.

But I think that when it comes to treating other people like Jesus treated them, we have to see people how God sees people.

As valuable.

Not becuase we say so, but becuase he says so.

People are valuable, becuase God is gracious.

Dominion:

But there’s also another grace that is given to us.

And David calls that grace, Dominion.

Part of being royal is that God has made us rulers over the earth.

We are the governors of creation.

David writes that God has placed all things on earth under our feet.

And before we start to get all high and mighty about this blessing, we need to realize that it is donated to us by God.

God gave us dominion over all creation, but it’s his dominion that he donates to us.

And that’s a grace. And just like we shouldn’t abuse the grace of Christ by sinning, we shouldn’t abuse the grace of royalty by abusing what we rule over.

Creation is not meant to be used and abused. It’s meant to be stewarded.

We are given stewardship over the works of God’s hands.

The things that God created and holds into being, we get to take care of.

And David lists some of the creatures that we have dominion over.

He says:

Sheep and Oxen

Beasts of the Field

Birds of the sky

Fish of the sea

And the mysterious creatures in the sea.

To David and to the Hebrew people, The sea was a chaotic place.

A place full of unknown creatures.

A place that seemingly no-one can conquer.

Yet, God has placed it in our hands.

God has given us the whole creation, from puppies and kittens to whales and sharks.

From the Mount Everest to the Mariana Trench. It’s all ours, under our dominion, because of his grace.

And through all of this creation , God provides for us.

So that we can eat a sirloin steak. So that we can have grocery stores full of fruit and vegetables.

God is gracious, and so our response should be praise.

God should be praised for his creation.

That’s why David ends this Psalm the same way he began it. Because his glory is worthy of praise and so is his grace.

Psalm 8:9 ESV

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Relevancy:

Maybe praising God for his creation looks like slowing down in everyday life. And taking in your surroundings. Looking at the trees and the grass, and remembering that this world is meant to teach us something about God.

Maybe praising God for his creation looks like valuing other people. By treating other humans with the same value that God has for them. Not objectifying other people with lust, and preserving life wherever you can, whether its in conflict or at the voting booth.

Maybe praising God for creation looks like doing the mundane, and taking care of it. Planting a tree, or picking up trash. Taking time to steward what God has made for us.

Conclusion

But even though we have gazed at the majesty of God in all creation, and we have seen his grace, we are plagued with our own sin.

We have all rebelled against the Lord of heaven and earth. The Lord who Cares for us and gives us breath.

We have all abused God’s royalty.

We have all treated other people like they have no value.

We have all taken God for granted, and acted like we don’t need him.

We all sin, and when we do, it makes us less human. It corrupts the image of God in us. It turns us away from God.

And so what did God do?

Did he empty his mind of us? Did he stop caring for us? Did he throw us away like we throw away his grace?

No!

What he did was more glorious and more graceful than anything we can see in creation.

What he did was more powerful and more loving than anything we can imagine.

He left the supreme royalty of heaven to come down to this earth, to be treated like scum, to be beaten, to suffer.

He left royalty to come down here, and live a perfect like, to be the perfect human. Almighty God was made lower than the angels.

So that he could restore us to the royalty that we were meant to be.

So that he could bring us back to the kingdom of God. As sons and daughters.

So that he could bring us back to Eden.

Let’s pray.

Psalm 8:4 ESV

what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?