Walking With God # 5: Wear the Crown, Psalm 8

KID’S CORNER: Good morning kids, for today’s kid’s corner we’re going all the way back to the beginning. Genesis 1:1, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.I want you to help me teach the 6 days of creation to all these adults. What is on each picture?

Day 1: God created light, separated it from darkness- made day & night

Day 2- God created the earth’s atmosphere- He called it the sky

Day 3- God separated the land from the seas, & created all vegetation

Day 4- God created lights in the sky- the sun, moon, & stars

Day 5- God created all the creatures of the sea & birds of the sky.

Day 6- God created all the animals that live on dry land- livestock & crawling creatures, but that’s not all. God’s last creation is very special.

Genesis 1:27, So God created man in His own image; in the image of God, He created him; male and female He created them.

Did you know that you are God’s special creation, made in His image, & that He has big plans for you?It’s mind blowing that with everything God made- planets, sun, moon, & stars, that He cares for us most of all.

People are called God’s crowning creation, here’s why- Psalm 8:5, For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. I have some crowns for you that you can decorate during the sermon. Today we’re going to talk about what it means that God has crowned us and learn how to wear that crown.

INTRO: We’ve all heard the phrase- “heavy is the head that wears the crown.” A crown obviously represents authority, but with it comes great responsibility. Psalm 8 will show us how to walk with God while wearing the crown of His creation. Psalm 8, To the Chief Musician. On the Instrument of Gath. A Psalm of David. 1 O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens! 2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger. 3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,

4What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? 5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 7All sheep and oxen— Even the beasts of the field, 8 The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas. 9O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!

I want you to mark vs. 5, which says that God has “crowned” mankind with glory and honor.Within the structure of the psalm, vs. 5 falls right in the center- 4 verses before it, 4 verses after it, & vs. 5 gets right to the heart of our theme. God has crowned people with glory & honor, what does that mean, how do we walk with God, and wear this crown.

1. It is a Crown of PURPOSE. Vss. 1-2

This psalm is written to the chief musician (music director, choirmaster) an uncertain term connected to temple ministries. Instrument of Gath, lit. Gittith, possibly refers to a tune or a musical instrument. JFB- upon Gittithderived from gath, meaning “wine press,” used in connection with gathering the vintage, so it denotes a tune of a joyous character.

Joy hits the right note for the theme of this psalm- a hymn of praise to God, apparent from the very first line- O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth… and repeated in the last line (inclusio).

LORDin all caps is the covenant name of God- YHWH, the 2nd Lord (adonai- Master) identifies YHWH as the Lord & Master the psalmist is praising. Excellent-majestic, mighty, magnificent, to inspire awe or reverence in the beholder- on earth & above the heavens.

The excellence of God’s Name on earth is conveyed from His seat of glory above the heavens. Psalm 19:1, The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. This is no cut-rate, namby-pamby god of our own making (idol), this God is the creator God of the universe who is worthy of all praise, creation declares it.

And so do our children. It’s been said that the two most important days in a person’s life are (1) the day they are born, and (2) the day they discover why. Vs. 2 tells us why we are made- to praise God. God ordains strength in the sounds of children to silence His enemies. Ordained- to found, establish, appoint in the sense of duty. Strength- might.

The excellence of God’s Name is displayed in the heavens & declared by children. God is so big, so strong, & so mighty, that He can defeat His enemies with the sound of a little child. The coos & cries of our little kids are appointed to the praise of God. This is what we’re made for- the creation of people is for the purpose of giving God praise. Are you wearing the crown of purpose?

2. It is a Crown of PLACE, vss. 3-5

The best way to learn our place down here is to look up there. Consider- look, perceive with attention.What are we looking at? The heavens, the work of God’s fingers- symbolizes God’s power. In Exodus, when God brought plagues on Egypt, the magicians said it was by “the finger of God” (Exodus 8:19). It was “the finger of God” that wrote the 10 Commandments on stone tablets (Exodus 31:18). It was by “the finger of God” that Jesus cast out demons (Luke 11:20).

The work of God’s fingers created the moon & the stars, which He ordained. Different “ordained” from vs. 2. The word for the children was appointed (as in a duty), this word means prepared, in the sense of establishing. Remember Genesis 1:14, the lights in the skies are for signs and seasons, for days & years. They establish the rhythms of the world.

Have you ever been in a place to see the night sky as it is? A few years back we bought a house outside of the city. One night we noticed the sky, which was new to us, because the city we were in was huge; light pollution was everywhere. The family went into the backyard, threw down some blankets, & just looked up into the night sky. It is amazing what you can see at night when you are surrounded by darkness.When you really see it, how does it make you feel? Small, right? Insignificant? Looking up should teach us our place- the lesson is not that we are small & insignificant but that we are valuable & important.

That God made the heavens in all its vastness should heighten our feelings of worth by looking to God’s heart. What is man that God should be mindful of him or visit him? Mindful- to consider, remember; Visit- to care, feel concern. The question is answered in vs. 5. Mankind is also a work of God’s creation, but different from celestial bodies, e.g., moon & stars, and spiritual beings, e.g., angels.

The translation angels comes to us from the Septuagint, which translated the Hebrew word here (elohim) as angels (angelous). Elohim most often refers to God, so it is a legitimate interpretation that God made mankind to be a little lower than Him. Genesis 1:26, Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God made man lower than Himself, but higher than everything else on earth. That is our place, & with it comes a position.

3. It is a Crown of POSITION, vss. 6-8

Do you remember back in the day when Burger King used to give out crowns to wear? Their slogan since the 70s has been “Have it your way.” Recently they added 2 words- “you rule.” We know that’s not true…

The truth is the LORD made mankind to rule. The creation of man has often been called God’s crowning achievement. The crown of glory and honor in vs. 5 is a reference to this position as God’s representative ruler on earth, a position that comes with great responsibility.

You have made him to have Dominion- to make someone lord, to cause to rule, to exercise authority. So, when God made people, He gave them a job to do. Genesis 1:28, Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

I want to ask you a question- when was the last time you felt like you had the world at your fingertips? When was the last time you felt like you were on top of the world? When was the last time you had the tiger by the tail? This is what it means to subdue-to bring into subjugation all these things: sheep, oxen, beasts, birds, & fish. Do we have any beast masters, bird people, or aqua men in the house? It’s such a ridiculous idea that we make comic superheroes of people who can do such things.

Can I tell you that the reason we cannot do these things is sin? It was the sin of the 1st people that made us lose our purpose. It was their sin that made us lose our place. Sin is what made us lose our position.

So, we are left looking at this psalm thinking, what the world? How do we ever reclaim the crown God created us with? Let me tell you, it’s not impossible. God made a way for you to wear the crown.

Psalm 8 is referenced 4 times in the NT, all 4 of them connect the theme of this psalm to the person & work of the best human- Jesus.

In Matthew 21, Jesus has just completed His triumphal entry into Jerusalem & cleansed the temple. He begins to heal the blind & the lame, & children cry out to Him, Hosanna to the Son of David. The religious leaders were indignant. Matthew 21:16, and 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 babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’? (Psalm 8:2). To PRAISE Jesus is our purpose.

Hebrews 2:6-8 quotes Psalm 8:4-6in connection with the incarnation of Jesus. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, co-equal with God, willingly gave up the glories of heaven to become a human. Hebrews 2:9, But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. Jesus took our PLACE on earth to suffer and die for us so that we could regain our PLACE with Him.

1 Corinthians 15:27 and Ephesians 1:22both quote Psalm 8:6. About the resurrected & ascended Lord Jesus, 1 Corinthians 15:27, “(God) has put all things under His feet.” Ephesians 1:22, And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church.

Right now, Christ reigns in heaven at the right hand of God, & He rules in the hearts of His people on earth (church). The day is coming when He will take His Rightful POSITION as LORD of all the earth, and we will reign with Him (2 Timothy 2:12).

God crowned us with a purpose, a place, and a position, but we lost it because of sin. Jesus became a human, the very best person, to fulfill our purpose, take our place, and reclaim our position so that we can be recreated in His image.

For us to wear the crown, we have to bow to the King.