"A Proper Perspective of the Greatness of God" - Psalm 8:1-9 (8.26.18) - Pastor Jordan Rogers

[Music] for God so loved the world and he gave his one and only Son and whoever would believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life o Lord our Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth this morning we're in psalm eight just these nine verses psalm 8 verses 1 through 9 what I want to speak to you about this morning is what happens when you have a proper perspective of the greatness of God what happens when you have a proper perspective of the greatness of God what I see in this passage is two results two things that happen two things that take place when you have a proper perspective of God I was struck this week by this thought and I want to invite you into that same astonishment as I read this Psalm I began to think because David his perspective is as of a shepherd laying on the ground looking up at the sky at the nighttime and he's overwhelmed by what he sees in the sky and he knows from whom it came and he's overwhelmed at the size of the skies testifying to the magnitude of the creator and so he understands just how small he really is and it struck me and I think this would be true of everybody in this room this morning why have we none of us this morning none of us this morning have thought about the ant outside in that lawn not one of us have taken account of the ant out there you say well there's a lot of ants out there why would I care about them exactly now I would venture to say there is a singular ant that you could go find and you could take a count of and you could be mindful of it I could be mindful of it but we don't why why are we not mindful of that creature what would you say it's an insignificant creature it matters not my day will go on whether I acknowledge that creature or not that creature has nothing to do with my life with my survival why would I ever pay attention to that end and that ant better not cross me if it bites me on the foot I will send it to hell in a hurry is that not the way we think that ant better not offend me does that not understand Who I am how large I am compared to him and I don't even know his name why do we act that way why are our thoughts like that our thoughts are like that because we are not like God because we in comparison to God are even more insignificant than that ant in the yard and yet we do offend and yet we do bite the ankle and yet we are a pest many days but God doesn't send us to hell in a hurry God does not refuse to acknowledge us God does not refuse to know our name the Bible tells us that he knows every hair on our head that he has numbered our days that God knows us by name what an incredible thought the God who said his glory above the heavens knows my name knows my days knows everything about me and is intimately aware of every detail of my life in fact he's not just watching them passed by he's ordaining my steps what a great God we serve Oh Lord our Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth as I read Psalm eight I'm overwhelmed with the thought of the condescending love of God the condescending love of God to be condescending as a man is reprehensible it's horrible it's abominable because to be condescending as a human being means that I have to do two things to condescend to other people I must elevate myself on the false platform of Pride lift myself up above my equals and then I must look at my equals with contempt and reckon them to be lesser than they are reckon them to be lesser than I am to be a condescending human being as reprehensible elevating myself falsely and holding the people whom God has created in his own image holding them in contempt that is reprehensible that is an abominable sin against God but I want you to understand this for God to be condescending it's not reprehensible it's calls for rejoice for God to be condescending all he must do is look lovingly on those who are already significantly and infinitely smaller than him that's all he has to do is look lovingly smile on us that's what he does to be condescending it's a wonderful thing that God condescends in his love towards us let me tell you there's a couple of things there's a couple of things that happen when you size god up right you begin to understand a proper perspective not only of God but you understand a proper perspective of yourself as I told you just a moment ago this passage David he reveals to us two results two results of what happens when you have a proper perspective of the greatness of God let's divide this passage here if you'll permit me into two sections verse 1 through 4 and verse 5 through 9 look first here at the heading it says to the choirmaster according to the getteth a psalm of David or unsure what that term getteth means some commentators inconclusively argue that getteth has some sort of reference to gas and maybe this is a song that David had learned the tune the melody of the song is some kind of song that he had heard when he was in Philistia and he was staying in Gath acting as a crazy man they argue that inconclusively and it really does not essentially matter to the the exposition of the text it doesn't give us any more information there's two other Psalms in the Psalter with that title according to the getteth both of them are joyful psalms this is a joyful psalm so maybe it has something to do with having a heart of joy having a heart of gratitude I want you to understand this truth this morning you can take a pen and you can write this down I'm gonna bring everything here together that a proper perspective of the greatness of God will correct your attitude and grow your gratitude a proper perspective of the greatness of God friends I know I need this and I would assume graciously that you need this but a proper perspective of the greatness of God will correct your attitude it will correct your attitude and it will grow your gratitude verse 1 through 4 this psalm of David says O Lord our Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth the Lord your name is majestic in all the earth it is an observable fact on every inch of the globe we occupy the glory of the Lord the glory of the name of the Lord every human being with the ability to perceive creation the Apostle Paul would say in Romans chapter 1 is overwhelmingly aware that God is great they are overwhelmingly aware of the magnitude and the power of God to create and to to bring about everything that we know your name is great and all the earth David says but notice what David says about the Lord when he calls on his name when he calls on his title he says o Lord our Lord there's three things I think David actually reveals in just that one line about God this is a worship song and this is David recognizing just a few things about the Lord he recognizes his person he recognizes his position and he recognizes a personal relation with God look at God's person he says oh Lord it's capital L capital o capital R capital D that is the Hebrew word Yahweh Jehovah Lord unique God you're not the God of the of the Egyptians not the God of the Philistines you are Jehovah you are Yahweh he is the one who revealed himself to Moses as I am that I am the eternal unchanging always existing God says I am Jehovah and David says Oh Lord unique God Yahweh I'm speaking about you because I can't say this about anybody else Oh Lord listen to what else you says he says our Lord that second word for Lord is not Jehovah it's not Yahweh it is actually the title Adonai the first name speaks to the person of God Adonai speaks to the of God speaks to his position it means Lord it means master one who rules over us and Ellen and David is celebrating this fact that God Jehovah he is Lord he is master over us he is leader over us but that's not all that David celebrates Oh Lord that's your person our Lord Adonai that's your position but listen to what he says Oh Lord our Lord what an incredible statement Oh Lord Jehovah master you are mine you are my lord Jehovah you have your name upon me you have possession of me and I have possession of relationship with you he's celebrating God's person he's celebrating God's position and he is celebrating a precious relationship with God he says Jehovah you are my Lord and he's celebrating that fact he's celebrating it so much he's going to have to say it again at the end of the psalm the fact that God would acknowledge him the fact that God would take account of someone so insignificant as he and someone so it's insignificant as any of us that is fact for worship he is our Lord celebrating a personal relation with God to actually know the creator to know him by name and to know that he knows you by name Oh Lord our Lord how majestic literally how mighty how splendid is your name in all the earth no other name compares to the name of Yahweh to Jehovah Jesus Jesus Jesus there's just something about that name teams and kingdoms will all pass away but there's something about that name that name is majestic Oh Lord our Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth he says this you have set your glory above the heavens you have set your glory above the heavens in just a moment he's going to talk about the heavens but here he says that the glory of God is set not in the heavens he says the glory of God is set above the heavens higher than any of us can look are the reaches of the glory of God farther than any of us can ever even see is only the beginning of the glory of God job states it like this he says that these are but the fringes of his works he says you have set your glory above the heavens boy a strange sight of strange strophe is this there in verse 2 he says out of the mouths of babies and infants literally out of the mouths of babies and sucklings nursing infants can you think of a more powerless position that a human being could be in than to be a baby or a nursing infant I can't think of a more helpless position to be in needing someone just to get your food for you he says out of the mouths of babies and infants you have established strength because of your foes to still the enemy and the Avenger out of the mouths of babies and infants God and all of his majestic glory and his greatness above us which we can only see the fringes of what has he chosen to use to silence to Shabbat to silence or still to Sabbath the enemies of God what does he use not chariots and not armies he has used the cries of babies he's used the smallest most meek most unable people to silence doubters to silence the false philosophies of atheists to cry out in just a whimper with inaudible words to cry out glory there's a God who lives there's a God who exists and there's a God who is great if you have ever been there when a baby was born you know exactly what David is speaking of when that baby presents itself and there is a cry that comes out of the mouth of that child and you hear that whimper and you hear that life come from nothing what do you say glory there's a God there's a great god there's a gracious God out of the mouths of babies and infants you have established a strength but that's not only what God is talking about through David the Holy Spirit through his inspired Rider he's also speaking prophetically if something that would take place a few thousand years later you see it's only as we age that we sour it's only as we age that we become more corrupt than we were when we came out of the womb you see it's nothing for a child to have faith a child has faith like a child they believe you tell them that God exists God loves you and God wants you to spend eternity with him would you believe in him and they say oh yes I believe in God children are not skeptical children are not cynical children are not obstinate children are ready to believe it's only as we age that we get arrogant and prideful and hard-hearted and cynical and angry and we raise a closed fist at God he says out of the mouths of babies and infants you have established strength because of your foes who are the foes of God well there's none other that would that would exhibit this foes of God than those who were the mouthpieces of Satan as Jesus was incarnate here on the earth listen to what Jesus says is the fulfillment of this passage Matthew chapter 21 verse 14 through 16 and the blind and the lame came to him in the temple and He healed them but when the chief priests grown men religious men but when the chief priests and the scribes who saw the wonderful things that he did and the children crying out in the temple Hosanna to the son of David on Hosanna means Hosanna means God saves these are children and they're seeing the works of Jesus and they have no doubt they're ready to believe Hosanna to the son of David but the chief priests and the scribes what were they they were not worshipful they were indignant and they said to Jesus do you hear what these are saying and Jesus said to them yes have you never read boy that's a stinging rebuke to people who claim to be experts in the law he says yes I hear them have you ever picked up your Bible you theologian have you never read out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise I said David talked about this a long time ago that children are ready to give glory to God that children bear witness to the glories of God and you are witnessing the glory of God here in the temple as I'm healing these lame and the blind and the leprous but you're obstinate and you won't do it but these babies humiliate you they silenced you and they reveal just how hard-hearted you've become in your older age out of the mouths of babies in infants you have established strength because of your phones to still the enemy and the Avenger so God has established strength in the weakest of places now look at what David observes verse 3 when I look when I can sitter when I perceive David is pondering these things 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 would care for him he says when I look at the heavens you thought about this the work of your what the work of your fingers the work of your fingers now John chapter 4 tells us something very clear about God John 4:24 what does it say God is spirit God is spirit God the Father does not have a body so what is david here doing using this anthropomorphism using a human attribute in order to characterize God why is he doing that why is he doing when he knows that God does not have a body but he says when I look at the heavens the work of your fingers the moon and the stars that you have set in place why does he say that God does not have fingers God does not have arms God does not have legs why does he say that let me ask you what is a finger the fingers of your body are the weakest part of your person they are the weakest part of your body and David says when I look at the heavens and I realize this you did that with a flick of the wrist he said I'm overwhelmed I I don't know what to do with this when I realize that the moon which took man some six to eight thousand years just to contrive a way in order to set foot on it for a brief time God did that with a flick of his wrist it's taken man all of history just to get to the moon hey God did it with his little finger just set it in place Psalm chapter 19 verse 1 through 2 says the heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork day to day pours out speech and the night tonight reveals knowledge the Bible tells us in Exodus chapter 8 the magician's they're in Egypt when they were unable to reproduce the gnats they God had produced you remember what they told Pharaoh they said we can't do this this is not of man this is the finger of God to do this it's the finger of God to work that devastation over all of Egypt Egypt unconquered by any other army in all the world but God conquers them with a bug he sent by his little finger Oh Lord our Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth in Exodus chapter 31 Moses is on Mount Sinai receiving the law from the Lord and you know what it says about God when he gave those stone tablets to Moses it says that those first stone tablets that God gave to Moses that God wrote in that marble he wrote in that granite not with a pen not with a piece of coal from the fire it says that God wrote in that stone with his finger he carved out letters and he made it intelligible it tells us in Luke chapter 11 jesus said that he casts out demons by the finger of God so David now says when I look at the heavens the work of your hands the work of your fingers smallest appendage a person could have the place of greatest weakness most insignificant part of a human being God accomplished the most magnificent things we've ever been able to perceived and we haven't even begun to scratch the surface of the glory of God he says the work of your fingers the moon and the stars which you have set in place you've done all these great things yet what astonishes him look at verse 4 what is man you are mindful of him and the son of man that you would care for him what is man insignificant humanity God carved out the moon with his finger made a perfect sphere there's no engineers who whom calculate the kinds of gases that need to be put together to burn a star for thousands of years this is God's wrist and then God takes a pile of dirt and fashions man up breathed the breath of life into him david says I think on that and I think of how you made me and I compared me with the rest of creation and I'm left stunned I'm left astonished thinking what in heaven or on earth would propel Lord Almighty to ever think of me he imagined the thoughts that might go through an ant's mind if they had a mind able to comprehend what was going on if you were to adopt an ant and you were to give your only Son to die to redeem that wicked creature thief says what is man that you are mindful of him or the Son of man that you would care for him that she'd give him his daily bread that you would visit him you would make sure that all of his needs are met you know what happens when you have a proper perspective of God write this down it's the first of two results a proper perspective of the greatness of God will cultivate a humble attitude a proper perspective of the greatness of God will cultivate a humble attitude when we realize how great God is we realize how insignificant we are but friends when we only look down we end up looking at other people with contempt we end up elevating ourselves falsely above other people we end up being condescending because we don't understand we have forgotten just how condescending God had to be in order to love us David is celebrating the fact that God has condescended from his great glory and in that great glory he has demonstrated a great grace to be mindful of us to think of us for God who who keeps the the stars in their places and the moons and the planets in their orbit is the same God who keeps our hearts beating David says this is overwhelming to me I feel so small in the midst of the greatness of God a proper perspective of the greatness of God will cultivate a humble attitude now look at verse 5 through 9 you see the second result that happens brought about when you have a proper perspective of the greatness of God he says yet that's how small we are how insignificant we are to all the plans of God in his creation yet you have made him that's us you have made us a little lower than the heavenly beings a little lower you've made him laugh a little bit of Elohim you made him last a little bit of God now there's a couple of meanings that that could actually have either one of those meanings is startling you've made him literally lacked a little bit of Elohim lacked a little bit of God now David could actually be saying you have given such dignity to men created in the image of God male and female he made them it says in Genesis 1:27 David could be pointing out to the fact that man is made in the image of God but God has made him to lack a little bit just a little bit of God David is startled by this fact he could be talking about God himself that you have him plate you have placed such dignity within mankind that you have made him only a little bit to lack the Godhead but then again David could also be saying what what I think he's saying here I think that Elohim just like it's used in job chapter 1 and job chapter 2 Elohim referring to angels referring to heavenly beings if you're using it ESV it will say heavenly beings if you're using a King James or a New King James it will say the Angels if you're using a Holman Christian standard Bible it'll say heavenly beings yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings you placed him just a little lower on the hierarchy of ability and Dominion you made him a little bit lower than the Angels then the heavenly beings in fact the reason I camp out on that interpretation is because that's exactly what the writer of Hebrews says that that David is meaning here that David is referring to angels and David as is astonished with the magnitude of God and the fact that God would look on man and give him such dominion place him just a little bit lower on the on the stratosphere than the angels yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor just an ant in the eyes of God crowned with glory and honor you have given him dominion rulership 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 pads of the sea listen to him listen to him sing that song of praise one more time like any good musician he is going to resolve the song on the same note that he struck first listen to verse 9 O Lord our Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth god I look at the heaven and I'm blown away that you would ever think of me and not only have you thought of me but you have actually given me dominion over the earth you have given me stewardship over creation David says that's mind-blowing to me when I consider it I'm overwhelmed Oh Lord our Lord how majestic is your name and all the earth write down the second of two results a proper perspective of the greatness of God will cultivate a heart of gratitude it'll not only cultivate a humble attitude it'll also grant you a heart of gratitude we would realize the greatness of God that the things that we have in our possession have not been gained by us they have been given by God if we would understand the greatness of God we would be a little more thankful and a little less whiny we complain a little less and we'd worship a little bit more a proper perspective of the greatness of God cultivates a heart of gratitude a heart of thankfulness what I have is not mine it's been given by God he gave me dominion he gave me this opportunity he gave me this ability and I have no reason to boast I will boast and no one else other than Jesus because he gave it to me that's what a proper perspective of the greatness of God does for you it's gonna change your attitude it's gonna make you humble and it's gonna make you grateful give you a heart of gratitude for all the things that God has done Oh Lord our Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth David celebrates that fact of Genesis 1:28 that that promise that God made there right in the beginning it is almost a verbatim recapitulation of what God declared in Genesis 1:28 let me read that for you and God blessed them that's the man and the woman Adam and Eve and God bless them and God said to them be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth and David says God we don't deserve that opportunity God we don't deserve that position we don't deserve to have dominion so David is overwhelmed with a heart of thanks heart of gratitude and he's a man who is humbled by the size of God he's humbled by the magnitude of God David obviously is celebrating here he is celebrating the condescending love of God but I will tell you this until David entered into glory it never entered into the mind of King David just how low God would condescend this Psalm doesn't record just how low God would condescend in order to love us in order to be mindful of us in order to care for us it didn't enter into David's mind see he's saying I look at the heavens and I see that you have set your glory above the heavens would it have ever entered into the mind of David that the God who has set his glory above the heavens who is infinitely greater than man would actually condescend through the heavens to the earth and take up the form of a servant take up the form of a slave putting on flesh and becoming like this lesser being would David have ever imagined that God would condescend that far in his mindfulness of man in his care for man but God did do that God condescended he lowered himself so far that he put on flesh and he dwelt them and the psalmist says and we are John says and we beheld his glory the glory as of the only one from the father full of grace and truth where did John behold that on the streets of Nazareth with dirty sandals sleeping with a stone for a pillow that's where John observed that friends can you imagine the grace of God to condescend so far as to send His Son Jesus to die for wicked Humanity I asked you just a moment they go have you considered the ants outside none of us did none of us do we don't think of them and if they offend us we'll send them to hell in a hurry but what has God done you see mankind is the only creature on earth that refuses to give glory to God the heavens declare it the babies declare it the adults don't but what does God do does God sin sinful man to hell in a hurry does God say you have offended me now begone that's not what God did for God so loved the world and He gave His one and only Son and whoever would believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life Oh Lord our Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth friends we have reason to celebrate the person of God we have reason to celebrate the position of God as lord over us and we have opportunity through Jesus the Son of God to be in personal relationship with Yahweh with Jehovah and have him be our Lord and have him be our Savior have everlasting life not eternal hell and we get that through faith we get that when we give our life over to follow Jesus and we say Lord you're my Lord and I'll live to honor you that's what it means to follow after Jesus if you were one of those people who has not begun to follow after Jesus I'll ask you will you continue to offend the God who made you will you continue to offend the God who has given so much into your care he's given so much into your hands would you continue to look down or this morning would you actually lift your head up and would you look at God and say Lord my lord my lord how majestic is your name in all the earth when I look at the 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 at the Son of man that you would care for him each you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and what does he say if crowned him with glory and honor you have given him dominion over the works of your hands you know what's interesting about that the writer of Hebrews actually tells us that not all things have been given over to the Dominion of our hands yet that's the point that he makes in Hebrews chapter two then not everything has been given over into the hands of man into the Dominion of man and you know why we lost that authority we lost that Dominion when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden you know what the writer of Hebrews tells us about Psalm chapter eight it tells us in salt in Hebrews chapter two that we have not yet begun to experience the full reality of Psalm eight he tells us in Hebrews two that the fullness of the experience of the reality of Psalm eight is only felt it's only experienced ultimately when you place your faith in Jesus and in the future when he sets up his kingdom I want you to listen to this Hebrews chapter 2 beginning in verse five he says for it wasn't two angels that God subjected the world to come he's talking about the world to come of which we are speaking it has been testified somewhere he says I know it's written in the Bible I just don't have the reference on the top of my head he's quoting Psalm 8 it has been testified somewhere what is man that you are mindful of him or the Son of man that you care for him you made him for a little while lower than the Angels you have crowned him with glory and honor putting everything in subjection under his feet but listen what the rider Hebrew says now in putting everything in subjection to him he left nothing outside his control boy there's a lot of things out of our control right so this Psalm could not be speaking of us right now there's a future experience he says at present we do not yet see everything in subjection to him to man but we see him Jesus who for a little while was made lower than the Angels that's the Incarnation Jesus putting on flesh 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 the writer of Hebrews is saying this friend you want to experience the full reality of Psalm 8 it's only going to come in God's kingdom and you'll only enter into God's kingdom when you put your faith in Jesus who for a little while was made lower than the Angels but now he has been crowned with Dominion and glory and honor' psalm eight belongs to Jesus Psalm eight can belong to you Psalm eight can belong to you if you believe in the Lord friends a proper perspective of the greatness of God it'll change your attitude it will create a humble attitude and it will cultivate a heart of gratitude it'll make you humble and it'll make you thankful would you pray with me [Music]

Channel: Dr. Jordan Neal Rogers

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Keywords: sermon, sermons, Psalm, Psalms, Psalm 8, David, preaching, preacher, power, powerful, majestic, earth, O LORD, Yahweh, Jehovah, Jesus, Christ, Hebrews 2, angels, angel, stars, moon, lower, what is man, mindful, son, man, care, Holy Spirit, King David, Old Testament, Christian, Messianic, Messiah, Hosanna, Hillcrest, Baptist, Church, Gospel, Nederland, Texas, Jordan, Rogers, Jordan Rogers

Id: YR3LstGg2Ss

Length: 42min 23sec (2543 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 28 2018