It's good to be back with you here at 10th Presbyterian to share from God's Word. I've been with you in the spring, and I'll be with you for the next few Sundays. And so I thought we'd continue in the book of Psalms. In the spring, we looked at Psalm 121, and then Psalm 84. And this morning, we're going to look at Psalm 8, page 450 in your Pew Bible. And perhaps you can think of these sermons on the Psalms as familiar Psalms sung anew. So this morning we turn to Psalm 8. And as we come to the reading and the preaching of God's word, let me pray for us. Father, what we know not, please teach us. What we have not, please give us. And what we are not, please make us for the sake of your Son, our Savior, the one who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever praised. Amen. Psalm 8, to the choir master, according to the Gittith, a Psalm of David. Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. You who 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? 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. The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God endures forever. Surprise. Surprise. That's what's at the heart of this psalm. It's a psalm about the unexpected, the surprising. But if we miss the surprise, then we miss the whole point of the psalm. Because it's the element of surprise which causes David to extol God's greatness in the refrain, O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. We get the hint of surprise in verse one, where we're told that the God whose glory is above the heavens, whose glory cannot be contained by the heaven of heavens, has displayed his majesty in all the earth. Now when you hear that, when you hear that God's majesty is displayed in all the earth, what do you think of? I think of creation. I think of Mount Everest, or Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, or the plains of the Serengeti teeming with wild animals. I think of the Amazon rainforest, or the Grand Canyon. I think of a star-studded night in the Appalachian Mountains, or a beautiful sunset on the South Carolina coast. Isn't that what we think of when we hear of God's majesty displayed in all the earth? O Lord my God, when I, in awesome wonder, consider all the works thy hand hath made, I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder, thy power throughout the universe displayed, then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee. How great thou art. How great thou art. Yet here's the unexpected thing in this, Sam. Here's the big surprise when it comes to talking about God's majesty in all the earth. David talks about babies and mankind. God's name is majestic in all the earth because weak little babies defeat his enemies, verse two. and because puny little man rules God's world, verses three to eight. That's the logic of this psalm. The catalyst for praise for David is not the wonder of creation. No, the catalyst for praise in this psalm is the surprise that weak little babies defeat his enemies and that puny little man rules his world. The first surprise is obvious enough there in verse two. Out of the mouth of babes and infants, you have established strength. The word for infants here is literally sucklings. That is babies that are still in need of their mother's milk. Yet, notice what verse two says. Out of the mouth of babes, God has established strength. Who would ever speak of strength coming out of a weak, little, vulnerable baby? It's strength going in the wrong direction, isn't it? I mean, isn't a baby's mouth supposed to receive nourishment and strength, not give it out? Yet God reverses the direction. Out of the mouth of babes and infants, he has ordained strength. The surprise factor continues in the purpose given for this strength, to still the enemy and the avenger. This word still is the word from which we get the word Sabbath, to cease. It's used in Psalm 46 to describe God causing wars to cease. You know the well familiar verse? Be still and know that I am God. But now look who's doing the stilling in verse two. Weak little babies. The great and mighty enemies of God that rise up proud and arrogant against him are defeated not by armies of men, not by chariots and horses, not by tanks and fighter planes, but by weak little babies. Some Bible translations interpret the word strength here as praise. And if we had time, we could look at Matthew chapter 21 and see how Jesus applies this verse to his own day. As he comes riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, the little children are running around singing hosanna to the son of David. And Jesus quotes this Psalm. Out of the mouth of babes and infants he has ordained praise. But I want to focus our attention on the biggest surprise in this psalm, which is found in verses three to eight. God's name is majestic in all the earth because weak little babies defeat his enemies and because puny little man rules his world. Verses three to eight. You'll notice that verse three is comparatively longer than the other verses in the Psalm. The verse sort of draws things out, underlining the sense of awe that creation arises. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place. The mention of God's fingers is probably the most interesting thing in the verse. God made the heavens and the moon and the stars with his fingers. Now, of course, God is a spirit and does not have fingers like us. It's just a human way of describing God. But notice what the metaphor conveys. It conveys the delicate, intricate, detailed care with which God made the world, with which he made the moon and the stars. The symbolism conveys that God is an artist. He's a painter. He's a sculptor. But I think the metaphor conveys something else as well. Boys and girls, maybe you've been on an aeroplane. I don't know if you remember the first time you flew where you get up above the clouds and you look out on that endless blue sky. Or maybe you've been on a camping trip with your parents and you look up and there is this amazing star-studded night above your head. Astrologers tell us that on a clear night, there are about 2,500 stars visible to the human eye. But in reality, there are hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy, and billions of galaxies. Now, I think about the metaphor in verse three, that endless blue sky, that star-studded night sky which God shaped in such intricate detail, all of it, just at the tips of his fingers. All of it so tiny, so small, that God only needs to push and prod it with his divine digits. Boys and girls, it's like he picked up the moon like a marble and rolled it between his thumb and first finger and then just placed it in the night sky. It's like he put the stars in the night sky like your teacher or your mom peels off one of those gold stars and sticks it on your homework sheet. God made the heavens, the moon, and the stars with his finger. He's an artist, but he's an incredibly big artist in comparison to his world. He molded the endless skies with his fingertips. Now, if you're like me, you would expect the refrain of the psalm to kick in here. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. But that's not how the psalm progresses. David doesn't make an exclamation of praise. He asks a question. When I consider the blue skies and the star-entrancing nights, and the fact that you made all of it in such fine detail, and in comparison to you, they are so small at the tips of your fingers, when I think of all of that, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? There's no exclamation of praise at this point. No, there's only a question of puzzlement, of mind-boggling wonder. What is man? The word man here and the phrase son of man both speak of our fragility, our weakness, our humanness. We are miniscule specks of dust on a rock revolving around one of billions of stars in one of billions of galaxies. So why would God even bother with us? I mean, did you bother with the ants this morning out there on the pavement as you were walking in? Were you careful enough that you didn't tread on one of them? Well, how much more insignificant to God are we than the ants are to us? It's like what Shakespeare said, what is this quintessence of dust? Do you feel your puniness, your insignificance? David wants you to feel it. but he also wants you to feel something else. He wants you to feel that God is nevertheless mindful of you, that he does actually care for you. David's question here is not a question of doubt, but of faith. He's not doubting that God is mindful or that he cares. He's dumbfounded that it's actually true. And it is true. God knows and cares for you. Puny little you are on the mind of the God who carefully crafted billions of stars and billions of galaxies and set them all in place with his fingers. Now again, we'd expect the refrain to kick in here, wouldn't we? When I consider 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? And since you do care for him, O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. But again, it's not the logic of the psalm. The refrain is withheld until verse nine, which means that the catalyst for praise in this psalm is not creation. It's not even God's care. No, the catalyst for praise in this psalm is the contrast, the clash between man's insignificance Verses three to four, and man's significance. Verse five to eight. Verse five, 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. Puny little man rules God's world. And when those two paradoxical truths are set side by side, then David bursts into praise. Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. Charles Darwin said that as human beings, we bear the image of our lowly origins. But look again at verse five. yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. We do not bear the image of our lowly origins, as Darwin put it, rather we bear the image of high and holy origins. The word little here may refer to a little lower than the heavenly beings, the angels, It could be an adverb. You made us lower than the heavenly beings for a little while. But in either case, it's a statement of our super earthly dignity, as one commentator puts it. Because the word glory and honor are words associated not with earthly beings, but heavenly beings, with the angels, and yes, even with God himself. If verse four spotlighted our humanness and how insignificant we are, then verse five spotlights our God-likeness and just how significant we are. And the significant continues in verse six. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands. You've put all things under his feet. Man is not just created into a high and holy state, he's also given a high and holy job to do. Ruler of the whole wide world. Did you notice the echoes of Genesis 1 in these verses? God forms three realms, water, sky, land, in that order, and then he fills them with fish, birds, and animals in that order. Well, this Psalm reverses the order. It works from land to sky to water. A man is given rule over every realm and over every creature. And you'll notice it's not just the pet pony or poodle. It's the alligator and the antelope, the beasts of the field, the lion and the cobra. It's not just your budgie at home. It's also the eagles and the hawks. It's not just the goldfish in your bedroom, boys and girls. It's the blue whale and the orca, all that swim the paths of the sea, everything. has been placed under the rule of man, all creatures in all realms. In fact, the phrase all things in verse six may hint at even more than just planet Earth. You notice at the end of verse 6, the works of your hands. What does that remind you of earlier? Verse 3, the works of your fingers. It's a stylistic variation on the same point. And therefore, we have a profound statement here. Think about it. The very thing in verse 3 that made us feel so puny, so small, the works of God's fingers, the sun, moon, and stars, is the very thing in verse 6. that we are given dominion over. The moon and the stars, they make us feel so small, so insignificant, and yet, haven't we been to the moon? Haven't we stuck a flag in it and said, ours, one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind? Haven't we done it? I mean, I know technically speaking, it was you Americans who did it. But the Northern Irish settled America, so we were all involved in it. God has placed everything under our feet. Perhaps the old things in verse six would come to include things that, at the time of writing, David could not even have imagined. So Psalm 8 gives us a magnificent picture of mankind. There's not a sniff of Darwinian lowly origins here. Rather, we are the pinnacle of God's creation, the paragon of creatures commissioned to rule the world and everything in it. And it is this surprise, the surprise that puny little man rules God's world that causes David to conclude the psalm with the refrain, O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. Weak little babies defeat your enemies. Puny little man rules your world. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. And that's the psalm in a nutshell. As one commentator puts it, it's about the greatness of God and the greatness of man. The greatness of God and the greatness of man. The question is, what are we to do with it? Well, I want to suggest five points of application. Number one, Be amazed at what you were made to be. Be amazed at what you were made to be. What this Psalm asks us this morning is, do you have a high enough view of yourself? Because this Psalm says to us, the world's your oyster. That's the big surprise in this, Sam. Everything in the whole wide world has been placed under our feet. I'm sure some of the young people here have read the Chronicles of Narnia. I'm a big fan of it. I love the bit in Prince Caspian where Badger is speaking of Narnia and he says, it's not men's country, but it is a country for a man to be king of. It's not men's country, it's Aslan's country, but it is a country for a man like Peter to be king of. And this world is not our world, it's God's world, but it is a world for us to be kings and queens of. It is a world for us, male and female, to rule over it. And there's a sense in which we ought to praise God for that this morning. Puny little man really does rule God's world. We photograph stars and determine when they'll appear and disappear. We send robots to planet Mars to take photographs and collect rock samples. We've mastered human language and written beautiful poems and great pieces of literature. We've built bridges over the impasse of miles of water. We've blown holes in mountains to put tunnels through them. We've tamed the tiger. We swim with orcas. We've created the internet that can send a photograph from Philadelphia to the Philippines in two seconds. We've developed drugs that cure Ebola. Puny little man rules God's world. And there's a sense this morning in which we should say, oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. So be amazed at what you were made to be. Number two, but be aware of what you have become. But be aware of what you have become. When I read out that list of our human achievements, wasn't there a little niggle in your mind saying, yes, but? Yes, but something has gone eerily wrong. Yes, we've sent probes into space, we've planted a flag on the moon, but in the words of Larry Norman, I say you starved your children to do it. Yes, we've mastered human language, but we also know how to twist words to tell lies. Yes, we've blown holes in mountains to put tunnels through. We've also blown holes in buildings to kill people. Yes, we've swam with orcas, but sometimes they turn on us and kill us. Yes, we've created the internet and can send photographs to friends across the world, but we've also used it for the exploitation of women and children. Yes, we've developed drugs that can cure deadly diseases, but we've also developed chemicals to commit ethnic and infant genocide right here in America. I mean, let's be honest. While we were made only a little lower than the angels, only a little lower than God, we have fallen very far short from what God made us to be. I said earlier, this Sam asks us the question, do you have a high enough view of yourself? Well, this Sam said in the context of the whole Bible, asks us the question, do you have a realistic view of yourself? Because the reality is, we have messed up and we have messed up badly. Just switch your TV on. Just go on the internet. The world is a complete and utter mess. Reminds me of the story of G.K. Chesterton, who was reading his newspaper one day and saw in the editor's column a question, what is wrong with the world? And the editor said, please write in your answers. And G.K. Chesterton wrote in, dear sir, in response to your question, what is wrong with the world? I am your sincerely, G.K. Chesterton. What's wrong with the world? What's wrong with the world? You are. What's wrong with the world? We all are. And why? Because we have screwed it up badly by breaking God's laws. Our maker gave us laws in which we could rule his world, and we have screwed it up big time. We have broken his laws. And because of that, the world is a mess. And David knew it was a mess, because he speaks about enemies and avengers. And yet what's amazing is that David in his time in a fallen world said that God has still not abandoned his plan to rule the world through man. Or to put it better, to rule the world through one man. which leads to our third point of application. Be amazed at what you were made to be. Be aware of what you have become. And third, be amazed at Jesus, the proper man. Be amazed at Jesus, the proper man. Martin Luther referred to Jesus as the proper man. Did you notice how man in this Psalm is always referred to in the singular? Verse four, what is man, not men? What is the son of man, not son of men? The singular can be used in a collective sense, that's how I've been using it so far, of humanity in general, but it can also be used in an individual sense. And that's how the New Testament reads this psalm. Yes, there's application for mankind in general, but we've all failed. And scan the whole of the Old Testament and you will not find a man like this. David comes close and then he falls. Solomon does a bit better, then he falls. And the New Testament writers realize that the hope for mankind can only be found in one man, in one Son of Man, Jesus Christ. In the New Testament, we see hints of this in the Gospels. What was Jesus' favorite title for himself? the Son of Man. And do you remember how he observed the sparrows and the lilies? He acted like a biologist, like a zoologist, like a botanist. But he didn't just rule over the good things in life, he also ruled over the broken things, the evil spirits, the sickness and death. He calmed the storms and brought the chaos of creation under his control. Here was a son of man who was placing all things under his feet. For a little time, He was made a little lower than the angels. And because He ruled over God's world perfectly during that time period, God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him a name that is above every name and gave Him all authority in heaven and on earth. Jesus is the Son of Man of Samite, ruling over all things. And when we say all things, we mean all things. The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15, 27, includes death in the all things. Even death has been placed under his feet. Hebrews chapter 2, 5 to 10, the writer says that all things have been placed under the feet of Jesus and that there is nothing that has not been placed under his feet, even though at present we do not yet see it. Ephesians 1.22, Paul tells us that God has placed all things under his feet and given him as head over all things to the church, not only in this present age, but also in the age to come. Do you see it? The physical world, the spiritual world, the present world, the future world, good things, bad things, all of it under the feet of Jesus Christ, the Son of Man. Doesn't the phrase, Jesus is Lord, take on a whole new meaning now? But there's a surprise here too. Because although Jesus was crowned as Lord of everything after his resurrection, that's not how his life began. Jesus had humble beginnings. He was in the beginning, we might say, a puny little man. He was the eternal Son of God, but he chose to take upon himself a human nature and become weak and small and insignificant. Just think about his birth. He was born in a humble stable in Bethlehem because there was no room in the inn. And within days of being born, he had to flee with his parents to Egypt because his life was under threat from Herod. When they returned, they lived not in Jerusalem in the capital, the place of kings. No, he lived in Nazareth. an obscure, despised dumpster of a town. He grew up a carpenter's son. No significance in that rule. And when he did enter public ministry, although crowds followed him, many rejected him. During his ministry, he had nowhere to lay his head at night. And in the end, his own people gave him a death befitting a criminal and a murderer. Puny little Jesus. Despised, rejected Jesus. Insignificant little Jesus. But do you know who did esteem him? Babies and infants. when he came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, another sign of his insignificance and humility. Little children ran around that day singing, Hosanna to the son of David, Hosanna to the son of the writer of Psalm 8. Childish chants, yet out of the mouth of babes and infants, he has ordained praise. In fact, notice the order of Psalm 8. It begins with praise from children. Then there's the humiliation made a little lower than the angels. Then the exaltation crowned with glory and honor. Jesus' life follows the same pattern. He comes into Jerusalem and is praised by the children, and then He is humiliated on the cross, and then He is exalted in His resurrection and ascension. Jesus is the man and the Son of Man of Sam 8. This is the greatest surprise of Sam 8. Insignificant, little, despised Jesus has had all things placed under His feet. And He is now King of all kings and Lord of all lords, not only in this life, but also in the life of the world to come. Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is His name in all the earth. So we've seen three points of application. Be amazed at who God made you to be, but be aware of what you have become Be amazed at Jesus, the proper man. And number four, be amazed at what is now yours in Christ Jesus. Be amazed at what is now yours in Christ Jesus. When we become Christians, we are united to this same Jesus who has had all things placed under his feet, which means that in Christ now, all things that belong to him belong to us. Have you ever thought of that? Here's how the Apostle Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 3, 22 to 23, all things are yours, whether the world or life or death or the present or the future, all things are yours and you are of Christ and Christ is of God. Wow, what a paradigm shift. When God saves us, he doesn't remove us from the realms and spheres in which he has placed us. He wants us to live out our lives exercising proper rule over the realms and relationships and spheres in which he's placed us. So whether you're a young boy or girl, a young person or a student, an adult or a pensioner enjoying retirement this morning, Whether it's ballet or basketball, cooking or craft, crunching numbers or writing code, marathons or meringue pie, studying or sewing, golf or knitting, whatever realm or sphere or relationship God has placed you in at your age and stage of life, God says to you this morning, rule over it all to my glory. Get this, it was made for you. Because under Christ, the world's your oyster because it's his oyster. All things are yours because all things are Christ's and you belong to Christ. So be amazed at what is now yours in Christ. And finally, number five, Be amazed at what you will become in Christ. Be amazed at what you will become in Christ. In Hebrews chapter two, after quoting Psalm 8, the writer goes on to say that Jesus was made lower than the angels for a little while so that he might taste death for every one of his family in order to bring many sons to glory. In the words of C.S. Lewis, the Son of God became a man so that men might become sons of God. Son of God became a man so that men might become sons of God. And brothers and sisters, that's the final surprise. Because when Jesus restores us to a new humanity and the new heavens and the new earth, he will not just take us back to the same state of Adam in the garden, a little lower than the angels for a little time. No, he will take us to a state above the angels forever. because we are going to reign with Christ. Do you hear that this morning? Puny little you are going to reign over the heavens and the earth because of Christ. Isn't that what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? Yes, that's right. There's the final surprise. Puny little you one day will judge angels, but only because of Jesus. Let's pray. Father, you made us with high and holy origins, but we have fallen very far short in Adam. Please restore us in the second and last Adam to those high and holy origins. And so help us with Christ to rule your world so that your name might be made majestic in all the earth. And it's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.