“Oh Lord, how majestic is your name”

If you'd like to turn or open Psalm 8 on your Bibles or devices, we'll be reading from that.

Psalm 8.

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 works of your fingers, the moons 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.

Well, good morning, everyone.

I'm David, one of the pastors here, if you're a visitor and don't know me.

So I wonder what the word worship means to you.

What does it bring to mind?

Probably the first cab off the rank for most of us would be,

well, it's the sort of thing we do on Sunday morning here at our meeting.

We sing, we pray, we sit under God's word.

That's worship.

Well, yes, it is.

But worship is actually much bigger than that.

It's much bigger than a church thing.

Indeed, it's much bigger even than a Christian thing.

I suggest to you this morning that worship is a human thing.

Worship is something that's hardwired into us as humans, as people.

It's something we do all the time.

To be human is to be a worshiper.

Because at the simplest level, worship is simply ascribing ultimate value or worth to someone or something.

And everybody does that in some shape or form.

Worship is ascribing, as I say, ultimate value, praise, or to use the word of Psalm 8, glory to a person or thing we think is significant or important in life.

It's something which probably has also captivated our heart and our minds.

Now, of course, religious people, and I'm talking about any sort of religion, not just Christians at this point, religious people ascribe ultimate value or worth to God.

And, of course, that God can take various shapes and forms.

But generally, religious people do that.

But people who deny being religious are also worshipers.

Because there's always something in life, their life, that they ascribe ultimate worth to.

Perhaps for them it's a relationship.

Perhaps it's an object, a possession.

Perhaps it's sport.

Perhaps it's shopping.

Perhaps it's leisure.

Perhaps it's being out in nature.

Or, in many cases, it's ascribing ultimate value to themselves.

And so they engage in self-worship.

They might not realize it, but that's ultimately what they're about.

And then you take another step.

And when we ascribe ultimate value to someone or something, we prioritize that someone or something.

We center our life around it.

Or around that person.

And most of our decisions from that point then are shaped by our devotion to that person or thing.

That's the anatomy of worship.

And because our worship reflects ultimate value and ultimate worth,

then it also connects us into what we believe is our ultimate purpose in life.

Our ultimate meaning.

Or, in other words, it connects us into what we believe the truly good, satisfying, rich life is.

Well, with that introduction, I want to now jump into Psalm 8,

where King David is swept up into worship from the very depth of his being.

Ascribing ultimate worth, glory, and praise to the Lord.

Captivated by his awesome character and actions,

as he expresses in words some very, very powerful conclusions about God.

Psalm 8 is a song, a poem of worship.

And the first powerful conclusion that David presents in verses 1 and 2 is that God is glorious in himself.

And without limit.

Now, this picture that Beth had put up, the night sky, I can tell you, I'm a camper.

I never tire, after many, many, many years of camping,

I never tire of lying on my back on a clear, cold, frosty night up in the high country, preferably,

looking up at the sky.

And I'm just looking at a trillion stars and galaxies.

Stars and galaxies behind stars and galaxies.

So distant that the light they emit can take many hundreds, if not thousands of years to get to my eyes.

And yet on a bright night, so clear that I feel as if I can reach out and touch them.

And as Beth said to the children, the awesomeness of it makes me feel so small.

It overwhelms me.

And what do I do?

Every single time I reach for the opening words of Psalm 8.

Why do I reach for those words?

Because I'm trying to get words to express something that I just find is beyond expression.

I'm trying to find words to capture in my mind that which is, well, ultimately beyond any mind can fathom,

beyond that which any mind can fathom.

King David pens these words,

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

Perhaps King David, as he writes these words,

remembers David the shepherd boy,

minding his father's sheep at night out on the hills.

Lots of time just to enjoy the night sky,

the solitude.

Perhaps it's King David as a man

on the roof of his palace at the end of a long, hard day,

just enjoying the cool of the evening

as the evening celestial light show

appears before him.

Either way, it doesn't matter.

The awesomeness of the vast night sky

prompts King David

to worship.

To ascribe ultimate value,

praise, and glory to God

as he writes.

Now,

if you look at verse 1,

then we jump into this

and we start to see some depth in it.

This is not just a,

when he says,

O Lord, our Lord,

it's not just a concept of God

as some mysterious superior being or force

somewhere out there in our universe.

Someone who may exist,

but ultimately who's distant

and perhaps uninvolved

and perhaps uncaring.

Now,

when David speaks in worship,

he's seeing the fingerprints

of a very personal,

immediate,

powerful,

creative,

involved

God.

And he acknowledges

the handiwork

and the hallmark

of O Lord,

our Lord,

using

two different names of God.

The first one,

O Lord,

is the word Yahweh,

the personal name of God,

the covenant God

who's already committed himself

to his world

and to dealing with sinful people

who's committed to love

and show compassion

and care for.

And the second one

is sovereign Lord,

highlighting the character of God

that is all powerful,

beyond challenge,

without limit.

The one who's in total control

as the owner,

maker,

and operator

of the universe

that David is appearing into.

See, for David,

God's name is

God's character.

And wherever he looks

in the vastness of the sky,

in the vastness of the universe,

he sees evidence

of God's greatness,

God's glory,

God's majesty,

or a more modern word for us,

I suppose,

young people's word,

God's awesomeness.

And he says,

you have set your glory

above the heavens.

Now,

we need a little bit of help

to understand that.

And here it is,

the Jews

in David's day

thought of the universe

as three levels

of heavens.

first is what we would call the sky

or the atmosphere

and the second is then

what we would call outer space

and the third level is beyond that

the heaven of heavens as they used to call it

the place where God exists

where God is

so David's saying here that

God is so majestic, so glorious

so all powerful

that he has actually

put his glory everywhere

in the universe

God's glory

David understands is far greater

than can be observed, far greater

than can be described

there's no

place in the universe where

there's not the fingerprints of

God

for David you see

it's not possible to add

to God's glory

it cannot be matched

it cannot be surpassed

it is ultimate

it is above

the heavens

it is beyond this

physical creation

and my friends

I think honest observation

the universe

pushes a person

to this conclusion

I think there's a little better

commentary in verse 1

than the children's song

I think Colm Buchanan

my God is so big

so strong

and so mighty

there's nothing

my God cannot do

and then we move into verse 2

which

perhaps at first

seems like jar

a contrast

or something

it had me thrown

for a little while

out of the mouths

of babes and infants

you have established

strength

because of your foes

to still the enemy

and the avenger

when I first started

to look at it

I thought

that verse just doesn't

quite fit in there

but then I realized

it's the other side

of the coin

in which David

introduces the notion

of foes

and enemies

and avengers

that is

people who are

in opposition

to this great

and powerful

and glorious God

because that's the reality

of this world

people who are determined

to be their own authority

people who are determined

to live in the world

without reference to God

and I think

the two verses

go together

like this

or something like this

I think

just as it's impossible

verse 1

to add to God's glory

so verse 2

David's saying

it's impossible

to detract

from God's glory

even those

who challenge him

in his powerfulness

and his supremacy

it's not possible

to take away

from his glory

God's response

to those who rebel

against him

shows his limitless

majesty

or glory

and power

and we have the imagery

there

of little babies

and toddlers

and what are they

well

in a sense

they're the least

if you had to think

of something of power

and influence

a changer

in this world

you wouldn't think

of a baby

or a toddler

and it's the words

emphasized there

so

very very simple words

faltering words

and I have to say

as a grandpa

sometimes

unintelligible words

but

that's what the Lord's

using

to confound

his enemies

to still them

in other words

he just

settles them down

makes their wheels

spin

takes them out

of the action

neutralizes them

and it speaks

therefore

of the ease

with which

our all powerful

God

does that

he cannot

add to his glory

nor will

any opposition

detract from his glory

or challenge

his glory

the same thought

actually is expressed

in Psalm 2

and you could look

at Psalm 2

through to Psalm 8

as an inclusive

or a group

of Psalms

both have this

very strong

sense of

God is

in control

of his world

yes there's a lot

out there

who would oppose

God

enemies

who would take

God out

take God down

or at least

try to

but Psalm 2

picture there

is well

God just sits

back

hands behind

his head

and has a good

old laugh

that's bright

in my day

God sits

on his throne

and laughs

at those

who would rebel

and treat

his glorious

name

with disregard

at that point

I just want to

pause and ask

two questions

I want to ask

you first of all

if you

are sure

that your

world view

is thoroughly

biblical

now your

world view

is like a set

of glasses

it's the lens

through which

you see life

through which

you understand

life

through which

you operate

in life

it determines

how you understand

and live in the

world

and in this

situation

it determines

who or what

you worship

who or what

you ascribe

ultimate value

or worth to

and so the question

out of Psalm 8

I think for each

of us this morning

is

is your worldview

shaped

and filled

with the

awesome

grandeur

of our

majestic

all powerful

glorious

God

now

that's becoming

increasingly important

for us to be able

to answer that

question

because our

world view

needs to stand

untroubled

by those

who in the

name of

science

would remove

God

completely

from our

minds

and from

this world

arguing

that our

universe

is coming

to existence

by a product

of chance

cause

and effect

and we are

the masters

of our own

destiny

will your

worldview

stand

untroubled

by those

who want

to redefine

God

as just

a spiritual

force

and we're

bombarded

by that

new

spirituality

these days

that God

is actually

just

a mysterious

non-specific

spiritual

super being

somewhere out

there

a mysterious

force

that somehow

or other

we have to

find and tap

into

or perhaps

even that

that forces

ourselves

to be

found

within

ourselves

and will

your worldview

stand untroubled

by those

who would

confine

God

by saying

well

yes God

exists

but

he's

distant

he's not

actually

interested

in our

world

so

as long

as you

just

believe

in

the

concept

of

God

you can

actually

still

just

live

however

you

like

he's

impersonal

and simply

the great

architect

of our

world

not

interested

in how

we live

or behave

a bit

like a

landlord

as long

as you

keep

paying

your

rent

you know

giving

God

due

acknowledgement

then

you can

do

whatever

you like

we're

under

attack

constantly

to just

subtly

shift

our

worldview

to sort

of

meld

what we

see

here

in the

Bible

with

what's

around

us

in

our

culture

and I

think as

Christians

we do

it more

than we

realise

but you

can have

a think

about that

the second

question I

want to ask

you now

is

do you

hear the

whisper

of Jesus

in verse

2

it's

interesting

in Matthew

Matthew 21:16

chapter

21

verse

16

Jesus

quotes

the first

part

of verse

2

or the

whole

of verse

2

actually

remember

in Matthew

Matthew 21 · chapter mention

chapter

21

Jesus

just

entered

Jerusalem

there's

all the

fanfare

but behind

the fanfare

Jesus

knows

that the

Jewish

religious

leaders

are

actually

plotting

to kill

him

and in

less than

a week

he will

actually

be

crucified

and

he's

just

cleaned

up the

temple

and once

again the

Jewish

religious

leaders

express

their

hatred

of Jesus

yes

hatred

this time

the circumstance

in which they

express their

hatred is

that they're

really really

annoyed that

Jesus would

accept the

praise of

little children

little street

kids running

after Jesus

calling him

son of

David

that is

addressing

Jesus as

the Messiah

recognizing

that Jesus

is the Messiah

and the

Jewish

religious leaders

they're furious

that Jesus

accepted that

essentially

accusing Jesus

of blasphemy

Jesus

says

don't you

remember

and he

quotes this

verse

Jesus

reminds them

that God

could

and would

use any

means

to bring

glory to

himself

and in

saying that

I think

Jesus

is

saying to

the Jewish

religious leaders

to stir

them up

even more

you accuse

me of

blasphemy

well let me

tell you

very clear

I am

God

he's

declaring

himself

to be

God

and

secondly

involved

in that

he's

actually

declaring

himself

to be

worthy

of the

praise

and the

glory

that these

little street

kids

are

in their

smallness

of mind

giving

them

they don't

for a second

understand all

about Jesus

but they

sense something

and they

adore

something

and I

think the

same principle

is true

for us

today

Jesus

says in

another

place

unless you

come to

me as

little

children

you'll

never

see the

kingdom

of God

these

little

children

who spoke

to Jesus

and called

him

Messiah

well

they didn't

understand

everything about

Jesus

they can

explain

everything about

Jesus

but

they

sensed

something

the Lord

probably put

it in their

mind

to come

to him

as

saviour

and king

that's

what Messiah

he came

to him

and worshipped

him

praised

him

my friends

that's the

pattern

still to

this day

do I

understand

everything I

read in the

Bible

no I wish

I did

but then what

would I talk

to people I

work with

and people I

hang out

with

as part of

the enjoyment

of just

digging into

God's word

but I

know

enough

to see

the limits

of my

understanding

and from

there just

move into

adoration

and praise

and worship

we'll move

on to the

second point

then

God's glory

is reflected

in the glory

of man

and I've

used the

word man

in the

word of

commas

if you're

looking at

the sermon

outline

but really

the word

there we're

picking up

is mankind

or people

or humankind

in verses

3 through

to 7

so what

happens when

David spends

some time

considering

the glory

of God

well

very simply

it pushes

him to

consider

himself

in

respect

of God's

universe

and in

respect of

God

what's his

own place

in God's

universe

what's his

own place

with this

absolutely

all powerful

all glorious

God

and verse

4

immediately

David's

blown away

with the

realization

that God

is deeply

committed

to being

in relationship

with his

created beings

we already

saw that

in the way

that David

spoke to

God

in verse

1

Yahweh

it's a

term of

relationship

but he

comes back

now and

spells it out

a little bit

more

and questions

it

what is

man

that you

are mindful

of him

the son

of man

that you

care for

him

God

is

committed

to being

in relationship

with his

created beings

to whom he

gives glory

in special

position

honor and

responsibility

within his

world

so God

is glorious

and the way

God has set

up the

universe to

operate

gives

mankind

a special

responsibility

and a

special

position

a position

of

reflected

glory

so

friends

another

point to

make here

is

true

worship

is

responding

to

with a

proper

understanding

of God's

character

and glory

true

worship

is

responding

to God

with

proper

understanding

of his

character

and glory

and

with the

proper

understanding

of our

world

and

a

proper

understanding

of ourselves

with God's

reflected glory

as created

beings

as image

bearers

within the

world

true

worship

needs to

get a

balance

of those

three

things

need to

understand

God

we need

to

understand

the

world

we

live

in

at least

the

connections

of the

world

we live

in

and we

need

to

understand

ourselves

as

created

beings

within

God's

glorious

world

if we

get any

of those

three

wrong

or if

we get

them out

of whack

out of

bounds

then

whatever

we do

and call

it worship

it will

be false

worship

and

God

demands

that we

worship

him

because

our

worship

reveals

how we

value

our

connection

to him

how we

reflect

our

dependence

on him

he is

the sovereign

lord

the creator

god

we are

his

created

beings

if we

invert

that

order

so that

God

is

domesticated

and becomes

defined

by us

then we're

no longer

worshipping

the lord

of the

universe

we're

worshipping

something

of a

figment

of our

imagination

our

worship

ought to

say that

he is

the

ultimate

life

giving

source

which

means

that

as

we

are

worshipping

servants

of the

lord

then

we are

best

connected

to

true

meaning

true

purpose

and the

truly

good

life

and when

we

express

that

worship

from the

depths

of our

being

then we're

actually

connecting

into

and enjoying

the good

life we

were created

to enjoy

flip the

coin for a

minute

what is

false

worship

well

false

worship

is failing

therefore

to live

with

reflected

glory

what's the

reflected

glory

well

look at

look at

the

the

the

verbs

listen to

the verbs

as I read

them through

you have

made him

talking about

mankind

you have

made him

a little

lower

than the

heavenly

beings

crowned him

with glory

and honour

given him

dominion

put all

things under

his feet

it's an

incredible

position of

honour and

responsibility

and indeed

reflected glory

everything that

God has made

in all its

beauty

has now

been

given to

us

in a

sense

to

operate

so

false

worship

coming back

to think

about that

false

worship

is failing

to live

and operate

with the

reflected

glory

given us

by God

as his

image

bearers

so

therefore

in a

sense

put it

in other

words

false

worship

is actually

to steal

God's

glory

or to

attempt

to steal

God's

glory

or to

usurp

God's

glory

for

ourselves

and again

you see

I guess

I hope I'm not

just speaking

about myself

I think I speak

for everybody

but we so

easily tend

to domesticate

God

don't we

we make

him subject

to our

understanding

our preferences

we think

well this

is how

God

should

be

this

is what

God

is

like

this

is how

he should

operate

in his

world

this

is how

he should

operate

towards

me

and so

when we do

that

we still

manage

an appearance

of worship

that is we still

go through

all those

religious

things

we still

have the

language

but it is

only an

appearance

because

as we

domesticate

God

and shape

him to

our

preferences

and our

desires

then we're

actually

expressing

autonomy

we're

actually

trying to

say I

want to

worship

the Lord

but I

want to

be

autonomous

I want

to run

my own

paddle my

own canoe

and sometimes

that goes

to be so

extreme

that we

even

make

ourselves

God

that is

we take

so much

charge

of life

and think

almost like

a practical

atheism

we live

and act

as though

God

doesn't

exist

at so

many

points

in our

lives

and I

can only

say then

that that's

self-worship

we're

ascribing

to ourselves

ultimate

value and

worth

so the

question of

all that

then I

think if

you're

still with

me if

you haven't

totally

lost you

is the

question for

us is are

we willing

to live

with

reflected

glory

and be

passionate

worshipping

image bearers

and servants

if we live

with reflected

glory and

are worshipping

servants

then our

greatest desire

will be to

get more

and more

glory for

the Lord

the

alternative

is as I

say

that we

will seek

to steal

God's

glory

consciously

or

unconsciously

or find

our own

glory

apart

from

God

and

that's

the world

we live

in

it's

called

expressive

individualism

we talked

about at

the end

of last

year

that I

can

set the

good life

for myself

with my

own

resources

without

reference

to

anybody

else

of course

many here

this morning

including

myself

will want

to be

true

worshippers

living

in

reflected

glory

and yet

constantly

we find

ourselves

ascribing

ultimate

value and

worth

to things

and people

knowing

they will

disappoint

as they've

disappointed

us in

the past

that is

the struggle

of living

as a

Christian

at least

that's

what I

find the

struggle

of living

as a

Christian

is

and we

tire of

that constant

struggle

to maintain

true worship

when our

hearts are

working against

us

when our

hearts

want us

to lead

us astray

when our

hearts

want us

to usurp

God's

glory for

ourselves

it's a

challenge

isn't it

and that

prompts my

second question

we're nearly

finished

the second

question is

this

again have

you heard

another

whisper of

Jesus in

verses 4

through to

7

it's a

beautiful

desirable

picture there

I think

in those

verses

47

the picture

of man

and the

son of

man

that is

man and

his

descendants

ruling

God's

world

under

God's

control

and in

harmony

with him

it's a

beautiful

picture

isn't it

mankind

living

happily

and fully

in the

reflected

glory

of God

their creator

as image

bearers

of course

as I said

that's not

how we

experience life

is it

life's not

simple like

that

life's a

struggle

and we're

constantly

sliding away

from that

well

there's a

whisper of

Jesus in

that

because if

you turn

to Hebrews

Hebrews 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

with me

again the

writer of

Hebrews picks

up this

very notion

in verses

5 through

to 9

he actually

quotes

Psalm 8

talks about

everything

being put

under

the feet

of Christ

and there's

the whisper

of Jesus

in

Psalm 8

that that

picture

of living

completely

and happily

with great

satisfaction

in the

reflected glory

of the

Lord

only ever

came true

in Christ

go right

back to

Adam

he wasn't

able to

manage it

he usurped

God's glory

for himself

King David

he wasn't

able to

manage it

and every

one of

God's

promise

bearers

right through

the ages

right down

to Christ

himself

every son

of man

failed to

be consistently

true

worshippers

failed to

be content

to reflect

God's glory

in their

lives

each was

part of

the problem

of sin

part of

the problem

of craving

glory for

themselves

craving

and stealing

God's

glory

but what

we're told

here is

that Jesus

was the

perfect man

the perfect

human

he was the

true son

of man

in the sense

that he

lived life

perfectly

reflecting the

glory of

God

reflecting the

picture of

creation

reflecting the

picture of

mankind's

part in

creation

his glory

was in his

obedience to

the father

his worship

of the father

his proper

understanding of

God's world

and God's

character

and this

ultimately

followed him

right through

and was

demonstrated in

his death

and resurrection

now

here's the

here's the

benefit for us

connected to

Jesus

united with

him in

faith

we are

considered by

God to

be true

worshippers

we cannot

consistently

worship

on our

own in

spite of

our best

efforts

but in

Christ

we are

true

worshippers

who bring

the Lord

delight

who are up

close and

personal with

him in

relationship

and as

Hebrews 2

says

it hasn't

yet been

seen for

Christ himself

but one

day will be

it's true

and one

day will

be seen

by all

and the

same for

us in

Christ

in the

meanwhile

Jesus is

both our

model and

our helper

as we set

ourselves this

week again

to be

true

worshippers

joyful

worshippers

those who

reflect the

glory of

God

in the

way we

live

in the

way we

speak

in the

way we

relate to

others

and those

who seek

to enhance

the glory

of God

as we

struggle to

do that

more and

more and

more

we have a

helper

we have a

model

and it

will happen

that's God's

promise to us

in Christ

Hebrews 2

well join me

in prayer

Lord the

picture of

worship is

one that

does

delight us

we're drawn

into it we

want to be

those who

ascribe to

you the

glory and

honour and

praise that

you deserve

and yet

Lord at the

same time

that picture

tantalises us

because Lord

it's so

remote from

us at

some points

in our

lives

we find

ourselves

just

pursuing

our

own

glory

or even

Lord

thinking

we can