Psalm 8

If you have a Bible, please turn with me to Psalm 8. While you do that, let me just explain

! what we're going to be looking at this weekend. I've called the series Glorious Dust, the Christian

! Doctrine of Humanity. Glorious Dust, the Christian! Doctrine of Humanity. Our talk tonight is looking

at man as ruler. Tomorrow morning we'll look at man as ruined. Then we'll look at the true

man, Jesus Christ. And then on the Lord's Day in the morning, we'll look at man renewed.

And in the evening, man resurrected. So ruler, ruined, true man, Jesus, renewed, resurrected.

Tonight, we're looking at man created to rule. 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 factor,

then we miss the whole point of the psalm. Because the element of surprise 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 1, where we're told that the God who

has set his glory in the heavens has also displayed his glory, his majesty in all the earth. The

God 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 has been displayed in all the earth,

what do you think of? Think of creation, don't we? We think of Mount Everest or Victoria Falls in

Zimbabwe or the plains of the Serengeti teeming with wild animals. We think of the Amazon rainforest

or the Grand Canyon. We think of a beautiful star-studded night in the Lake District or a beautiful sunset.

Isn't that what we think of when we hear of God's majesty displayed in all the earth?

Here's the unexpected thing. Here's the big surprise in this psalm. 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 God's enemies, verse 2, and because

puny little man

rules God's world, verses 3 to 8.

That's the logic of this psalm.

The catalyst for praise for David is not cute little babies,

verse 2. It's not creation, verse 3.

It's not even mankind, verse 4.

No, the catalyst for praise in this psalm is the surprise

that weak little babies defeat God's enemies

and that puny little man rules God's world.

The first surprise in verse 2 is obvious enough.

Out of the mouth of babes and infants you have established strength

because of your foes to still the enemy and the avenger.

The word here for babes is literally sucklings.

In the Old Testament, or for infants, sorry, is literally sucklings.

In the Old Testament, it's used in the context of oppression where babies are

vulnerable victims of war and death.

And yet, verse 2 says literally,

from the mouth of babes suckling on their mother's breasts,

God has established praise or strength, literally.

I mean, David, are you having a laugh?

If he would ever speak of strength coming out of a baby's mouth,

out of a weak, vulnerable, dependent 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.

From, out of the mouth of babes and infants comes strength.

The surprise factor continues in the purpose given for this strength.

To still the enemy and the avenger.

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, vulnerable children.

How humbling for God's enemies.

Now, if we had time tonight, we could look at Matthew chapter 21

Matthew 21 · chapter mention

and see how Jesus applies this verse to his own day.

The strength is the praise of God coming from little infants as they're running around

and singing,

Hosanna to the Son of David.

Save us, Son of David,

as he rides into Jerusalem on a donkey.

But I want to focus our attention on the bigger surprise in this psalm.

And that is in verses 3 to 8.

God's name is majestic in all the earth because

puny little man rules God's world.

Verses 3 to 8.

Weak little babies defeat God's enemies.

Verse 2.

And puny little man rules God's world.

Verses 3 to 8.

We just glance down at verse 3

and compare it in length to verse 4 and 5 and 6.

You'll notice that it's actually longer.

It doesn't have the parallelism of verse 4.

Hebrew poetry has this structure of parallelism.

It will say something on the first line

and then it will repeat the same thing on the second line

often with a wee bit of a surprise factor or it adds something.

But verse 3 has no parallelism.

It sort of just keeps on going

as if to underline the sense of awe of creation.

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 perhaps

the most striking thing in the verse.

God made the heavens

and the moon and the stars with his fingers.

Of course it's just a way of describing God in human terms

which the Bible does often.

But we know God is a spirit.

He doesn't actually have a pair of fingers.

But we mustn't rush to protect God too quickly here.

He's quite happy to be described symbolically

as having fingers.

We should let the metaphor wash over us.

We should meditate on the metaphor.

God used his fingers to create the heavens

and the moon and the stars.

Now what does that communicate to you?

He's an artist.

He's a sculptor, a painter.

The metaphor conveys the delicate, intricate, detailed care

with which God made the world.

But I think the metaphor suggests something else too.

I'm sure most of us in this room have been on an aeroplane.

You know as you sit at the window

and the plane rises, takes off and rises up above the clouds

and there out the window is that endless expanse of blue sky

for thousands of miles.

Or if you've never been in an aeroplane,

you go out in the countryside on a dark night

and you stand there and you look up at that canopy of stars above your head.

Now think about the metaphor here.

That endless blue sky, that star-studded night sky

which God fashioned and shaped in such intricate detail,

all of it is just at the tips of his fingers.

It's so tiny, so small

that God only needs to push and prod it

with the divine digits.

It's as if God 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.

Or like he picked up a star like a teacher does,

those little gold stars for her child's homework

and then just stuck it on the canvas of the night sky.

God made the heavens with his fingers.

He's an artist, but he is an incredibly big artist

in comparison to his world.

He molded the endless skies with just the tips of his fingers.

Now if you're like me, you would think that the refrain of the psalm

would 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 fact that you made them

in such fine detail and in comparison to you

they are so small at the tips of your fingers

and man in comparison to them is even smaller,

what is man that you are mindful of him?

There's no exclamation of praise.

There's just a question of puzzlement.

What is man that you are mindful of him

and the son of man that you care for him?

The word man here and the phrase human being

if you have a NIV or son of man

both speak of our fragility, our weakness, our humanness.

We are minuscule specks of dust on a rock

revolving around one of billions of stars

in but one of billions of galaxies.

So why would God even bother with us?

I mean, did you bother with the ants

on the pavement out there tonight

as you walked in here?

Didn't see them?

Insignificant?

Yet here is God.

We are even more insignificant

compared to the ants.

And here is God caring for us.

Do you feel your puniness,

your minuteness,

your insignificance?

David wants you to feel it.

He wants you to feel

how insignificant you are.

But he also wants you to feel something else

and that is

that though you are insignificant

compared to this vast universe

which is so small

in comparison to God,

God still cares for you.

Puny little you

are on the mind of the God

who cast billions of stars

into billions of galaxies

with his fingers.

Now again, you'd expect the refrain

to kick in here, wouldn't you?

When I consider the 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, that's not the logic of the psalm.

The refrain is withheld

until verse 9.

Which means that the catalyst

for praise in this psalm

is not creation, verse 3.

It's not even God's care for us,

verse 4.

No, the catalyst for praise in this psalm

is seen in the contrast

between verses 3 to 5,

3 to 4,

and verses 5 to 8.

There's a yet, a but,

at the beginning of verse 5.

The NIV, if you have an NIV,

completely misses it.

But the ESV does get it.

There's a yet, a but,

at the beginning of verse 5.

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,

the son of man that you care for him?

Yet, yet,

insignificant though we are,

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,

and you have put all things

under his feet.

Psalm 8 is about the clash

of man's insignificance

and man's significance.

Man is utterly insignificant

in comparison to God's world,

verses 3 and 4.

Yet, man is supremely significant

as ruler over God's world,

verses 5 to 8.

Puny little man,

verses 3 to 4,

rules God's world,

verses 5 to 8.

And it's only when those two

paradoxical truths

are set side by side

that David bursts

into praise again.

O Lord, our Lord,

how majestic

is your name

in all the earth.

Well, let's take a closer look

at verses 3 to 5.

You have made him a little lower

than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory

and honor.

Charles Darwin said

that as human beings

we bear the image

of our lowly origins.

The 20th century psychiatrist

Murray Bowen said

man is an evolving form of life.

He is more related

to lower forms of life

than he is different from them.

Man is a biological,

instinctual animal,

an emotional,

reactive product of nature.

Look again at verse 5.

Yet you made him

a little lower

than the heavenly beings.

The word there

could refer to angels,

which I think it does,

or to God.

Hebrews 2

picks up this verse

and translates that

as referring to angels.

But whatever way

you translate the word,

Elohim,

it could refer to God

or to angels,

we get the sense

of our original state.

We do not bear the image

of our lowly origins

as Darwin put it.

We are not biological,

instinctual animals,

more related to the lower

forms of life

than we are different from them

as Bowen put it.

Rather,

we bear the image

of high

and holy origins.

we fall short

only a little

from the angels

in God's presence.

Well,

verse 4

spotlighted our humanness,

how insignificant we are.

Verse 5

spotlights

our God-likeness.

The words glory

and honor

are two

descriptives

that are only ever used

of God

in the Bible.

And here we

are being given

those descriptions.

And the significance

continues in verse 6.

You've given him dominion

over the works

of your hands.

You've put all things

under his feet.

We weren't just created

with this high

and glorious state.

We were given

a high and glorious job

to do.

Ruler

over all things.

And then David

lists them.

All sheep

and oxen,

all the beasts

of the field,

the birds of the heavens,

the fish of the sea,

whatever passes

along the paths

of the seas.

Do you hear the echo

of Genesis 1

where God formed

three realms,

water,

sky,

land,

in that order.

And then he filled

each realm

with fish,

birds,

animals,

in that order.

Well,

this psalm captures

all of those realms

but in reverse order.

First there are

the beasts

of the field,

then there are

the birds

in the sky,

then there are

the fish

in the sea,

Genesis works

from water

to sky

to land,

Psalm 8

works from land

to sky

to water,

man is given

rule over every realm

and over every creature

and you'll see

it's not just

the pet pony

or poodle,

it's the alligator

and the antelope,

the lion

and the cobra,

the beasts

of the field,

it's not just

budgies and parrots,

it's eagles

and hawks,

it's not just

goldfish

and turtles,

it's the blue whale,

the great white shark,

all that swim

the paths

of the sea,

not all that swim

the paths

of your fishbowl

in your living room.

Everything

has been placed

under the rule

of man,

all creatures

and all realms.

In fact,

the phrase

all things

or everything

in verse 6

may hint at even more

than just planet earth.

Do you notice

the phrase there

in verse 6

over the works

of your hands?

What does that recall?

Verse 3,

the works

of your fingers.

If this is just

a case

of stylistic

variety

and I think

that's the only

explanation,

then we have

a profound

statement here.

Think about it.

The very thing

in verse 3

that made us

feel so puny

and so small,

the works

of God's fingers,

is now

the very thing

in verse 6

that we've been

given dominion

over.

The stars

and the moon

make us feel

so small,

so insignificant.

But they are

ours to rule.

And we've done it,

haven't we?

We've been to the moon,

we've stuck a flag

in it,

we've said ours,

one small step

for man,

one giant leap

for mankind.

But I know

technically speaking

it was the Americans

and we've never

heard the end

of it since,

but the Irish

settled America.

So it was really

the Irish

who ruled the moon.

But you get the point.

We were made

to rule the moon.

I remember

a BBC series,

The Wonders

of the Solar System,

Empire of the Sun,

that explained

that in the 1970s

we sent,

the Irish,

we sent a probe

out into space

in the 1970s

that was measuring

the heat waves

coming off,

the winds

that were coming off

the sun,

travelling billions

of miles

out into space.

And that probe

is still in space

sending back signals

to Earth.

I mean,

we rule the stars,

don't we?

Is it too much

of an exaggeration

to say

that we

were made

to rule things

that even David

at this point in time

couldn't have imagined?

Perhaps he was

speaking better

than he realised.

But in any case,

what Samet gives us

is a magnificent

picture of man.

There is no

sniff

of Darwinian

lowly origins

here.

Not a sniff.

We are

the pinnacle

of God's creation,

the paragon

of all creatures.

We are

his vice-regents,

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

the refrain

in verse 9

to kick in.

That's when David

praises God

again.

O Lord,

our Lord,

how majestic

is your name

in all the earth.

Weak little babies

defeat God's enemies.

Puny little man

rules God's world.

O Lord,

our Lord,

how majestic

is your name

in all the earth.

And that's the

psalm in a nutshell.

Those are the two

great surprises

that are at the

heart of this

psalm.

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 says to us

this evening is,

do you have

a high enough

view of yourself?

Because the

world's your oyster.

It really is

your oyster.

There's not a

square inch

of the whole

of this created

universe over

which God

does not say

to us,

it's yours.

It's all

yours.

Now,

of course,

there's the

danger that

we take this

too far

and see our

rule as

independent,

autonomous,

from God,

rulers of

everything,

apart from

God.

Our culture,

our society

preaches the

gospel of

self-sufficiency,

autonomy.

It's a

blasphemous

message.

The only

person in

the universe

who is

self-sufficient

and autonomous

is God.

He alone

is autonomos,

a law

unto

himself.

It reminds

me of that

famous story

of Muhammad

Ali.

He's on an

airplane.

They're coming

into land

and the

captain comes

over the

intercom.

Would all

passengers

please return

to their

seats and

fasten their

seatbelts?

And as the

air hostess is

walking through

the cabin,

she lifts

down and she

sees that

Muhammad Ali

doesn't have a

seatbelt on.

And she

says,

excuse me

sir,

the captain

has asked

all passengers

to fasten

their seatbelts

and he

said,

Superman

don't need

no seatbelt.

And she

said,

Superman

don't need

no airplane.

Now put

your seatbelt

on.

See,

the problem

with Muhammad

Ali is,

he thinks

he's completely

self-sufficient,

independent,

autonomous,

a law

unto himself.

But if he

really was,

then he'd

need no

airplane.

And it's

the exact

same with

man's

dependence

on God.

It's an

unavoidable

fact.

It cannot

be escaped.

Did you

notice how

God is

the subject

of all

the verbs

in verses

5 and

6?

Yet you

God

made him

man a

little lower

than the

heavenly

beings.

And you

God

crowned him

with glory

and honour.

And you

God

gave him

dominion.

And you

God

put all

things under

his feet.

I mean,

you can't

get a

clearer

statement

of man's

dependence

on God.

Man in

the Bible,

man in

the world,

is man

dependent

on God,

whether he

likes it

or not,

believes it

or not,

acts like

it or not.

Even

atheists are

dependent on

God for

their own

worldview.

I mean,

where do you

get the

definition

atheism from?

You get it

from theism

and sticking

an A on

the front of

it.

They're

dependent

on theism

for their

very

worldview.

Theism

is not

defined by

taking

atheism

and taking

the A

off it.

It's like

Cornelius

Van Till

who said

atheists are

like the

little girl

who wants

to slap

her father

in the

face,

but she

has to

climb onto

his lap

to do

so.

So,

man in

the Bible

is dependent

on God,

that is

clear,

but keeping

that perspective

and that is

the right

perspective

of ruling

under the

ruler,

of lording

over the

world under

the Lord,

let's not

miss the

point,

the jaw

dropping

point that

David is

making,

the surprise

that though

we are

mere specks

in this

vast universe,

God made

us to

rule it.

I love

that bit

in C.S.

Lewis's

Prince Caspian

where Badger

is speaking

of Narnia,

it's not

men's

country,

but it

is a

country for

a man

to be

king of.

This

world is

not our

world,

it's God's

world,

but it

is a

world for

man to

be king

of.

It is

a world

for us,

male and

female,

to rule

it.

And there's

a sense

in which

this evening

we need

to praise

God for

that.

Sometimes we

rush so

quickly to

the gospel

that we

forget this

aspect of

God's

common

grace.

Puny

little

man

really

does

rule

God's

world.

We do.

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 so

that we

write beautiful

poems and

great pieces

of literature.

We've

built bridges

over the

impasse of

miles of

water.

We've

blown holes

into mountains

to make

tunnels.

We've

tamed the

tiger.

We swim

with killer

whales.

We've

created the

internet which

can send a

photograph from

London to

Los Angeles

in two

seconds.

We've

developed drugs

that can

cure Ebola.

There's a

sense in

which tonight

we say,

O Lord,

our Lord,

how majestic

is your name

in all the

earth because

you have

given us

this world

to rule.

You may

be saying,

yes, but

I'm not so

sure.

Maybe this

is David

reflecting on

Eden before

the fall.

Well, then

why does he

talk about

enemies in

verse 2?

And even

after Noah

comes out

of the ark

in a fallen

world, what

does God

tell Noah

to do?

To rule

it.

And he

says, it's

all yours.

I've placed

everything into

your hands.

So even

after the

fall, this

is still

the structure

of the

world.

Clearer

still we

see your

hand in

man whom

you have

made for

the ruler

of creation's

glory, image

of your

majesty.

Music, art,

the fruitful

garden, all

the labor of

his days are

the calling

of his

maker to

the harvest

feast of

praise.

The

structure of

creation was

not ruined,

by the

fall.

Be amazed

at what

you were

made to

be.

Number two,

but be

aware of

what you

have

become.

Be aware

of what

you have

become.

Think if

you're honest

tonight as I

was giving

you that

list of

our

accomplishments,

was there

a niggle

in your

mind saying

yeah but

I mean

really?

Yes we've

sent probes

into space,

yes we've

planted a

flag on

the moon

but in

Larry Norman's

words 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 a

lie.

Yes we've

blown holes in

mountains but

we've also

blown holes in

buildings and

killed people

deliberately.

Yes we swim

with killer

whales but

sometimes they

turn on us

and kill us.

Yes we've

created the

internet and

can send

photos to

friends but

we've also

used it for

the exploitation

of women and

children in

pornography.

Yes we've

developed drugs

that can cure

diseases but

we've also

developed chemicals

that can commit

ethnic genocide.

Yes God has

given us rule

over our family

relationships and

work and

university

friendships but

who of us

tonight can say

that any of us

have lived

perfectly in

those relationships?

I mean let's

be honest while

we were made

to fall only a

little short

from the angels

we have fallen

very far short

from what God

made us to be

and why?

Because we

tried to live

independently.

We tried to

pretend there's

no God.

We tried to be

like Muhammad

Ali fly without

a seat belt.

But man left

to himself man

in rebellion

against his

creator is

never a

pretty picture.

I said earlier

that this psalm

asks us the

question do you

have a high

enough view of

yourself?

But this psalm

said in the

context of the

whole Bible

asks us the

question do you

also have a

realistic view

of yourself?

Because the

reality is we've

messed up and

we've messed

the world up.

Just turn your

TV on.

The world's an

absolute mess.

I love that

story of G.K.

Chesterton who

was reading the

newspaper one day

and the editor in

a column said

what's wrong with

the world?

Please send in your

answers.

G.K.

Chesterton wrote

dear sir in

regards to your

question what is

wrong with the

world?

I am yours

sincerely G.K.

Chesterton.

He hit the nail

right in the head.

What's wrong with

the world?

It's not your

next door neighbour.

It's not the

environment.

It's you.

It's me.

Why?

Because we have

abandoned our

creator.

We have rebelled

against him.

But though we

have rebelled

against God

God has not

abandoned his

basic plan

to rule the

world through

man.

Just like I

was saying the

fall does not

remove the

creation, the

created order.

And God did

not abandon

his plan to

rule the

world through

man or to

be more precise

to rule the

world through

one man.

That has always

been God's

intention.

To rule the

world through

one man.

He created

Adam.

He was to

rule the

world through

one man and

his bride.

But Adam

failed and we

failed with him.

Which brings us

to the third

point.

Be amazed at

Jesus, the

proper man.

Be amazed at

Jesus, the

proper man.

Now, before I

unpack this

point, I just

want to step

back a little.

I've been

speaking this

evening quite a

bit of

ourselves.

Perhaps you've

been a bit

uneasy.

What's all this

man-centered talk,

Johnny?

I mean, isn't

that the problem

with modern-day

Christianity?

We are too

people-centered,

too self-centered

instead of God-centered.

John Piper puts

his finger on it

when he says,

we evangelicals

are okay being

God-centered

so long as

God is man-centered.

And he's

right.

But I just

want to tweak

it a little.

I know what he

means, Piper,

and he's right.

There is a form

of Christianity

that's so

preoccupied with

ourselves that

God is not

God.

He's just the

servant who

meets our

needs.

But I want to

tweak that a

little.

The reason I

can speak

tonight, and

the reason

Sam, it speaks

so man-centeredly,

if I can use

that language,

is because of

the person of

Jesus Christ.

See, in

Christ, God

is both God-centered

and man-centered

to the exact

same extent.

It has

always been

God's plan

for a man

to rule the

world.

For one

man to

rule the

world.

Indeed, isn't

it interesting

that at no

point in

this, Sam,

does David

speak about

man or

mankind in

the plural?

If you have

an ESV, you'll

see that it's

followed that.

The new

NIV, sadly,

has missed

it.

You have

made him

a little

lower.

You crowned

him.

You have

given him.

You have

put all

things under

his feet.

You see

the singularity

here?

Of course,

David is

speaking about

mankind, the

generic mankind,

but he speaks

about generic

mankind,

in the singular.

And that

allows this

psalm to

therefore be

applied to

a man, but

not just any

man, the

one man who

himself embodies

mankind.

The last

Adam, who is

himself the

embodiment of

a new

humanity.

and when we

read the

New Testament,

we see that

this psalm is

picked up and

used and

related and

applied to

Jesus.

You could,

of course,

think of what

Jesus does in

the Gospels.

He walks on

water, he

calms the

storm.

He is

showing in

those miraculous

acts that he

himself is the

man of

Samia, who

literally rules

over everything.

But come with

me to

Ephesians

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

and see how

Paul picks up

this psalm and

applies it

directly to

Jesus.

Ephesians

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

Reading from

verse 20.

According to

the working of

his great might

that he worked

in Christ when

he raised him

from the dead

and seated him

at his right

hand in the

heavenly places,

far above all

rule and

authority and

power and

dominion and

above every

name that

is named,

not only in

this age but

also in the

one to come,

and he put

all things

under his

feet,

there's the

allusion to

Samia,

and gave him

as head over

all things to

the church,

which is his

body, the

fullness of

him who

fills all

in all.

Do you

notice what's

going on here?

This is an

application of

Samia, but it

is also an

unwrapping of

what the all

things really

meant.

It's not just

this physical

universe that

is placed under

Christ's feet.

Now it is

every rule and

authority, every

power and

dominion in

the universe,

but notice not

only in this

age but also

in the age to

come.

Jesus is Lord

not just of this

world in this

age, but he is

Lord of that

world in that

age as well.

Hebrews 2 says

something similar,

God has

subjected the

world to

come under

Jesus'

authority.

1 Corinthians

15 picks up

Samia and

says that death

itself will be

placed under

his feet.

I love that

hymn of

Francis of

Assisi, all

creatures of

our God and

King, you

know the hymn,

all creatures of

our God and

King.

And thou

most kind and

gentle death,

waiting to

hush our

latest breath.

Oh, praise

him.

Death, praise

him, because

you are now

under his

feet.

And so here

we have the

physical world,

the spiritual

world, the

present world,

the future

world, all of

it, all of

it placed under

the feet of

Jesus Christ.

God has left

nothing that is

not subject to

him.

Doesn't the

phrase Jesus is

Lord now take

on a whole

new meaning

when you read

it in the

light of

Psalm 8 as

it is applied

in the New

Testament.

And so this

should alleviate

any concern

with a man

centeredness of

Psalm 8.

God is as

man centered as

he is God

centered because

of Jesus Christ.

He is, as

Martin Luther

called him,

the proper

man.

But here's

the surprise.

Who is this

proper man?

Where did he

come from?

He was born

in a manger

in the dark

streets of

Bethlehem.

He grew up

as a carpenter's

son.

He was

despised in

the town of

Nazareth.

During his

ministry he

had nowhere to

lay his head

and in the end

his own people

gave him a

death befitting

a criminal

and a murderer.

He was

despised and

rejected, a

man of sorrows

and familiar with

suffering like

one from whom

men had their

faces.

He was

despised and

we esteemed

him not.

He was

puny, he

was insignificant,

he was

despised, but

it has always

been God's

plan for

puny,

insignificant

little man

to rule his

world.

And it is

that humble,

frail,

despised you

that God

has placed

as king

over the

world to

come.

Oh Lord,

our Lord,

how majestic

is your name

in all the

earth.

Number four,

be amazed

at what is

now yours

in Christ.

Be amazed

at what is

now yours

in Christ.

When we

become

Christians,

we bring

ourselves back

under the

rule of

God's new

king.

We're no

longer under

the ancient

King Adam

from whom

we descended.

We are

now under

the present

King Jesus

to whom we

are united.

And because

we are now

united to

the proper

man who

reigns over

all things,

there's another

surprise here.

In Christ,

all things

have now

become ours.

Come with

me to

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3.

1 Corinthians chapter 3

1 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

in verse 22

Paul is speaking in the

context of the celebrity

pastor cult in Corinth

but the point he makes

is applicable not just to the celebrity

pastor context but to

all contexts

so let no one boast in men for

all things are yours whether Paul

or Apollos or Cephas or the world

or life or death or the present or the future

all are yours and you are

Christ's and Christ

is God's

do you see that the world

life death the present

the future

is all yours

why is it

yours

because you are in Christ

and Christ belongs to

God and God has

exalted Christ over all things

so be amazed

at what is now yours

in Christ

what God says to us

this evening is what he always

what he intended us to be

he still intends us to be

as we are remade

in the person of his son

Jesus Christ

so whatever it is you do

whether it's baking or ballet

basketball

or the Higgs

Boas and particle theory

whatever you do

rule over it

master it

to God's glory

why

because it's yours

under Christ

the world is still

your oyster

because it's

his oyster

and you are connected

to him

all things are yours

fifth and finally

be amazed at what you will

become in Christ

be amazed at what you will

become

in Christ

in Hebrews chapter 2

Hebrews 2 · chapter mention

9 to 10

the writer says that

Jesus was made a little

lower than the angels

so that he might taste

death for every one

of his family

in order to bring

many sons

to glory

in other words

or in C.S. Lewis'

words

the son of man

became a man

in order that men

might become

sons of God

the son of God

became a man

in order that men

might become

sons of God

and that's the final

surprise

brothers and sisters

when Jesus restores us

to a new humanity

and a new heavens

and a new earth

he will not

take us back

to Adam in the garden

the story of the Bible

is not from a garden

to a garden

it's from a garden

to a garden

in the middle of the Bible

to a garden city

there is a progression

we will be

co-heirs

with Christ

Adam was made

a little lower

than the angels

but when Jesus

takes us to that

garden city

we will rule

angels

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 you will judge

angels

Adam never judged

an angel

but you

puny

little you

one day

will sit

and judge

angels

oh Lord

our Lord

how majestic

is your name

in all the earth

let us pray

God