All Praise Be To God! He Exalted People, And Sent His Son For Their Salvation (Psalm 8)
Some of the Psalms play major roles in the New Testament. Psalm 8 is one of them. But at first glance this seems like an odd choice. I mean, I understand why Psalm 110 finds its way in the New Testament so often, but Psalm 8.
The setting of this psalm seems to be something that we are all probably familiar with. Living in a more rural setting will help one to understand the outpouring of praise that David gives to God in this psalm. It’s as if he walked outside and looked at the enormous beauty of the stars and began exclaiming the wondrousness of God and the wonder of God raising people to their place in the world. As he peered into the darkness of the night sky and the beauty of the moon and stars it struck him as extraordinary that God would exalt mankind, even creating them in His image and making them to rule over creation as God had done. If you think about it though, I bet you’ve done something similar. You didn’t walk out onto your porch and begin to think about your own greatness. You did quite the opposite.
And so, after some sorrowful psalms that look to God as our only hope amid trouble, we reach this exclamation of God’s wonderful greatness. But if you look closely and see the text as Jesus and the way the Holy Spirit caused the writers of the New Testament to do, you will see that this is also a glorious proclamation of the salvation that God would one day bring to the world through Jesus Christ.
All praise be to God! He exalted People and sent His Son to be their Savior.
Read Psalm 8.
Praise God! He Uses The Weak To Glorify Himself! (Psalm 8:1-2)
David describes God’s name as “majestic”, that is the ESV rendering of it anyway. It is “excellent” or “magnificent”. God’s name, His reputation is excellent or magnificent. It is majestic. It is more excellent than even the heavens. I have already mentioned that David was probably moved to write this as he gazed out into an un-light-polluted night sky. You know, something like being out in the middle of nowhere and gazing out at the moon and the stars. And as he did so he describes how God is even more glorious that even those things. He is more majestic than the moon and the stars. God is so great that we can never fully describe His greatness. We can only say, God is greater than things in this world. And David states here that God’s glory is far above that of the heavens.
Usually great people are honored by the kindness other great people show to them. But that’s not what happens here. Who is it that ascribes greatness to God in the is psalm? It is “babies and infants”. It is from the mouths of the weak that God’s glories are magnified. And this is used to “still the enemy and the avenger”. And if you look at a map and think about the size of Israel in comparison to the powerhouse civilizations that surrounded it, then you begin to understand what David is saying. It is the weak of this world, not the strong, who ascribe glory to God and confound the strong.
Now, let’s move to another passage of Scripture for a moment. Let’s look at Matthew 21 for a moment. After the Triumphal Entry where Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a colt to the cries of
“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9b ESV)
Jesus then proceeds to enter the temple and clear it rather violently due to the improper activity going on in the temple. His reasoning was,
“It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” (Matthew 21:13 ESV)
Now, Jesus’s activity didn’t sit well with everyone.
“And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, and they said to Him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?” (Matthew 21:14-16 ESV)
The educated religious leaders of Jesus’s day were not happy about what was going on. And rather angrily they rebuke Jesus for what He is letting little kids say about Him. And Jesus quotes Psalm 8:2 to them and informs them that the babies and infants are praising Him and stilling them. The strong were confounded by the cries of the children.
There are many intelligent unbelievers in the world who do not understand that God makes a habit of using the weak of this world and not the strong and intelligent. It has been His way throughout history and this is what God will continue to do until the end of time.
“For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31 ESV)
Paul saw that it was the case among the Corinthians and it was the way that God had always functioned. It just seems to be the way that God operates in the world.
And it is we who see and understand that God’s glories are written all over this world. It is we who exclaim God’s goodness and praise to the world. It is us who are weak that God uses to publish His glory to the world. It is not the smartest or the most clever or the strongest person in the world that God will use to glorify Himself. It is those who are the weakest among us. This is the way God works in the world. Think about it. Moses had a speech impediment of some sort (Exodus 4:10-16). David was the last person that his father thought would be king over Israel (1 Samuel 16). At least a few of Jesus’s disciples had been passed over by the intelligent and educated of His day for being disciples. Jesus called them after they had been shown to not be the best and brightest among their peers. This choosing of disciples was usually done between the ages of 12-15 by rabbis. And I hope that my point is abundantly clear, God uses the weak. He can use us to bring incredible glory and honor to His name.
And this text is cited by Jesus during His Triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:14-17). At that time there were chief priests and scribes who confronted Jesus about children crying out in the Temple “Hosanna to the Son of David” which was a clear indication that these little ones understand that Jesus was the Messiah. And notice what happened in that moment. The weak confounded the strong. The children established Jesus’s strength over against the wise of that day.
I have been here only a few months, but at times I have sensed in some conversations that there was a belief that this church is just a little church out here on the outskirts of Conway, Arkansas. All of that is true. But God makes a habit of using the weak to glorify Himself and bring people to Himself! I believe that is what God is doing in our midst.
Praise God! He Has Exalted Man To Have Dominion Over The World (Vv. 3-8)
Any time I read this Psalm I am struck by my own insignificance. And that seems to be what happens with David. He gazes intently at the moon and the stars that God put in place and wonders what humans are in comparison. With a God so glorious as to create all of that, why are we given so much importance? And if you’re thinking correctly about God then you’ll think the same thing too. God gave us dignity and that seems to be all of grace. What am I that He would bestow that kind of dignity upon me? God created me in His image. What grace! God gave us dominion over the world. Again, what grace! I’m at the top of the food chain and that is something to be thankful for.
The term “son of man” was a favorite term of Jesus for Himself. He used it often. And used here the term is quite interesting. The word “man” in Hebrew is “adam”. In that sense we are all sons of Adam. This is something that C.S. Lewis picks up and runs with in the Chronicles of Narnia. As it is used here it is a way of saying all people have this honor. Adam was given dominion over the whole Earth and that didn’t end with Adam. It was passed down from generation to generation, even until now. All human beings have the dignity that is discussed here. Human beings as a race have been given an incredible amount of dignity that David stands in awe of at this moment.
Adam was given dominion over the Garden of Eden. He was commanded to work it and keep it. He was to protect that place and produce for his and his family’s sustenance from it. He was to work the ground and care for it. But he did not do so perfectly.
I am not Jewish. I am a Christian and my understanding of this text is driven by what the New Testament authors under the guidance of the Holy Spirit said about this text. As such I confidently say that ultimately this text is about Jesus conquering where Adam failed. Adam was to protect and work the garden. But he let the snake in. And then he let the snake deceive his wife. Then he was deceived himself into rebellion against God. Adam failed. But there was one who did not.
Let’s take a look at how the New Testament writers discuss this passage of Scripture.
“For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. 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.
Now in putting everything in subjection to Him, he left nothing outside His control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to Him. But we see Him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, 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.” (Hebrews 2:5-9 ESV)
God the Son was made lower than the angels, but this was only for a short period of time. In Psalm 8 this idea of being a little lower than the angels speaks of man’s exalted status, but here it is totally different. When God the Son took on human flesh and dwelt among us, He was made like one of us. And in this state He accomplished salvation for us. He lived a perfect life and suffered death on a cross where He tasted death for us.
Another instance we should consider is 1 Corinthians 15:20-27.
“But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under His feet.”…”1 Corinthians 15:20-27a ESV
Adam represented all of the human race and failed. Because Adam sinned and was our representative head, we all die. Death has come to us because of Adam’s rebellion against God. Now, Christ has come and He has conquered, therefore in Him we have life. Jesus conquered where Adam failed. Here Paul quotes Psalm 8:6 when he says that “God has put all things in subjection under His feet”. But as the text is used here it is not just the animals and vegetation that have been put under Jesus’s feet but all things including death itself. The Second Adam succeeded where the first Adam failed, accomplished salvation for us, and all things will be brought under His feet.
And Paul again quotes this text in Ephesians 1:22 when he says,
“And He put all things under His feet” and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:22 ESV)
Jesus Christ is exalted over all things.
The New Testament authors understood that this text was ultimately about Jesus. God the Son became man and succeeded where the first man fell. The first Adam plunged us into sin and death and the Second Adam has brought us redemption.
Mankind was given dominion over the whole world. This means everyone, believer and unbeliever alike were given dominion over the whole world. Non-Christian and Christian alike are to govern all of creation. We are not to abuse it or use it wrongly, but to meet our needs and the needs of our neighbor with it and care for it. This is an area that we can work together with non-Christians on. In our day we have to be concerned with hidden agendas as well. Oftentimes today green concerns are really watermelon concerns that are green on the outside and commie red on the inside, if you catch my drift. And without getting into a lot of discussion about politics, I do want to say that the leftist agenda that is pushed through green concerns is oftentimes antithetical to the Scripture’s teachings on morality.
This means that the things we do matter. Whether it’s planting trees or a garden, building a house, a skyscraper, running electricity, raising your own food, making things to sell, mowing the lawn, all of this is exercising dominion over the Earth. Who would have thought that much of the technology we use today would be made from sand? That is dominion. And the point is that all these things matter. God has left us in charge of His world. Don’t let the crazy watermelon people make you lose sight of this task. Take our dominion over the world seriously.
The exalted status of mankind also means that many things should be excluded from among us. God has exalted us by creating us in His image. Therefore, things such as bullying, and racism have no part in our society. This also means that the slaughter of the unborn in abortion is a major issue as well. These things have no place among such exalted creatures.
Now, in a more ultimate sense this text has more to do with Jesus and the dominion He practiced over the world after Adam’s failure to do so. Adam failed in that task when he let the snake in the garden and he and his wife fell into sin. We now stand guilty before God and need a Savior. The second Adam came and was victorious where the first Adam failed. It was God the Son who took on human flesh and represented us and was victorious where the first Adam failed. In doing this, He achieved salvation for us. Jesus won back for us what the first Adam lost through His perfect life, death, and resurrection.
So, let us take seriously our dominion over the world, but let us take seriously Christ’s dominion over the whole world. And let us deliver that message of victory to a lost and dying world.
All Praise Be To God! (Psalm 8:9)
All of this leads us a place of praise. This is a triumphant shout of praise. We deserve none of what we have talked about tonight. It is all a gift from our majestic Lord. All of this should cause us to raise a shout of praise to the Lord. “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your Name in all the Earth.” (Psalm 8:9 ESV) For, I did not deserve to be created, to have life, to be created in the image of God and given an exalted status as a creature, to have a family and home, and I definitely did not deserve the salvation given to me that was accomplished by Christ.
Conclusion
We stand in awe of God. He is so glorious, so majestic. And all of creation reveals that to us. We step outside and see the wonders of His creation. We look at ourselves and see the wonder of His creation and the wonder of knowing that He bestowed so much glory upon us. And then we look at our sinful lives and the horrible things we’ve done in the past and wonder at the fact that God gave us His Son and His salvation. And all of this leads us to cry out, all praise be to God! He exalted People and sent His Son to be their Savior.
R. Dwain Minor