Psalm 8 - The Sovereign Glory of God

Psalm 8

O Lord, our Lord,

How majestic is Your name in all the earth,

Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!

2 From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength

Because of Your adversaries,

To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.

3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;

4 What is man that You take thought of him,

And the son of man that You care for him?

5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God,

And You crown him with glory and majesty!

6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;

You have put all things under his feet,

7 All sheep and oxen,

And also the beasts of the field,

8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,

Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord, our Lord,

How majestic is Your name in all the earth!

Message: The Sovereign Glory of God

Time: Psalms, a collection of lyrical poems, with multiple authors. David wrote 73 Psalms, though for 50 or so the author is unknown. Psalms means songs of praise. The writings span 1,000 years. They encourage us to praise God, illuminate the greatness of God, affirm His faithfulness in times of trouble, and remind us of the absolute centrality of His word. 

What the Lord is Saying: Post tenebras lux is a latin phrase taken from Job17:11-13 which means, "After darkness, light." It was one of the rallying cries of the Reformed Church, the Church body that came about from the Protestant Reformation in 1517. One of the chief tenets of the church was the belief that the Reformers recovered the true gospel from those that had, to that point, brought in man-made doctrines and practices that made human beings responsible for meriting their own salvation or made them a part of the practice of salvation. 

But it can also be looked at as a rediscovery of the glory of God. When salvation shifts from being a shared conversion, perhaps it diminishes the focus on God. I know in my life, more recently, I am discovering more about the Glory of God and life being about Him. All of the gifts people have are the result of Him. God alone is worthy of our praise. God alone. This means man does not get our praise. 

Today's passage from Psalm 8 begins with "Lord, Lord, How Majestic is your name in all the earth." His name is supreme. We sang this song often in church in the 80s when I was growing up. It is a modern day hymn, written in 1981 by Michael W. Smith, one of the pioneers of Contemporary Christian Music. Tabletalk mentions that in this verse, Scripture associates divine sovereignty with divine glory when it says, "You have set your glory above the heavens (ESV Verse 1)." NAS that I read says, "Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!" His Splendor, His Glory. God establishes His glory, His Splendor above the heavens. God establishes Himself. Sovereignty conveys the idea that God is directing all things or God is controlling all things in His creation. Prayer testifies of God's sovereignty because we are acknowledge God is in control. It is the idea that God works out history for His glory. God is the active agent in our lives. 

In the rest of this chapter, God's sovereign continues to be explained as he explains making Man and the role man has in this life - "to rule over the works of Your hands." 

Some other verses that testify of Divine Sovereignty:

I Chronicles 29:11 - Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. - everything in heaven and earth (his creation) is under God's control.

I Thessalonians 2:12 - ...so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. - God calls His people into His kingdom and His glory. 

I Timothy 1:17 - Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. - God receives glory forever. There are man-made kings, but God is the eternal King. The only God. 

Summary: God, in his control, establishes Himself and thereby His glory over everything in heaven and earth (His creation). 

Promise: God is most glorified by us when we ascribe to Him full control over all things, even our salvation. 

Prayer: O Lord, my Lord, how majestic is your name in all of the earth. O Lord, I praise your name.

O Lord, I magnify your name: Prince of Peace, mighty God; O Lord God Almighty. You are over all God. You are supreme. You order and establish our world and everything we see. There is no one but You that reigns. I pray that in all my learning and doing and understanding, this remains at the forefront, that you God are in control. Keep bringing this understanding to me. Help me focus more on You and what You are doing. Thank you for your great love and being over all in our lives.