Ordained Praise

Scripture: Psalm 8:1-9

 

1 LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory in the heavens.

2 Through the praise of children and infants

you have established a stronghold against your enemies,

to silence the foe and the avenger.

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

the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,

human beings that you care for them?

5 You have made them a little lower than the angels

and crowned them with glory and honor.

6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet:

7 all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild,

8 the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea,

all that swim the paths of the seas.

9 LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

 

Sermon Notes:

 

The Name of God Is Majestic In All the Earth:

Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth (v1).

• We have here a pair of parentheses, identical first and last verses of this song. As with all songs, there is a truth repeated for emphasis, “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.”

• In between these two verses are listed the reasons this repeated affirmation is true.

• The affirmation itself is the essence of praise in the Bible and in your life. If you can say with conviction, feeling, and passion, “Oh, Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth,” then you are actually in a spiritual position to praise God.

• You can only affirm the majesty of God’s name if and when your really believe it.

• ***This psalm bears the name of David. He lived 3,000 years ago in a time of conflict and hardship. He was continually beset by his enemies. His own children turned on him. He made some of the biggest mistakes a man can make. And he committed vile sins, betrayal and murder, that guaranteed his name would live in infamy as well as in fame.

• Yet he was a man who felt deeply that God’s name was majestic in all the earth.

• You will notice that the first and last verses are addressed to God. In fact, the entire psalm is addressed to God. David is talking to God as he writes and sings. He is saying to God, “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

• The first “LORD” is in all caps because it is the name Jehovah or YAHWEH, the sacred name of God given to Moses at the burning bush. The second “our Lord” is the Hebrew Adonay. So David is saying, “Yahweh, our Adonay, how majestic is your name in all the earth.”

• Yahweh is not a local deity tied to a certain place, people or tribe. His name is majestic in all the earth. David and the people of Israel have come to appreciate the greatness of God. This is not a greatness that they invented or discovered but a greatness that God himself revealed to them with the intention that they should communicate this truth to all humans everywhere.

• God is “His Majesty” and his name is majestic in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, Babylon and Cairo, and every place David ever heard of. His name is majestic today in Tokyo, Mexico Ctiy, Lima, Toronto, London, and Moscow. And this is true whether the humans in those cities recognize this truth or not. The human acknowledgment of God’s majesty and glory does not create that majesty and glory. It only brings humans into alignment with the rest of the created order and the truth that is universal in every time and place.

• When we say to God, “YAHWEH, our ADONI, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” we are aligning our own mind and spirit with the truth that is most fundamental to life on this planet and any planet, life now and in any time.

The Goodness of God Is His Glory:

You have set your glory in the heavens (v2).

• ***I think about Peter and John sitting in their own blood in the darkest, deepest dungeon in that jail in Philippi. They were beaten fiercely. Their lives were threatened. Their feet were in stocks. Their hands were in chains. At midnight, they break out in song.

• Praise can and will change your life.

• Not everyone looks at the heavens and sees the glory of God. Not everyone looks at the moon and stars and is inspired to praise God. Not all. Not all see the closer, smaller emblems of his grace—the flocks, herds, birds fish, and paths of the sea. Do you hear about El Nino and think of God’s glory?

• The praise of God travels from the majesty of the night sky to the beauty of a spring field green with grass. David truly believes that his environment is full of evidence of God’s goodness.

• The imprint of goodness on the created order is something that God set. He set his glory in the heavens. The stars thrill us and guide us. The sun and moon give us day and night and seasons of the year. The flocks and herds provide us food and clothing.

• ***I awoke one morning this week to the music of birds before dawn. Have you heard them lately? They fill the air with their songs as the sun comes up. My grandsons and I stopped in our walk, they in a wagon, for a long time just to listen to a dove cooing from the crest of a neighbor’s rooftop.

• Seeing this goodness in creation is life-changing. It brings praise into your regular routine, your daily path. Suddenly you cannot look anywhere—to the yard or the lake or the face of a friend—without giving praise to God for his goodness.

• And this is an irrevocable goodness that cannot be canceled out by life’s troubles or hardships. Even when the pain is intense, the birds still sing and the sun still shines.

Praise Is A Stronghold Against Your Enemies:

Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger (v3).

• Spirit of Praise—children and infants. God ordains praise from the mouths of these young, even newborns. I think about what infants say. Not much. I think about their smiles. There is something heartwarming. I think about their cooing, their laughter. I realize then that the praise that infants give our majestic God is the praise of embracing life, enjoying the mobile turning slowly above them, and snuggling close to their mother. This praise is simple, not intellectual. It is as basic as breathing. When children give God praise, this is the best praise of all. It is not encumbered by the footnotes and reservations and uncertainties of adulthood.

• Jesus mentions the children when he talks about praise and faith. They give him praise, delightful affirmation, on that Palm Sunday, and he commends them. The children lead us here.

• Stronghold of Praise—the fortress against all enemies of your soul.

• ***We have an old storm shelter at the farm. It is a block room underneath the ground. It’s door is nearly flat, and its roof is concrete. If you go into the storm shelter you definitely feel protected.

• Praise is your spiritual storm shelter. You enter into the spirit of praise, and you are protected from your spiritual enemies. The storm will rage, and it will pass.

• Silence of Praise—your innocent, childlike praise closes the mouth of your most fierce foe. You silent the one who is against you when you give praise. And you silence the one who hates God and sees no good thing in the world. In the presence of praise they are speechless.

Conclusion: “When I consider the works of your hands…” Have you considered them lately? What do they mean to you? Do they move you to faith and praise?