MAN CAUSES DAVID TO PRAISE GOD

Psalm 8:1-9

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.   The book of Psalms is one of the most beautiful books in the Bible.

1.    In the book man is speaking to God.

2.    The book is so popular it is often included in the Bibles containing only the New Testament.

 

B.   In the book, the psalmists praise God.  “Praise” being the very meaning of the word “Psalm.”

 

C.   There are several authors of the psalms.  Too, there are many that are anonymous.  However, David is considered the primary author of these inspired songs of praise.

 

D.   This morning we are turning our attention to Psalm 8.

1.    David begins and ends the psalm with praise for God.

a.    Psalm 8:1

 

O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!  Who hast set thy glory above the heavens.

 

b.    Psalm 8:9

 

O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

 

2.    The seven verses that are found between verse 1 and verse 9 contain the reason(s) David issues forth this praise of the Almighty.

3.    The title of our lesson refers to the cause:  “Man Causes David to Praise God.”

4.    David notes four things about man that caused him to wonder and stand in awe of God.

 

I.             A BABE WHO IS STRONG (Ps. 8:2)

 

Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

 

A.   When we hear this verse, we usually quote it out of context.

1.    A child will make an intelligent comment, and we will say:  “Out of the mouth of babes.”

2.    However, is this what David really intended?

 

B.   Two elements of the verse:

1.    Notice that David references “enemies,” “the enemy,” and “the avenger in the

verse.

2.    He also mentions “strength” that can still the enemy and the avenger.

 

C.   David is contemplating how God can use the weakest of men to conquer His enemies.

1.    David is a prime example.

a.    As a lad, he overcame the lion and the bear while he watched his father’s flocks (1 Sam. 17:37).

b.    He defeated the giant named Goliath on the field of battle (1 Sam. 17:50-51).

c.     David was a successful commander of the forces of Israel and defeated the Philistines on numerous occasions (1 Sam. 18:27, 30).

d.    He also had to overcome the numerous attempts of king Saul to take his life.

 

D.   There are other examples of those who prevailed against their enemies.

1.    Gideon prevailed over the host of the Midianites (Jud. 8:22).

2.    Samson brought down the temple of Dagon while he was in their custody and was blind (Judg. 16:29-30).

3.    Jonathan fought against the Philistines with only his armorbearer with him (1 Sam. 14:13-15).

 

E.   When David contemplated how weak man can prevail over his enemies by the strength of God, he has to exclaim:  “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent thy name in all the earth!”

 

II.           ONE WHO DOES NOT COMPARE (Ps. 8:3-4)

 

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him?  and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

 

A.   David did not have the benefits of modern science and technology to help him gaze into the wonders of space.  His eyes, however, provided him with enough proof of the majesty of God.

1.    He could see the sun.

2.    He could see the moon.

3.    He could see the stars.

a.    The ancients knew something about the stars.

b.    Amos 5:8

 

Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion…

 

B.   We know much more about the heavens than David did.

1.    The sun

a.    Distance from the earth:  93 million miles

b.    Mass: 

1)    Its diameter is 865,000 miles.

2)    It would take 330,000 earths to match its size.

c.     Temperature:

1)    At the core:  27 million degrees F.

2)    At the surface:  10,000 degrees F.

d.    It takes 8 minutes for the light of the sun to reach us.

2.    The galaxies

a.    The Hubble Extreme Deep Field telescope has revealed 5,500 galaxies.

b.    It has only seen about 1/32 millionth of the sky.

c.     The estimate is that there about 1 trillion galaxies that exist.

d.    The sun orbits the Milky Way Galaxy, and it takes 230 million years for it to make one orbit.

 

 

3.    Just in our night sky, one can see 88 official constellations.

 

 

C.   When David saw the wonders of the sky, it caused him to ask:  “What is man that thou art mindful of him?”

1.    We are small.

2.    We are frail.

3.    We are temporal.

4.    We are sinful.

 

D.   For this great God to love and care for man is a blessing.  It caused David to shout:  “O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name.”

 

III.        A CREATURE WHO IS EXALTED (Ps. 8:5)

 

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

 

A.   Man is just a little lower than the angels.

1.    Most individuals think of angels as exalted creatures.

a.    Spirit beings who can manifest themselves in many forms

b.    Supreme knowledge

c.     Powerful

d.    Holy

e.     Ministers operating in the presence of God

2.    And, God tells us that we are just “a little lower” than the angels in the hierarchy of God’s creation.

a.    Another way to say this is that man is “just barely” lower than the angels.

b.    In the Revelation, an angel tells John not to worship him and gives him three reasons that show angels are not that different than men are (See Rev. 22:9).

 

Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not:  for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book:  worship God.

 

1)    They are fellow servants.

2)    They are prophets just as men are.

3)    They have to obey God just as men do.

 

B.   God has crowned man with glory and honor.

1.    Man is a part of God’s creation, but he is uniquely different from the animal kingdom.

2.    Man is uniquely made in the image and likeness of God.

a.    Genesis 1:27

 

So God created men in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

 

b.    See James 3:9 – Man is made “after the similitude of God.”

 

C.   Again, when David thought about the glory and honor conferred upon man by God, he had to cry out:  “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”

 

IV.         RULER OVER THE ANIMAL KINGDOM (Ps. 8:6-8)

 

Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:  all sheep and oxen, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the sea.

 

A.   The words “have dominion over” mean “to have control,” “to have rule,” and “to have power over.”

 

B.   The beasts were created in such a way that man can dominate them and be blessed by them (i.e., fur, skin, hoofs, feathers, fat, muscles, senses, etc.).

1.    They are work animals.

 

 

2.    They are pack animals.

 

 

3.    In the Old Testament, they were sacrificial animals.

 

 

4.    They are provided for our food.

 

 

5.    They provide our clothing.

 

 

6.    They provided man with transportation.

 

 

7.    They bless us with companionship.

 

 

8.    They bless us with competition.

 

 

9.    They bless us with entertainment.

 

10.  They provide us with services.

 

 

C.   There are some people who ridicule those who are Creationists because they believe that dinosaurs and man lived at the same time. 

1.    One question is:  “How did man dominate those massive, ferocious animals?

2.    Two answers:

a.    Many of the dinosaurs were not meat-eaters.

b.    Man has dominion over large animals today that are dangerous, such as lions, elephants, and killer whales.

 

D.   David understood man’s dominion over the animal kingdom.  As he pondered this wonderful blessing, it caused him to magnify God, saying:  “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.   God is worthy of man’s praise when man realizes who he is.

1.    He is a creature that can be made strong enough through God’s power to overcome enemies.

2.    He is a being that the Creator God loves and adores and desires.

3.    He is a being that has been crowned with glory and honor.

4.    He is a being who has dominion over this world and all of its creatures.

 

B.   All of us in this audience are human beings.  We are unique, endowed, and blessed.

 

C.   When we understand our place in the Creation, we, too, will cry out as David did, saying:

 

O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!  Who hast set thy glory above the heavens.

 

D.   Three points of additional study:

1.    Jesus’ use of Psalm 8:2 in Matthew 21:16.

2.    The Hebrew penman’s use of Psalm 8:4-8 in Hebrews 2:6-9.

3.    The importance of the phrase, “the paths of the seas,” in the discovery of the ocean currents.