“Glorify God”
May 29, 2011
“The Greatness of Gods Glory”
Psalm 8
I.His glory is seen in His earthly creation(s)
O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth
(Psalm 8:1 NKJ)Where do we see Gods glory?
In the lightning that fertilizes the ground
In exquisite beauty of snowflakes
In the growth of a Giant Redwood from a tiny seed
In the flight of a bird / the design of a hummingbird or woodpecker
Etc, etc, etc
The more our eyes are right the more we will see Gods hand in everything!
II.His glory is higher or greater than the heavens
Who have set Your glory above the heavens! (Psalm 8:1 NKJ)What does it mean that Gods glory is above the heavens?Surely, He is greater than the Heavens which He created ”But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built! (1 Kings 8:27 NKJ)
Our earth is 8,000 miles in diameter
The Moon is 240,000 miles from earth
The Sun is 400 times further from us than the Moon is, 93 million miles
Neptunes orbit is 30 times greater than the earth, Pluto is even further
If the orbits of all the planets in our solar system were place in a cube, the cube would be 6 BILLION MILES to a side!
4,278 such solar system cubes fit between ours and the next nearest!
Sirius is the brightest star in our night sky because it is relatively near, 50 trillion miles away; it is twice the diameter of our Sun.
The star Rigel stretches 70 Suns across
Betelgeuse 400 light years away, is a star 600 times the diameter of our sun, if it were in the center of our solar system we would be inside it
Beyond this, still in our own galaxy, we see globular clusters of stars, these are clusters of thousands of stars, there are about 100 such globular clusters in our Milky Way Galaxy, which is 80,000 light years across (a light year is 5.88 trillion miles)
Yet, our Galaxy is just one of BILLIONS of Galaxies in our UniverseOur God is above and GREATER THAN ALL of this!
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, (Psalm 8:3 NKJ)
III.His glory is seen in the perfect praise of babes and infants
Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger. (Psalm 8:2 NKJ)
But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant 16 and 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 babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise ‘?” (Matthew 21:15-16 NKJ)
1. This verse is certainly prophetic, as Christ applies it to Himself –
2. In Jesus eyes babes also could mean, simple / ordinary men –
17 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” 18 And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” 21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. (Luke 10:17-21 NKJ)
IV.His glory is seen in His wonderful mindfulness toward mankind and in the position He gave man in His creation
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 are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? 5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 7 All sheep and oxen– Even the beasts of the field, 8 The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas. (Psalm 8:3-8 NKJ)
King Lion and the Beetle by Arnold Lobel
King Lion looked in the mirror. What a beautiful and noble creature I am, he said. I will go forth to show my devoted subjects that their leader is every inch a king! The King put on his robes of state, his large jeweled crown, and all of his gold and silver medals. As he walked down the roads of his kingdom, everyone who saw him bowed to the ground. Yes, yes, said King Lion, I deserve this respect from my people, for truly I am every inch a king! There was a tiny Beetle standing near the road. When the King saw him, he cried, Beetle, I command you to bow low before me! Your Royal Majesty, said the Beetle, I know that I am small, but if you look at me closely, you will see that I am making a bow. The King leaned over. Beetle, he said, you are so hard to see down there. I am still not sure that you are bowing. Your Majesty, said the Beetle, please look more closely. I assure you that I am indeed bowing. The King leaned over a little farther. Now the robes of state, the large jeweled crown, and all of the gold and silver medals had made King Lion very top-heavy. Suddenly he lost his balance and fell on his head. With a great roar, he rolled into a ditch at the side of the road. The frightened Beetle scurried away. From head to foot, every inch of King Lion was covered with wet mud.
Some false religions see God this way, not stumbling and bumbling but as too High and Holy to see puny human beings! The truth is God is High and Holy, yet He is also very able to see and know even the smallest things
“Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Luke 12:6-7 NKJ)
In Psalm 8 David elaborates on Gods mindfulness:
1.God has placed human beings in an honorable position, a little lower than the angels
2.God has given us dominion over the animals /creation /earth
3.This militates against the false ideas of evolution /atheism
4.Yet the ultimate example of Gods mindfulness is displayed by the Second Person of the Godhead, Who became man, our Lord Jesus Christ
But one testified in a certain place, saying: “What is man that You are mindful of him, Or the son of man that You take care of him? 7 You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands. 8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. 10 For it was fitting for Him, for Whom are all things and by Whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, (Hebrews 2:6-11 NKJ)
We who are puny, sinful human beings, Jesus Christ, for Whom and by Whom all things are, the Creator He calls us brethren / brothers!
V.His glory is seen in the repeated praises of His redeemed people
O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens! (Psalm 8:1 NKJ)
O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8:9 NKJ)
Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger. (Psalm 8:2 NKJ)
1.Our MOUTHS are wonderful things!
A.They can be dead and full of poison
13 “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”; 14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” (Rom 3:13-14 NKJ)
9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. (Jam 3:9-10 NKJ)
2.Yet, they are also capable of praising God He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. 3 He has put a new song in my mouth– Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the LORD. (Psalm 40:2-3 NKJ)
David starts and finishes this Psalm with PRAISE! May we do the same with each of our days!
QUESTION 3: What is it to glorify God?
ANSWER: 1. Negatively, to glorify God, is not to give any additional glory to God: it is not to make God more glorious than He is; for God is incapable of receiving the least addition to His essential glory, He being eternally and infinitely perfect and glorious. Your Father which is in heaven is perfect (Matt. 5:48). Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not unto thee (Ps. 16:2).
2. Affirmatively, to glorify God, is to manifest Gods glory: not only passively, as all creatures do, which have neither religion nor reason, but also actively, men glorify God, when the design of their life and actions is the glory and honor of God. That ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you, (1 Pet. 2:9).
(1.) When inwardly they have the highest estimation of Him, the greatest confidence in Him, and the strongest affections to Him, this is glorifying of God in spirit. Glorify God in your spirit, which is Gods (1 Cor. 6:20).
(2.) When outwardly they acknowledge God according to the revelations He has made of Himself, when with their lips they show forth Gods praise. He that offereth praise, glorifieth me (Ps. 50:23). When they sincerely endeavor, in their actions, the exalting of Gods name, the promotion of the interest of His kingdom in the world, and to yield that worship and obedience to Him which He has prescribed in His Word. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together (Ps. 34:3). Fear God, and give glory to Him; and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters (Rev. 14:7).
Thomas Vincent