1 00:00:01,199 --> 00:00:02,879 I believe that you normally stand for the 2 00:00:02,879 --> 00:00:04,240 reading of God's word. So if you would 3 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:05,679 please stand with me in the honor of 4 00:00:05,679 --> 00:00:07,139 the reading of God's word. 5 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:10,559 Again, this is Psalm 8. This is God's 6 00:00:10,559 --> 00:00:11,779 holy word to us. 7 00:00:13,324 --> 00:00:14,625 Oh, lord, our lord. 8 00:00:15,804 --> 00:00:17,725 How majestic is your name in all the 9 00:00:17,725 --> 00:00:18,225 earth. 10 00:00:19,404 --> 00:00:21,505 You have set your glory above the heavens, 11 00:00:22,605 --> 00:00:24,704 out of the mouths of babies and infants. 12 00:00:25,469 --> 00:00:27,969 You have established strength because of your foes, 13 00:00:28,669 --> 00:00:30,369 to still the enemy and the avenger. 14 00:00:31,469 --> 00:00:32,689 When I look at the heavens, 15 00:00:33,390 --> 00:00:35,549 the work of your fingers, the moon, and 16 00:00:35,549 --> 00:00:37,489 the stars which you have set in place, 17 00:00:38,350 --> 00:00:40,689 what is man that you're mindful of him? 18 00:00:41,105 --> 00:00:42,545 And the son of man that you care 19 00:00:42,545 --> 00:00:43,125 for him. 20 00:00:44,304 --> 00:00:45,745 Yet you have made him a little lower 21 00:00:45,745 --> 00:00:47,905 than the heavenly beings and crowned him with 22 00:00:47,905 --> 00:00:48,965 glory and honor. 23 00:00:50,065 --> 00:00:51,285 You've given him dominion 24 00:00:51,825 --> 00:00:53,284 over the works of your hands. 25 00:00:54,179 --> 00:00:56,519 You have put all things under his feet, 26 00:00:57,379 --> 00:00:58,759 all sheep and oxen, 27 00:00:59,299 --> 00:01:01,079 and also the beasts of the field, 28 00:01:01,539 --> 00:01:03,619 the birds of the heaven, and the fish 29 00:01:03,619 --> 00:01:06,579 of the sea, whatever passes along the paths 30 00:01:06,579 --> 00:01:09,159 of the sea. Oh, lord, our lord, 31 00:01:09,995 --> 00:01:10,814 How majestic 32 00:01:11,355 --> 00:01:12,254 is your name 33 00:01:12,715 --> 00:01:13,935 in all the earth. 34 00:01:14,234 --> 00:01:15,454 The word of the lord. 35 00:01:15,834 --> 00:01:18,015 Thanks be to god. You may be seated. 36 00:01:24,469 --> 00:01:26,229 Well, let me ask you a question that 37 00:01:26,229 --> 00:01:28,009 Psalm 8 asked us this morning. 38 00:01:28,469 --> 00:01:30,229 A very important question, and it simply is 39 00:01:30,229 --> 00:01:31,290 this, what is man? 40 00:01:31,989 --> 00:01:34,549 Just that generic word for human beings, not 41 00:01:34,549 --> 00:01:35,049 males, 42 00:01:35,590 --> 00:01:38,469 but mankind, humanity, however we want to understand 43 00:01:38,469 --> 00:01:39,435 that. But what is 44 00:01:40,555 --> 00:01:42,075 man? And we'll see that that comes right 45 00:01:42,075 --> 00:01:43,674 in the middle of our Psalm, but verse 46 00:01:43,674 --> 00:01:45,435 1 and verse 9 book in the Psalm 47 00:01:45,435 --> 00:01:47,435 with the majestic name of God. So there's 48 00:01:47,435 --> 00:01:48,334 a big clue 49 00:01:48,795 --> 00:01:49,534 that whatever, 50 00:01:50,155 --> 00:01:52,314 however we're gonna answer that question, what is 51 00:01:52,314 --> 00:01:54,370 man, we need to look to God for 52 00:01:54,370 --> 00:01:55,890 him to tell us what it means to 53 00:01:55,890 --> 00:01:56,790 be a human 54 00:01:57,329 --> 00:01:57,829 being. 55 00:01:58,609 --> 00:02:00,290 And that's simply what I wanna do this 56 00:02:00,290 --> 00:02:01,989 morning is walk through Psalm 8, 57 00:02:02,290 --> 00:02:04,290 section by section, and try to fill in 58 00:02:04,290 --> 00:02:06,310 an answer to that all important question. 59 00:02:06,770 --> 00:02:08,129 Yes, in our day and age, but really 60 00:02:08,129 --> 00:02:09,430 in every day and age. 61 00:02:09,974 --> 00:02:12,134 What is man? What does it mean to 62 00:02:12,134 --> 00:02:12,715 be created 63 00:02:13,174 --> 00:02:13,995 in the image 64 00:02:14,614 --> 00:02:15,275 of God? 65 00:02:15,655 --> 00:02:17,094 And when you first hear that question, I 66 00:02:17,094 --> 00:02:19,514 wonder how you answer it in your own 67 00:02:19,814 --> 00:02:22,074 mind. What are you? What is 68 00:02:22,375 --> 00:02:23,114 a human 69 00:02:23,894 --> 00:02:24,394 being? 70 00:02:26,030 --> 00:02:27,310 I think one of the ways, at least 71 00:02:27,310 --> 00:02:28,750 in our culture that we tend to answer 72 00:02:28,750 --> 00:02:30,509 that question is by thinking about the name 73 00:02:30,509 --> 00:02:32,050 that we're gonna make from ourselves, 74 00:02:32,750 --> 00:02:34,610 the things that we are going to accomplish. 75 00:02:35,229 --> 00:02:37,150 And deep down, we all love that story, 76 00:02:37,150 --> 00:02:38,990 don't we? The rags to riches story or 77 00:02:38,990 --> 00:02:40,664 someone who has a goal and puts their 78 00:02:40,664 --> 00:02:42,125 minds to it and accomplishes 79 00:02:42,745 --> 00:02:43,245 that 80 00:02:43,864 --> 00:02:44,364 goal. 81 00:02:45,465 --> 00:02:46,764 They make it big. 82 00:02:47,305 --> 00:02:49,004 And that's not always a bad thing. 83 00:02:49,784 --> 00:02:51,544 This quest to make a name for ourselves, 84 00:02:51,544 --> 00:02:53,349 to understand who we are, like I said, 85 00:02:53,349 --> 00:02:55,110 it's not just a modern question. Because if 86 00:02:55,110 --> 00:02:57,129 we go all the way back to Genesis 87 00:02:58,550 --> 00:02:59,449 chapter 11, 88 00:02:59,750 --> 00:03:01,530 and the famous story about the tower 89 00:03:02,069 --> 00:03:04,389 of Babel. It is Babel. Right? It's Babel 90 00:03:04,389 --> 00:03:05,669 in New Zealand. I always forget how to 91 00:03:05,669 --> 00:03:07,590 say it. Babel. I think it's the tower 92 00:03:07,590 --> 00:03:08,250 of Babel. 93 00:03:09,085 --> 00:03:10,705 Either way, you know what I'm talking about. 94 00:03:11,085 --> 00:03:12,604 And there we see that making a name 95 00:03:12,604 --> 00:03:15,485 for themselves is not this God given pursuit 96 00:03:15,485 --> 00:03:16,925 to use the gifts and the talents and 97 00:03:16,925 --> 00:03:19,405 the opportunity he's given us, but it's actually 98 00:03:19,405 --> 00:03:20,925 to make a name for ourselves is to 99 00:03:20,925 --> 00:03:22,830 put ourselves in the place of God. 100 00:03:23,550 --> 00:03:26,349 And so in Genesis 11 chapter Genesis 11 101 00:03:26,349 --> 00:03:29,090 verse 4, excuse me, we read simply this, 102 00:03:30,430 --> 00:03:33,189 the nations are talking, trying to metaphorically build 103 00:03:33,189 --> 00:03:35,069 a temple up to the heavens. Let us 104 00:03:35,069 --> 00:03:35,969 make a name 105 00:03:36,435 --> 00:03:37,175 for ourselves. 106 00:03:37,635 --> 00:03:39,395 See, they're seeking to answer that all important 107 00:03:39,395 --> 00:03:40,775 question, what is man, 108 00:03:41,555 --> 00:03:43,735 by putting themselves as the creator 109 00:03:44,194 --> 00:03:45,655 instead of being the creature 110 00:03:46,275 --> 00:03:47,415 that they are made 111 00:03:47,875 --> 00:03:48,534 to be. 112 00:03:48,990 --> 00:03:51,150 And so today, soulmate's gonna help us answer 113 00:03:51,150 --> 00:03:51,889 this question. 114 00:03:52,590 --> 00:03:53,810 What is man? 115 00:03:54,349 --> 00:03:56,509 And and really what God is saying to 116 00:03:56,509 --> 00:03:57,009 us 117 00:03:57,389 --> 00:03:58,930 as we answer that question 118 00:03:59,310 --> 00:04:00,770 is that you are a glorious 119 00:04:01,069 --> 00:04:01,569 creature 120 00:04:02,555 --> 00:04:04,394 created in his image, but you only find 121 00:04:04,394 --> 00:04:06,495 that glory that your heart so desperately 122 00:04:06,955 --> 00:04:07,455 craves 123 00:04:08,474 --> 00:04:09,694 as you look to him, 124 00:04:10,074 --> 00:04:12,014 and live in the safety and security 125 00:04:12,634 --> 00:04:13,215 of his 126 00:04:13,914 --> 00:04:14,414 majestic 127 00:04:15,034 --> 00:04:15,534 name. 128 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:19,060 So Psalm 8 calls us back by faith 129 00:04:19,519 --> 00:04:20,259 to God, 130 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:22,019 to live in that name 131 00:04:22,399 --> 00:04:23,139 this morning. 132 00:04:24,479 --> 00:04:26,079 This is how we begin to live the 133 00:04:26,079 --> 00:04:27,699 truly human life. 134 00:04:28,175 --> 00:04:30,014 So to answer that question, let's, let's take 135 00:04:30,014 --> 00:04:31,774 it in 3 parts. We'll think first about 136 00:04:31,774 --> 00:04:33,154 God's majestic name, 137 00:04:33,855 --> 00:04:35,394 and then we'll think about humanity's 138 00:04:35,694 --> 00:04:36,194 smallness, 139 00:04:37,055 --> 00:04:38,834 but then we'll also think about humanity's 140 00:04:39,694 --> 00:04:40,194 glory. 141 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:44,099 So let's jump in. God's glorious name. 142 00:04:44,399 --> 00:04:45,300 This is verse 143 00:04:45,839 --> 00:04:48,319 1, and also verse 9, that beautiful refrain 144 00:04:48,319 --> 00:04:50,079 that we read from our Psalm. Oh Lord, 145 00:04:50,079 --> 00:04:52,819 our Lord, how majestic is your name in 146 00:04:52,879 --> 00:04:55,294 all the earth. So we start here with 147 00:04:55,294 --> 00:04:57,495 a a name of God. David writing this 148 00:04:57,495 --> 00:05:00,055 song is praising God using his name, and 149 00:05:00,055 --> 00:05:02,235 notice what he's what he says, oh, Lord, 150 00:05:02,774 --> 00:05:04,794 with the all capsulc up there, 151 00:05:05,334 --> 00:05:06,875 and then our Lord. 152 00:05:07,550 --> 00:05:10,110 We could translate that, oh, Yahweh, our sovereign, 153 00:05:10,110 --> 00:05:11,089 or oh, Yahweh, 154 00:05:11,389 --> 00:05:13,490 our creator, oh, Yahweh, our 155 00:05:13,870 --> 00:05:14,370 lord. 156 00:05:14,670 --> 00:05:16,209 And the order here seems important 157 00:05:16,589 --> 00:05:18,209 that we have Yahweh and then 158 00:05:18,589 --> 00:05:20,129 lord. The all caps lord, 159 00:05:20,444 --> 00:05:22,284 by the way, is just a transliteration of 160 00:05:22,284 --> 00:05:24,524 the Hebrew word Yahweh, but that's important because 161 00:05:24,524 --> 00:05:26,305 Yahweh is God's relational, 162 00:05:26,925 --> 00:05:27,425 personal, 163 00:05:27,884 --> 00:05:28,384 covenantal 164 00:05:28,764 --> 00:05:29,264 name. 165 00:05:30,284 --> 00:05:32,685 We don't know the exact details of Psalm 166 00:05:32,685 --> 00:05:34,750 8, but if we back up to Psalm 167 00:05:34,750 --> 00:05:37,470 7, there's injustice and enemies of Israel all 168 00:05:37,470 --> 00:05:39,629 around, and the Psalm ends by saying that 169 00:05:39,629 --> 00:05:41,550 I will praise the Lord. Jump ahead to 170 00:05:41,550 --> 00:05:42,370 Psalm 9, 171 00:05:42,750 --> 00:05:45,230 there's injustice all around. Yet again, we find 172 00:05:45,230 --> 00:05:47,310 that even though there's injustice, I will praise 173 00:05:47,310 --> 00:05:49,365 the Lord, and we have Psalm 8, this 174 00:05:49,365 --> 00:05:49,865 doxological 175 00:05:50,564 --> 00:05:52,985 hymn of thanksgiving tucked right into the middle. 176 00:05:53,365 --> 00:05:56,324 So there's probably enemies, trial, and trouble all 177 00:05:56,324 --> 00:05:59,044 around, and David orders this name of God 178 00:05:59,044 --> 00:06:01,770 intentionally saying that this God who we're gonna 179 00:06:01,770 --> 00:06:04,430 praise, even though life is hard, is Yahweh. 180 00:06:05,129 --> 00:06:08,270 He's God who initiates relationship with his people. 181 00:06:08,730 --> 00:06:11,290 He's the God who keeps that wonderful promise 182 00:06:11,290 --> 00:06:13,449 that really summarizes all of the Bible, I 183 00:06:13,449 --> 00:06:16,029 will be your God and you will be 184 00:06:16,485 --> 00:06:17,225 my people. 185 00:06:17,925 --> 00:06:20,004 Now why is this order important? Well that 186 00:06:20,004 --> 00:06:20,504 context, 187 00:06:21,604 --> 00:06:23,764 it's hard. Life is hard. We have this 188 00:06:23,764 --> 00:06:26,104 idealistic picture in Psalm 8 of created, 189 00:06:26,404 --> 00:06:28,725 created, the created world and humans created in 190 00:06:28,725 --> 00:06:30,324 God's image, but it comes to us in 191 00:06:30,324 --> 00:06:31,464 this fallen context. 192 00:06:31,990 --> 00:06:33,669 And so he wants to assure us that 193 00:06:33,669 --> 00:06:35,669 this God who we stand up to praise 194 00:06:35,669 --> 00:06:36,889 when life is difficult 195 00:06:37,349 --> 00:06:39,589 is Yahweh, the God who cares, the God 196 00:06:39,589 --> 00:06:40,969 who is present to help 197 00:06:41,269 --> 00:06:42,169 and to redeem. 198 00:06:43,349 --> 00:06:45,189 And only then does he remind us that 199 00:06:45,189 --> 00:06:47,785 this God Yahweh is also our lord, our 200 00:06:47,785 --> 00:06:50,105 our our master, our sovereign, our our governor 201 00:06:50,105 --> 00:06:52,285 as the older translation sometimes 202 00:06:53,144 --> 00:06:53,884 puts it. 203 00:06:55,225 --> 00:06:56,444 So there's this twofold 204 00:06:56,985 --> 00:06:59,644 name of God, our lord, our lord. 205 00:07:00,389 --> 00:07:02,709 And following, scripture at this point, because back 206 00:07:02,709 --> 00:07:05,669 in Exodus chapter 3, when God first makes 207 00:07:05,669 --> 00:07:08,229 his name known to Israel, and the burning 208 00:07:08,229 --> 00:07:10,389 bush that doesn't burn up, when he speaks 209 00:07:10,389 --> 00:07:12,729 to Moses, he says, I am. 210 00:07:13,394 --> 00:07:15,795 I am the eternal God. The one who 211 00:07:15,795 --> 00:07:16,295 simply 212 00:07:16,675 --> 00:07:18,435 is. The one who has life from his 213 00:07:18,435 --> 00:07:20,754 self, who has no beginning and no end. 214 00:07:20,754 --> 00:07:22,294 I simply am, 215 00:07:23,074 --> 00:07:25,235 but he's also the God who hears the 216 00:07:25,235 --> 00:07:26,375 cries of his people. 217 00:07:26,995 --> 00:07:27,814 He's Yahweh 218 00:07:28,389 --> 00:07:29,370 who sends Moses 219 00:07:29,990 --> 00:07:32,550 to deliver Israel in the Exodus, that great 220 00:07:32,550 --> 00:07:33,689 salvation event 221 00:07:34,230 --> 00:07:35,770 of the old testament. 222 00:07:37,830 --> 00:07:39,850 So this is our Lord, 223 00:07:40,485 --> 00:07:43,365 our Lord. This twofold name and David is 224 00:07:43,365 --> 00:07:46,165 saying how majestic is this name? You're both 225 00:07:46,165 --> 00:07:48,805 sovereign, creator of all things. The Lord in 226 00:07:48,805 --> 00:07:50,485 charge of charge of us. We owe you 227 00:07:50,485 --> 00:07:52,245 our allegiance and worship, but yet you're so 228 00:07:52,245 --> 00:07:54,824 gracious to us. You're Yahweh, you're ever present 229 00:07:55,069 --> 00:07:56,930 and ready to help your people. 230 00:07:58,189 --> 00:07:59,169 So his name 231 00:07:59,709 --> 00:08:02,110 is majestic because God is majestic. That's what 232 00:08:02,110 --> 00:08:04,529 David wants us to know as we begin 233 00:08:04,669 --> 00:08:06,209 looking into Psalm 8. 234 00:08:07,485 --> 00:08:09,884 But again, I said there's injustice and enemies 235 00:08:09,884 --> 00:08:11,884 all around, and that helps us understand verse 236 00:08:11,884 --> 00:08:13,185 2 if you look with me. 237 00:08:13,485 --> 00:08:15,485 This verse is a little bit strange, but 238 00:08:15,485 --> 00:08:16,305 it's beautiful. 239 00:08:17,004 --> 00:08:19,425 Out of the mouths of babies and infants, 240 00:08:20,509 --> 00:08:22,829 you have established strength because of your foes 241 00:08:22,829 --> 00:08:23,970 to steal the enemy 242 00:08:24,430 --> 00:08:25,569 in the avenger. 243 00:08:26,669 --> 00:08:28,029 Now I'll I'll prove this to you in 244 00:08:28,029 --> 00:08:29,310 a second, but what that is saying, or 245 00:08:29,310 --> 00:08:30,349 I'll try to prove it to you in 246 00:08:30,349 --> 00:08:32,269 a second, but what that verse is saying 247 00:08:32,269 --> 00:08:34,350 is that our majestic God, what is man 248 00:08:34,429 --> 00:08:36,404 remember we're answering that question. What does man, 249 00:08:36,404 --> 00:08:38,884 well our majestic God thinks so highly of 250 00:08:38,884 --> 00:08:40,504 us that he uses our prayers 251 00:08:41,205 --> 00:08:43,544 to defeat his enemies. 252 00:08:44,485 --> 00:08:46,084 He's so kind that he uses our prayers 253 00:08:46,084 --> 00:08:47,684 to defeat his enemies. Why do I say 254 00:08:47,684 --> 00:08:50,164 that? Well, well, notice that these children and 255 00:08:50,164 --> 00:08:51,304 infants are speaking, 256 00:08:52,779 --> 00:08:55,420 And that as they speak, a stronghold or 257 00:08:55,420 --> 00:08:56,639 a bulwark is established. 258 00:08:57,019 --> 00:08:57,519 Avengers 259 00:08:58,300 --> 00:08:59,759 are overthrown, enemies 260 00:09:00,300 --> 00:09:01,360 are silenced. 261 00:09:02,379 --> 00:09:05,019 And this leads most commentators to the history 262 00:09:05,019 --> 00:09:07,184 of reflection, and I think they're right to 263 00:09:07,184 --> 00:09:08,725 conclude that this speaking, 264 00:09:09,264 --> 00:09:11,024 the words that pour out of these infants 265 00:09:11,024 --> 00:09:13,105 and children's mouths are the prayers of God's 266 00:09:13,105 --> 00:09:13,605 people. 267 00:09:14,144 --> 00:09:16,644 God's children who cry out to him 268 00:09:17,024 --> 00:09:19,504 to right every wrong, to forgive sin, to 269 00:09:19,504 --> 00:09:22,245 make enemies into friends as they are converted 270 00:09:23,009 --> 00:09:24,389 by the gospel. 271 00:09:25,649 --> 00:09:28,690 So God's name is majestic as it, comes 272 00:09:28,690 --> 00:09:30,629 through the mouths of his children 273 00:09:31,009 --> 00:09:32,389 in prayer, we might say. 274 00:09:33,330 --> 00:09:34,529 And we have a big hint from the 275 00:09:34,529 --> 00:09:36,210 life of Jesus that this is one way 276 00:09:36,210 --> 00:09:37,830 we can understand this verse. 277 00:09:38,804 --> 00:09:40,985 In Matthew chapter 21 verse 6, 278 00:09:41,365 --> 00:09:44,164 in the triumphal entry, as Jesus rides into 279 00:09:44,164 --> 00:09:44,664 Jerusalem, 280 00:09:45,044 --> 00:09:47,544 there's a literal fulfillment of Psalm 8:2. 281 00:09:48,245 --> 00:09:50,164 As Jesus rides in on a donkey, do 282 00:09:50,164 --> 00:09:51,544 you remember what what happens? 283 00:09:51,879 --> 00:09:54,059 The Hosannas cry out from whom? 284 00:09:54,439 --> 00:09:55,579 The mouths of children. 285 00:09:56,839 --> 00:09:59,000 So Jesus literally is carried along by the 286 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:01,079 prayers of children as he rides in to 287 00:10:01,079 --> 00:10:02,459 do what? To cleanse the temple. 288 00:10:03,079 --> 00:10:05,159 A sign of the coming judgment against the 289 00:10:05,159 --> 00:10:06,139 religious leaders, 290 00:10:06,504 --> 00:10:08,664 who instead of understanding that Christ is their 291 00:10:08,664 --> 00:10:11,084 king, has have usurped his authority 292 00:10:11,464 --> 00:10:13,084 and put himself as king. 293 00:10:13,464 --> 00:10:14,664 And then what does he do? He goes 294 00:10:14,664 --> 00:10:15,404 to the cross, 295 00:10:16,184 --> 00:10:18,524 dies in our place to forgive our sins. 296 00:10:19,199 --> 00:10:21,120 But Colossians 2 tells us as important as 297 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:22,959 that is, as he dies to forgive our 298 00:10:22,959 --> 00:10:25,779 sins, he also defeats the rulers and authorities, 299 00:10:25,839 --> 00:10:26,579 the powers 300 00:10:27,039 --> 00:10:27,860 of the heavenly 301 00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:29,059 places. 302 00:10:29,919 --> 00:10:30,740 See Christ 303 00:10:31,325 --> 00:10:33,725 in his life, death, and resurrection defeats our 304 00:10:33,725 --> 00:10:36,605 enemies, but amazingly at least in part, he's 305 00:10:36,605 --> 00:10:38,144 carried along by the prayers 306 00:10:38,764 --> 00:10:40,945 of children. He accomplishes his purposes 307 00:10:41,565 --> 00:10:42,065 through 308 00:10:42,684 --> 00:10:43,184 his 309 00:10:43,725 --> 00:10:44,225 people. 310 00:10:45,330 --> 00:10:47,410 This God who is I am, this God 311 00:10:47,410 --> 00:10:49,110 who is Yahweh, our sovereign 312 00:10:49,809 --> 00:10:50,309 creator. 313 00:10:50,930 --> 00:10:53,330 So what is man as we consider this 314 00:10:53,330 --> 00:10:54,870 first point? Well, a weak creature, 315 00:10:55,649 --> 00:10:58,629 yet one through whom God ordains prayers accomplishes 316 00:10:58,850 --> 00:10:59,590 his purposes, 317 00:11:00,154 --> 00:11:02,014 especially the purpose of making enemies 318 00:11:02,475 --> 00:11:03,375 into friends. 319 00:11:04,875 --> 00:11:06,634 And of course this is true of all 320 00:11:06,634 --> 00:11:08,075 of our prayer life, but I think it's 321 00:11:08,075 --> 00:11:10,875 especially true as we gather week by week 322 00:11:10,875 --> 00:11:11,535 in corporate 323 00:11:11,915 --> 00:11:12,415 worship. 324 00:11:13,129 --> 00:11:14,649 What do we do lord's day by lord's 325 00:11:14,649 --> 00:11:16,830 day? We remember and celebrate the resurrection. 326 00:11:17,370 --> 00:11:19,850 We proclaim the lord's victory over sin and 327 00:11:19,850 --> 00:11:20,350 death 328 00:11:20,649 --> 00:11:21,389 and evil. 329 00:11:22,090 --> 00:11:24,970 And something of that pours out from us, 330 00:11:24,970 --> 00:11:25,950 and though we don't 331 00:11:26,955 --> 00:11:28,715 see it through the ordinariness of what we're 332 00:11:28,715 --> 00:11:31,434 doing this morning, God uses our praises to 333 00:11:31,434 --> 00:11:33,675 do what? To build his church, to defeat 334 00:11:33,675 --> 00:11:34,175 foes, 335 00:11:34,875 --> 00:11:35,375 to 336 00:11:36,075 --> 00:11:38,575 win the victory, you might say. 337 00:11:40,049 --> 00:11:41,970 And it's kind of like, in sports, you'll 338 00:11:41,970 --> 00:11:44,370 know that, oftentimes, a team wins a championship 339 00:11:44,370 --> 00:11:45,509 and there's a victory 340 00:11:45,809 --> 00:11:46,309 parade. 341 00:11:46,769 --> 00:11:49,269 The Boston Celtics just won the NBA championship. 342 00:11:49,730 --> 00:11:51,169 I'm not really an NBA fan. It's just 343 00:11:51,169 --> 00:11:52,709 the most recent one I could find, 344 00:11:53,105 --> 00:11:54,464 example I could find. And what do they 345 00:11:54,464 --> 00:11:56,324 do? They go through the streets of Boston 346 00:11:56,704 --> 00:11:58,704 with the fans gathering, and and cheering, and 347 00:11:58,704 --> 00:12:00,884 adoring them because they just won the championship, 348 00:12:01,024 --> 00:12:03,424 remembering the great victory that they have won 349 00:12:03,424 --> 00:12:04,324 for their city. 350 00:12:04,784 --> 00:12:07,105 Now that's a pales in comparison to what 351 00:12:07,105 --> 00:12:08,899 we're doing here this morning, 352 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:10,879 but it is a small picture that week 353 00:12:10,879 --> 00:12:12,179 by week as we come, 354 00:12:12,559 --> 00:12:14,639 remember the Lord's victory over sin and death. 355 00:12:14,639 --> 00:12:16,100 Remember the glorious resurrection 356 00:12:16,559 --> 00:12:19,360 of Christ. Ephesians chapter 3 says that we're 357 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:22,079 actually proclaiming to that heavenly host, to Satan 358 00:12:22,079 --> 00:12:24,174 himself, that Jesus wins. 359 00:12:25,355 --> 00:12:27,835 And as we do that, as ordinary as 360 00:12:27,835 --> 00:12:29,995 it sounds, as much as your kids might 361 00:12:29,995 --> 00:12:31,514 have not put their shoes on this morning, 362 00:12:31,514 --> 00:12:33,514 you're frustrated when you got in the car, 363 00:12:33,514 --> 00:12:36,299 God's using all of that to accomplish his 364 00:12:36,539 --> 00:12:37,279 his purposes. 365 00:12:38,059 --> 00:12:40,159 What is man? A weak vessel, 366 00:12:40,620 --> 00:12:42,220 but mighty when our faith is in the 367 00:12:42,220 --> 00:12:42,720 majestic 368 00:12:43,179 --> 00:12:45,500 name of God. And as we take those 369 00:12:45,500 --> 00:12:48,320 praises upon our lips and make his victory, 370 00:12:48,779 --> 00:12:50,159 the hope of the gospel 371 00:12:50,779 --> 00:12:51,279 known. 372 00:12:52,355 --> 00:12:53,495 So what is man? 373 00:12:54,034 --> 00:12:56,115 That's the first part, but we can go 374 00:12:56,115 --> 00:12:58,995 on from god's majestic name to the smallness 375 00:12:58,995 --> 00:12:59,975 of human beings. 376 00:13:01,794 --> 00:13:03,794 Excuse me. I'm not I'm deacclimated to the 377 00:13:03,794 --> 00:13:04,294 humidity. 378 00:13:08,230 --> 00:13:09,269 At one point in my life, I was 379 00:13:09,269 --> 00:13:10,570 acclimated, but no longer. 380 00:13:11,509 --> 00:13:13,429 So let's go on and and continue answering 381 00:13:13,429 --> 00:13:15,910 this question, the smallness of human beings, verse 382 00:13:15,910 --> 00:13:16,410 3. 383 00:13:17,590 --> 00:13:19,269 Fills out our answer just a little bit 384 00:13:19,269 --> 00:13:21,425 more. Now as as we look there, what's 385 00:13:21,425 --> 00:13:22,945 going on? When I look at the heavens 386 00:13:22,945 --> 00:13:24,384 or really, I think the best way to 387 00:13:24,384 --> 00:13:26,225 take that is when I contemplate, when I 388 00:13:26,225 --> 00:13:26,725 consider 389 00:13:27,345 --> 00:13:28,085 the heavens. 390 00:13:28,705 --> 00:13:31,264 We get the idea that David, perhaps wrote 391 00:13:31,264 --> 00:13:32,004 this Psalm 392 00:13:32,509 --> 00:13:34,429 on a clear night as he set up 393 00:13:34,429 --> 00:13:36,029 perhaps on a rock looking up at the 394 00:13:36,029 --> 00:13:36,529 sky. 395 00:13:37,070 --> 00:13:38,669 The end of verse 2 has already told 396 00:13:38,669 --> 00:13:40,590 us that God has set his glory above 397 00:13:40,590 --> 00:13:41,970 the heavens. It's on display 398 00:13:42,429 --> 00:13:43,649 in his creation. 399 00:13:44,029 --> 00:13:46,210 And so David looks up or he contemplates, 400 00:13:46,429 --> 00:13:48,625 he considers as he looks at the moon 401 00:13:48,625 --> 00:13:51,024 and and the stars, all the works of 402 00:13:51,024 --> 00:13:51,924 God's fingers 403 00:13:52,704 --> 00:13:54,725 as verse 3 describes it. 404 00:13:55,985 --> 00:13:57,985 And he he knows that to see God's 405 00:13:57,985 --> 00:14:00,759 work on displaying creation is to reflect upon 406 00:14:00,759 --> 00:14:02,279 God to make him think about just how 407 00:14:02,279 --> 00:14:03,820 big and how great, how powerful 408 00:14:04,519 --> 00:14:06,440 God is. And he asked verse 4 this 409 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:08,940 all important question, our guiding question this morning. 410 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:11,160 What is man that you are mindful of 411 00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:11,660 him? 412 00:14:12,120 --> 00:14:13,580 The universe is vast. 413 00:14:14,304 --> 00:14:16,884 The night sky when it's clear is filled 414 00:14:17,264 --> 00:14:17,764 with 415 00:14:18,304 --> 00:14:18,804 stars. 416 00:14:19,504 --> 00:14:21,825 David is recognizing just how small he is, 417 00:14:21,825 --> 00:14:23,985 but also recognizing in the midst of enemies 418 00:14:23,985 --> 00:14:26,465 that this is Yahweh our Lord, he's taking 419 00:14:26,465 --> 00:14:29,149 care of us. Lord, why? Why are you 420 00:14:29,149 --> 00:14:31,710 mindful of us? We're small and insignificant compared 421 00:14:31,710 --> 00:14:33,870 to you in this vast creation, yet you 422 00:14:33,870 --> 00:14:34,850 care for us 423 00:14:35,389 --> 00:14:35,889 greatly. 424 00:14:37,070 --> 00:14:39,090 And so he asked this question, what is 425 00:14:39,149 --> 00:14:41,809 man? Thinking of humanity generally speaking. 426 00:14:42,335 --> 00:14:43,855 And then what is the son of man? 427 00:14:43,855 --> 00:14:45,455 A reference that not only do you care 428 00:14:45,455 --> 00:14:47,235 for mankind, you care for me. 429 00:14:47,615 --> 00:14:48,995 You care for individuals. 430 00:14:49,375 --> 00:14:50,595 You care about the people 431 00:14:51,134 --> 00:14:52,195 that you have 432 00:14:52,575 --> 00:14:54,575 made. But he's overwhelmed as he looks at 433 00:14:54,575 --> 00:14:56,740 the vastness of the night 434 00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:00,720 sky. Well, Juan Carlos, mentioned that our family 435 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:02,740 lived for a time in New Zealand. 436 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:05,120 And most of New Zealand is quite rural, 437 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:07,759 and there's dark zones in certain areas of 438 00:15:07,759 --> 00:15:08,419 New Zealand 439 00:15:08,745 --> 00:15:10,904 where you're not allowed to actually build lights 440 00:15:10,904 --> 00:15:12,585 and what and whatnot, and people come from 441 00:15:12,585 --> 00:15:14,424 all over the world to do what David 442 00:15:14,424 --> 00:15:16,125 is doing, to look at the stars. 443 00:15:16,904 --> 00:15:18,664 And even in our small town that wasn't 444 00:15:18,664 --> 00:15:20,904 in a dark zone, the night sky compared 445 00:15:20,904 --> 00:15:22,684 to Houston is just full of stars. 446 00:15:23,179 --> 00:15:24,379 But there's a place that we used to 447 00:15:24,379 --> 00:15:25,819 go to called Lake Tekapo that was a 448 00:15:25,819 --> 00:15:27,100 dark zone, and you would just look up 449 00:15:27,100 --> 00:15:28,779 and even on a cloudy night, you're just 450 00:15:28,779 --> 00:15:30,720 amazed for the things that you can see 451 00:15:31,100 --> 00:15:33,259 in the sky. And you're overwhelmed, and you 452 00:15:33,259 --> 00:15:34,379 and you have a feeling, some of you 453 00:15:34,379 --> 00:15:36,220 will know this feeling in a night when 454 00:15:36,220 --> 00:15:37,819 you see a starry sky, or you see 455 00:15:37,819 --> 00:15:40,105 a grand mountain, or something like that. And 456 00:15:40,105 --> 00:15:42,024 those moments where you just say, oh God, 457 00:15:42,024 --> 00:15:44,845 I'm small compared to what's on display here. 458 00:15:44,904 --> 00:15:47,325 Your world is so big, you are so 459 00:15:47,625 --> 00:15:49,164 big and you're just overwhelmed. 460 00:15:50,904 --> 00:15:52,745 And it's no surprise that David has that 461 00:15:52,745 --> 00:15:54,800 feeling. It's no surprise that many of us, 462 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:56,420 or I think all of us at times 463 00:15:56,639 --> 00:15:58,720 have that feeling because created in the image 464 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:00,320 of God we're supposed to look at his 465 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:02,420 world where he makes himself known in part, 466 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:04,879 and cry out with the psalmist, what is 467 00:16:04,879 --> 00:16:06,975 man that you are mindful of him. 468 00:16:08,254 --> 00:16:10,115 So one of the perennial questions 469 00:16:10,654 --> 00:16:13,294 throughout history is this very question, what are 470 00:16:13,294 --> 00:16:16,514 we? Who are we? Why are we here? 471 00:16:17,615 --> 00:16:20,355 Alister McGrath says, few questions have so intrigued 472 00:16:20,495 --> 00:16:20,995 humanity 473 00:16:21,570 --> 00:16:23,590 as that of the meaning of the universe 474 00:16:23,809 --> 00:16:25,350 and our place in it. 475 00:16:25,889 --> 00:16:28,210 The sight of the star studded night can 476 00:16:28,210 --> 00:16:29,509 make us feel quite 477 00:16:30,850 --> 00:16:31,350 overwhelmed. 478 00:16:32,450 --> 00:16:34,129 And as you think about the the beauty 479 00:16:34,129 --> 00:16:35,730 on display in the sky and how big 480 00:16:35,730 --> 00:16:36,790 it is, just consider, 481 00:16:37,345 --> 00:16:39,504 the spacecraft Voyager. I know that's going back 482 00:16:39,504 --> 00:16:42,325 a bit now, but it took Voyager 26 483 00:16:42,544 --> 00:16:43,044 years 484 00:16:43,825 --> 00:16:44,565 and 8,400,000,000 485 00:16:45,424 --> 00:16:47,445 miles to leave our solar system. 486 00:16:48,384 --> 00:16:50,304 And it would have to travel for another 487 00:16:50,304 --> 00:16:50,804 40000 488 00:16:51,264 --> 00:16:51,764 years 489 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:54,179 before it reached another star. That's 490 00:16:55,279 --> 00:16:56,019 quite big. 491 00:16:58,639 --> 00:17:01,279 So the universe is huge, but each detail 492 00:17:01,279 --> 00:17:03,600 was put in place by the finger of 493 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:04,100 God. 494 00:17:05,305 --> 00:17:07,144 And as big as the universe is compared 495 00:17:07,144 --> 00:17:08,285 to God, it's tiny. 496 00:17:09,144 --> 00:17:11,244 And we're tiny compared to the universe 497 00:17:11,865 --> 00:17:12,365 in 498 00:17:12,825 --> 00:17:13,325 God. 499 00:17:14,184 --> 00:17:16,045 Okay. So what's the point of this section? 500 00:17:16,424 --> 00:17:17,705 Well, the point is not to say you're 501 00:17:17,705 --> 00:17:19,005 worthless or you're insignificant. 502 00:17:19,519 --> 00:17:21,839 The next point will make that abundantly clear. 503 00:17:21,839 --> 00:17:23,539 But it is to say this, 504 00:17:24,559 --> 00:17:25,859 only God is infinite. 505 00:17:26,639 --> 00:17:28,179 We are finite creatures. 506 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:31,039 Even apart from the fall, we were not 507 00:17:31,039 --> 00:17:32,174 created to be God. 508 00:17:32,975 --> 00:17:33,875 We have limits, 509 00:17:34,174 --> 00:17:36,335 and that's not always a bad thing. And 510 00:17:36,335 --> 00:17:37,855 I'll I'll stop there. I'll go on forever. 511 00:17:37,855 --> 00:17:39,295 But, I mean, just for instance, I was 512 00:17:39,295 --> 00:17:40,595 never gonna play in the NBA. 513 00:17:41,455 --> 00:17:43,315 You can laugh. It's okay. It's a joke. 514 00:17:44,575 --> 00:17:46,434 We have our limits. We're finite. 515 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:48,220 But so much, 516 00:17:48,759 --> 00:17:50,759 gets out of whack, and what's playing out 517 00:17:50,759 --> 00:17:53,240 in our culture is the tower of babble 518 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:54,600 all over again. What happens is we think 519 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:56,200 that we're the creator instead of the created 520 00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:56,700 creature. 521 00:17:57,480 --> 00:17:59,144 And so the point about the vast of 522 00:17:59,144 --> 00:18:01,224 the universe and the smallness of man is 523 00:18:01,224 --> 00:18:03,085 not to say that you're awful or worthless, 524 00:18:03,384 --> 00:18:05,384 but it is to say, God is the 525 00:18:05,384 --> 00:18:05,884 creator, 526 00:18:06,184 --> 00:18:07,244 you are the creature. 527 00:18:07,545 --> 00:18:09,085 And that's actually good news. 528 00:18:09,465 --> 00:18:10,525 That's a good thing. 529 00:18:10,904 --> 00:18:13,085 Because what it says is as the creator, 530 00:18:13,144 --> 00:18:14,125 he names us. 531 00:18:15,410 --> 00:18:17,250 He tells us who we are. He helps 532 00:18:17,250 --> 00:18:19,109 us answer this all important question, 533 00:18:19,490 --> 00:18:20,230 what is 534 00:18:20,529 --> 00:18:21,029 man? 535 00:18:22,529 --> 00:18:25,650 Okay. So God's majestic name, the smallness of 536 00:18:25,650 --> 00:18:27,509 men, but now the glory of man. 537 00:18:27,944 --> 00:18:29,884 Verses 5 through 8. 538 00:18:30,825 --> 00:18:33,484 We are finite. Yes. Only God is infinite. 539 00:18:34,024 --> 00:18:37,164 But we're glorious creatures created in his image. 540 00:18:37,464 --> 00:18:39,544 You see there in verse 5. You've made 541 00:18:39,544 --> 00:18:41,384 him a little lower than the heavenly being 542 00:18:41,384 --> 00:18:43,869 or the angels and crowned him with glory 543 00:18:44,490 --> 00:18:45,230 and honor. 544 00:18:46,169 --> 00:18:48,569 And these verses here echo the creation account 545 00:18:48,569 --> 00:18:50,890 in Genesis chapter 1 as the days of 546 00:18:50,890 --> 00:18:53,369 creation unfold, and we get to the pinnacle 547 00:18:53,369 --> 00:18:55,450 of creation day 6, and God creates man 548 00:18:55,450 --> 00:18:57,914 and woman in his own image as the 549 00:18:57,914 --> 00:19:00,154 pinnacle of creation. Not just as the highest 550 00:19:00,154 --> 00:19:00,654 evolved 551 00:19:00,954 --> 00:19:01,454 animal, 552 00:19:02,954 --> 00:19:03,934 but as humans 553 00:19:04,875 --> 00:19:06,255 alone in the image 554 00:19:07,194 --> 00:19:07,855 of God. 555 00:19:08,714 --> 00:19:10,154 And then he gives them a job to 556 00:19:10,154 --> 00:19:12,420 do. Sometimes we call this the cultural mandate 557 00:19:12,420 --> 00:19:13,319 to have dominion 558 00:19:13,779 --> 00:19:16,099 over the earth, not to dominate the earth, 559 00:19:16,099 --> 00:19:18,099 but to care for the earth, to rule 560 00:19:18,099 --> 00:19:19,720 the world as my representatives 561 00:19:20,180 --> 00:19:22,119 in the ways that I ask you to. 562 00:19:22,259 --> 00:19:24,680 That spread the love and goodness and glory 563 00:19:25,264 --> 00:19:27,264 of God. And and that's a kingly calling 564 00:19:27,264 --> 00:19:28,565 in the ancient context. 565 00:19:29,264 --> 00:19:30,865 So what is man? Well, we're creating the 566 00:19:30,865 --> 00:19:32,964 image of God with this kingly 567 00:19:33,505 --> 00:19:34,005 calling. 568 00:19:34,544 --> 00:19:36,404 And we read this in Genesis 126. 569 00:19:38,710 --> 00:19:40,789 Let us make man in our image, after 570 00:19:40,789 --> 00:19:41,450 our likeness, 571 00:19:41,910 --> 00:19:43,830 and let them have dominion over the fish 572 00:19:43,830 --> 00:19:45,269 of the sea and the birds of the 573 00:19:45,269 --> 00:19:45,769 heavens 574 00:19:46,070 --> 00:19:47,910 and over the livestock and over all the 575 00:19:47,910 --> 00:19:50,250 earth and over every creeping thing that creeps 576 00:19:50,309 --> 00:19:50,809 on 577 00:19:51,269 --> 00:19:51,769 earth. 578 00:19:52,454 --> 00:19:54,075 Now stick with me just for a minute 579 00:19:54,534 --> 00:19:56,214 because what we have here is is a 580 00:19:56,294 --> 00:19:58,634 is 2 parts in Genesis 126 581 00:19:59,095 --> 00:20:01,255 that's really important to help us answer the 582 00:20:01,255 --> 00:20:01,755 question, 583 00:20:02,134 --> 00:20:03,194 what is man? 584 00:20:06,089 --> 00:20:08,650 In theology and philosophy, sometimes there's a distinction 585 00:20:08,650 --> 00:20:10,009 that we don't have to make today, and 586 00:20:10,009 --> 00:20:11,549 it's a distinction between this. 587 00:20:12,170 --> 00:20:13,230 What is man 588 00:20:14,089 --> 00:20:15,309 and who is man 589 00:20:16,009 --> 00:20:17,230 are not the same question. 590 00:20:18,615 --> 00:20:20,934 So what is man is asking, what is 591 00:20:20,934 --> 00:20:23,095 the nature? What is the reality of this 592 00:20:23,095 --> 00:20:24,474 thing called a human being? 593 00:20:25,335 --> 00:20:26,634 And who is man 594 00:20:27,414 --> 00:20:29,095 begins to fill in, what are we to 595 00:20:29,095 --> 00:20:30,555 do? How are we 596 00:20:30,934 --> 00:20:33,059 to live? And we find this actually in 597 00:20:33,059 --> 00:20:35,700 the cultural mandate. Notice the first phrase, before 598 00:20:35,700 --> 00:20:37,539 we're told of our royal task, we're told 599 00:20:37,539 --> 00:20:38,359 of our nature 600 00:20:38,980 --> 00:20:40,759 that we're made in the image of God, 601 00:20:41,299 --> 00:20:43,299 and after his likeness. That's what you are, 602 00:20:43,299 --> 00:20:44,740 most basically, that's what you are as a 603 00:20:44,740 --> 00:20:45,799 human being. A creature 604 00:20:46,099 --> 00:20:46,599 created 605 00:20:47,224 --> 00:20:48,125 in the image 606 00:20:48,825 --> 00:20:49,484 of God, 607 00:20:50,265 --> 00:20:51,005 the pinnacle 608 00:20:51,625 --> 00:20:52,285 of God's 609 00:20:52,825 --> 00:20:53,325 creation. 610 00:20:54,585 --> 00:20:57,144 And then that who question, the cultural mandate 611 00:20:57,144 --> 00:20:58,585 goes on to say that you are God's 612 00:20:58,585 --> 00:20:59,085 representative 613 00:20:59,545 --> 00:21:00,445 with a task 614 00:21:01,009 --> 00:21:03,250 to subdue the earth. How so? Through all 615 00:21:03,250 --> 00:21:05,409 the various callings God has placed upon your 616 00:21:05,409 --> 00:21:05,909 life, 617 00:21:06,450 --> 00:21:09,089 through work, through being a parent, through being 618 00:21:09,089 --> 00:21:12,149 a faithful church member. By pursuing those callings 619 00:21:12,450 --> 00:21:14,129 in a way that honors the Lord, that 620 00:21:14,129 --> 00:21:16,664 lines up with scripture, that promotes the love 621 00:21:16,744 --> 00:21:18,505 and goodness of God, and the goodness and 622 00:21:18,505 --> 00:21:20,664 love of of one another, we begin to 623 00:21:20,664 --> 00:21:21,884 fulfill that 624 00:21:22,424 --> 00:21:22,924 task. 625 00:21:24,505 --> 00:21:26,025 We'll come back to the what question, but 626 00:21:26,025 --> 00:21:28,105 consider the the coronation, I don't know if 627 00:21:28,105 --> 00:21:30,424 you watched King Charles' coronation, or have seen 628 00:21:30,424 --> 00:21:31,884 videos of it in the past. 629 00:21:32,579 --> 00:21:34,179 There's a moment near the end where they 630 00:21:34,179 --> 00:21:36,019 put the crown on the head of the 631 00:21:36,019 --> 00:21:37,160 king or the queen. 632 00:21:37,779 --> 00:21:39,319 And back when Queen Elizabeth 633 00:21:39,619 --> 00:21:40,339 the second was, 634 00:21:41,059 --> 00:21:41,559 coronated, 635 00:21:42,019 --> 00:21:43,640 CS Lewis remarked this, 636 00:21:44,765 --> 00:21:46,845 the pressing of that huge heavy crown on 637 00:21:46,845 --> 00:21:48,384 that small young head 638 00:21:48,924 --> 00:21:51,345 is a symbol of the situation of man. 639 00:21:52,125 --> 00:21:54,365 God has called humanity to be his vice 640 00:21:54,365 --> 00:21:55,664 regent on earth. 641 00:21:56,285 --> 00:21:58,705 CS Lewis knows that the honor 642 00:21:59,130 --> 00:22:01,289 that God has placed upon humanity in this 643 00:22:01,289 --> 00:22:03,710 royal task to what we are called. 644 00:22:04,570 --> 00:22:06,250 So who are we? Remember our what and 645 00:22:06,250 --> 00:22:08,410 who distinction. Who are we? We'll revise regions 646 00:22:08,410 --> 00:22:09,549 with a royal calling. 647 00:22:10,329 --> 00:22:11,609 But now let's go back and think a 648 00:22:11,609 --> 00:22:14,190 little bit about that question, what is 649 00:22:15,744 --> 00:22:17,605 man? I wanna do that from using 650 00:22:18,304 --> 00:22:20,384 by using the idea of identity, which is 651 00:22:20,384 --> 00:22:21,845 all over age these days. 652 00:22:22,464 --> 00:22:24,625 And this is so important because that question, 653 00:22:24,625 --> 00:22:26,224 what is man? It's right here in Psalm 654 00:22:26,224 --> 00:22:28,964 8, but on our theological and philosophical reflection, 655 00:22:29,279 --> 00:22:31,440 what we've really done is we've erased that 656 00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:31,940 question. 657 00:22:32,559 --> 00:22:34,080 We haven't first thought about the nature of 658 00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:35,680 what it means to be human, we've jumped 659 00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:37,460 straight to the who question, 660 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:39,380 which is one reason identity 661 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:40,660 is all 662 00:22:41,039 --> 00:22:41,859 of the rage. 663 00:22:43,934 --> 00:22:46,414 Alright. Now I'm not convinced the question is 664 00:22:46,414 --> 00:22:48,335 a totally bad question, it's been asked our 665 00:22:48,335 --> 00:22:50,335 history in some ways, but as we find 666 00:22:50,335 --> 00:22:51,954 it now, it is a quite 667 00:22:52,414 --> 00:22:52,914 modern 668 00:22:53,535 --> 00:22:54,035 question. 669 00:22:54,670 --> 00:22:56,269 And if I can even say this especially 670 00:22:56,269 --> 00:22:57,730 to the young people this morning, 671 00:22:58,029 --> 00:23:00,289 it's actually a first world question. 672 00:23:01,070 --> 00:23:02,990 And why do I say that? We live 673 00:23:02,990 --> 00:23:05,549 in a very safe world. Maybe it doesn't 674 00:23:05,549 --> 00:23:07,789 feel so safe this morning after what happened 675 00:23:07,789 --> 00:23:10,025 yesterday, but by and large, we don't have 676 00:23:10,025 --> 00:23:11,804 tanks outside in the street. 677 00:23:12,105 --> 00:23:13,884 We live in a very safe place, 678 00:23:14,265 --> 00:23:15,484 historically speaking. 679 00:23:15,944 --> 00:23:17,464 Most of us in the room this morning 680 00:23:17,464 --> 00:23:19,065 have plenty of food in the pantry when 681 00:23:19,065 --> 00:23:20,204 we go home at night. 682 00:23:20,904 --> 00:23:23,144 We might complain about inflation, but we're not 683 00:23:23,144 --> 00:23:23,644 poor. 684 00:23:24,059 --> 00:23:25,980 What does that mean? We have time to 685 00:23:25,980 --> 00:23:27,519 sit around and think about identity. 686 00:23:28,299 --> 00:23:29,980 When there's tanks in the streets, and you're 687 00:23:29,980 --> 00:23:31,500 working day to day just to feed your 688 00:23:31,500 --> 00:23:33,420 family, you don't have time to sit down 689 00:23:33,420 --> 00:23:34,400 and ask this question. 690 00:23:34,940 --> 00:23:37,304 You're just worried about making it through the 691 00:23:37,304 --> 00:23:38,924 day. So I think we need to recognize 692 00:23:39,144 --> 00:23:42,664 that the affluence of our postmodern Western world 693 00:23:42,664 --> 00:23:43,884 has created a situation 694 00:23:44,184 --> 00:23:46,984 where identity can be the dominating question that 695 00:23:46,984 --> 00:23:48,825 it is, and when it wasn't even 25 696 00:23:48,825 --> 00:23:49,565 years ago. 697 00:23:50,619 --> 00:23:51,119 Alright. 698 00:23:53,980 --> 00:23:56,299 And what what happens is our culture says, 699 00:23:56,299 --> 00:23:58,380 remember we're asking this question right in the 700 00:23:58,380 --> 00:24:00,059 middle of the song bookend by God's name. 701 00:24:00,059 --> 00:24:01,500 So what happens when we go straight to 702 00:24:01,500 --> 00:24:03,285 the question and we don't let it bookend 703 00:24:03,285 --> 00:24:05,045 with God's name? We jump straight to the 704 00:24:05,045 --> 00:24:06,884 who, or we just remove God out of 705 00:24:06,884 --> 00:24:09,065 it. What happens was our culture tells us 706 00:24:09,125 --> 00:24:11,365 that you find your identity not by looking 707 00:24:11,365 --> 00:24:13,365 to God, and not by looking outside of 708 00:24:13,365 --> 00:24:15,684 yourself, not by embracing the royal calling that 709 00:24:15,684 --> 00:24:17,384 he's given you, but by looking within. 710 00:24:19,039 --> 00:24:21,200 Now, if you're over about the age of 711 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:22,420 35 or 40, 712 00:24:23,119 --> 00:24:24,799 you might look within and think you're going 713 00:24:24,799 --> 00:24:26,740 to find that identity by work, 714 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:28,019 or pleasure, 715 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:29,619 or your bank account. 716 00:24:30,684 --> 00:24:31,664 If you're younger, 717 00:24:32,205 --> 00:24:33,884 now what you're being told is not to 718 00:24:33,884 --> 00:24:36,125 chase it through these cultural idols, but to 719 00:24:36,125 --> 00:24:38,525 look inside your heart and express any and 720 00:24:38,525 --> 00:24:40,384 every desire that you might have. 721 00:24:40,765 --> 00:24:41,965 What does it mean to be a human 722 00:24:41,965 --> 00:24:42,465 being? 723 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:44,819 To be true to your own 724 00:24:45,359 --> 00:24:45,859 desires. 725 00:24:46,799 --> 00:24:49,039 That's what the world tells us today. But 726 00:24:49,039 --> 00:24:50,980 the Bible says the heart is deceitful 727 00:24:51,599 --> 00:24:53,759 and wicked above all things, if it hasn't 728 00:24:53,759 --> 00:24:55,299 been made new by the grace 729 00:24:55,839 --> 00:24:56,579 of God. 730 00:24:57,085 --> 00:24:59,164 And if you think about for all the 731 00:24:59,164 --> 00:25:00,545 emphasis on identity 732 00:25:01,244 --> 00:25:03,505 that our culture presses upon us today, 733 00:25:04,365 --> 00:25:06,144 mental health is horrible. 734 00:25:06,924 --> 00:25:10,679 Social media is killing our young people. Because 735 00:25:10,679 --> 00:25:12,759 why? It's an effort of self creation. It's 736 00:25:12,759 --> 00:25:14,839 an attempt to make ourselves, but remember we're 737 00:25:14,839 --> 00:25:15,500 not created. 738 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:17,960 We are created, we're not meant to be 739 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:19,099 the creator. 740 00:25:19,559 --> 00:25:21,399 And so for all the emphasis on on 741 00:25:21,399 --> 00:25:22,539 culture, I'm convinced 742 00:25:22,954 --> 00:25:25,195 that our our world doesn't give us an 743 00:25:25,195 --> 00:25:26,974 identity that really proves meaningful. 744 00:25:27,914 --> 00:25:29,434 It's because when you take God out of 745 00:25:29,434 --> 00:25:30,095 the equation, 746 00:25:30,555 --> 00:25:32,414 you're really just a cosmic accident. 747 00:25:33,355 --> 00:25:35,214 And then you're full of angst and anxiety 748 00:25:35,434 --> 00:25:35,934 trying 749 00:25:36,309 --> 00:25:38,070 to create an image for yourself, trying to 750 00:25:38,070 --> 00:25:40,230 convince yourself and everyone else who's watching on 751 00:25:40,230 --> 00:25:41,450 Instagram and TikTok, 752 00:25:42,070 --> 00:25:43,529 or sometimes even at church 753 00:25:44,150 --> 00:25:45,609 that you're really doing okay. 754 00:25:46,630 --> 00:25:48,410 When the scripture says, no, look 755 00:25:48,710 --> 00:25:51,674 to God. What is man? You're glorious. You're 756 00:25:51,674 --> 00:25:53,515 crowned with glory and honor but you only 757 00:25:53,515 --> 00:25:55,275 find that glory and honor as you relate 758 00:25:55,275 --> 00:25:57,694 rightly to God and live in the safety 759 00:25:57,914 --> 00:25:58,654 and security 760 00:25:59,194 --> 00:25:59,934 of his 761 00:26:00,315 --> 00:26:00,815 majestic 762 00:26:01,835 --> 00:26:02,335 name. 763 00:26:05,769 --> 00:26:07,549 Well, finally, we come to verse 9. 764 00:26:09,609 --> 00:26:11,049 And in some ways, I've I've already said 765 00:26:11,049 --> 00:26:12,329 this, but in some ways we have this 766 00:26:12,329 --> 00:26:13,549 idealistic picture, 767 00:26:14,169 --> 00:26:16,009 but we already have hints in Psalm 8 768 00:26:16,009 --> 00:26:18,089 that the world is fallen. There's enemies all 769 00:26:18,089 --> 00:26:18,589 around. 770 00:26:18,994 --> 00:26:20,994 We know that this Psalm was written after 771 00:26:20,994 --> 00:26:22,375 Genesis chapter 3. 772 00:26:22,674 --> 00:26:24,755 We know in our own hearts that all 773 00:26:24,755 --> 00:26:25,494 is not 774 00:26:25,875 --> 00:26:26,375 well. 775 00:26:27,234 --> 00:26:29,394 We are glorious creatures, we're still in the 776 00:26:29,394 --> 00:26:30,615 image of God, but 777 00:26:30,914 --> 00:26:32,934 sin that was let loose in the garden 778 00:26:33,075 --> 00:26:34,775 frustrates God's created 779 00:26:35,130 --> 00:26:37,849 purposes. It frustrates our calling. It frustrates how 780 00:26:37,849 --> 00:26:40,670 we even answer that question, what is man? 781 00:26:41,529 --> 00:26:42,890 See at the end of the day, for 782 00:26:42,890 --> 00:26:44,329 all the other answers we could give, it's 783 00:26:44,329 --> 00:26:46,269 sin that leads us to seek an identity 784 00:26:46,730 --> 00:26:47,230 apart 785 00:26:47,845 --> 00:26:48,664 from God. 786 00:26:49,605 --> 00:26:51,684 But it's right here that the gospel gives 787 00:26:51,684 --> 00:26:52,904 us great 788 00:26:53,445 --> 00:26:53,945 hope. 789 00:26:54,565 --> 00:26:57,045 God's created purposes is frustrated by sin, but 790 00:26:57,045 --> 00:26:59,285 it's restored in Christ, and we know that 791 00:26:59,285 --> 00:27:01,865 because in Hebrews chapter 2 verse 5, 792 00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:05,559 Psalm 8 is quoted and applied to the 793 00:27:05,559 --> 00:27:07,660 incarnate Lord Jesus Christ. 794 00:27:08,519 --> 00:27:10,700 And what we're supposed to see by that 795 00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:13,799 is that really Psalm 8 is about the 796 00:27:13,799 --> 00:27:15,880 Lord Jesus Christ before it is about us, 797 00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:17,900 that he is the truly human one. 798 00:27:18,285 --> 00:27:19,725 The eternal Son of God who in the 799 00:27:19,725 --> 00:27:22,285 fullness of time took on flesh and was 800 00:27:22,285 --> 00:27:25,085 a true human being, lived a true human 801 00:27:25,085 --> 00:27:27,744 life, experienced the things that we experience 802 00:27:28,445 --> 00:27:30,305 living in a fallen world, except 803 00:27:30,684 --> 00:27:31,825 one huge difference. 804 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:34,339 He never gave in to the temptation 805 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:35,940 of sin. 806 00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:38,660 And because of that, he has defeated 807 00:27:39,519 --> 00:27:40,019 death, 808 00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:43,460 sin. He has defeated the enemies 809 00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:44,900 of God. 810 00:27:46,404 --> 00:27:48,725 See Psalm 8 prophetically looks forward to that 811 00:27:48,725 --> 00:27:50,265 great day when the Lord Jesus 812 00:27:50,644 --> 00:27:52,025 Christ will return. 813 00:27:54,884 --> 00:27:56,965 Because even now not all things are in 814 00:27:56,965 --> 00:27:58,825 subjection to him as we read in 815 00:27:59,210 --> 00:28:01,849 Hebrews chapter 2. So it looks forward to 816 00:28:01,849 --> 00:28:03,450 the first coming and the second coming of 817 00:28:03,450 --> 00:28:05,450 Christ, the one who's truly human, who invites 818 00:28:05,450 --> 00:28:08,170 us by faith into his life, death, and 819 00:28:08,170 --> 00:28:10,589 resurrection to live in that 820 00:28:10,890 --> 00:28:11,390 glorious 821 00:28:12,224 --> 00:28:14,065 name. See what is man? The answer really 822 00:28:14,065 --> 00:28:15,365 is Jesus Christ. 823 00:28:16,224 --> 00:28:18,065 And we can say that because Philippians 2 824 00:28:18,065 --> 00:28:19,984 says that the Lord has, that God the 825 00:28:19,984 --> 00:28:21,664 father has given him the name that is 826 00:28:21,664 --> 00:28:22,964 above every name. 827 00:28:23,424 --> 00:28:25,664 And that his name everyday one knee will 828 00:28:25,664 --> 00:28:27,125 bow and every tongue confess 829 00:28:27,940 --> 00:28:28,759 that Jesus 830 00:28:29,539 --> 00:28:30,039 is 831 00:28:30,660 --> 00:28:31,160 Lord. 832 00:28:32,019 --> 00:28:34,099 And see it's when we come to Christ 833 00:28:34,099 --> 00:28:36,580 in faith, repenting of our sins, looking to 834 00:28:36,580 --> 00:28:39,619 him for identity, meaning, purpose, for making a 835 00:28:39,619 --> 00:28:40,440 name, whatever 836 00:28:40,774 --> 00:28:42,375 phrase we wanna use to fill it in. 837 00:28:42,375 --> 00:28:43,974 That's when we find that we begin to 838 00:28:43,974 --> 00:28:45,914 truly live as we are created. 839 00:28:46,615 --> 00:28:48,615 And if God is the creator, and we 840 00:28:48,615 --> 00:28:50,634 are his created image bearers, 841 00:28:51,095 --> 00:28:53,255 then even when it doesn't feel right living 842 00:28:53,255 --> 00:28:54,694 in the ways that he asked us to, 843 00:28:54,694 --> 00:28:55,755 we have to trust 844 00:28:56,059 --> 00:28:57,660 and know that that's what's right and that 845 00:28:57,660 --> 00:28:58,640 is what is good 846 00:28:59,019 --> 00:28:59,759 for us. 847 00:29:00,539 --> 00:29:03,740 And this has led theologians throughout Christian tradition 848 00:29:03,740 --> 00:29:05,599 to say things like this, Saint Irenaeus, 849 00:29:06,140 --> 00:29:08,559 the glory of God is man fully alive. 850 00:29:09,355 --> 00:29:10,654 And the reformed theologian, 851 00:29:10,954 --> 00:29:12,015 Amandas Paulinus, 852 00:29:12,794 --> 00:29:14,095 the glory of man 853 00:29:14,714 --> 00:29:15,615 is the living 854 00:29:16,474 --> 00:29:16,974 God. 855 00:29:17,994 --> 00:29:19,615 See we are glorious creatures, 856 00:29:20,474 --> 00:29:23,454 that we only find that true lasting saving 857 00:29:24,075 --> 00:29:24,575 glory 858 00:29:25,009 --> 00:29:27,250 in the majestic name of God revealed in 859 00:29:27,250 --> 00:29:27,750 Jesus 860 00:29:28,049 --> 00:29:28,549 Christ. 861 00:29:29,330 --> 00:29:31,250 And today Psalm 8 is quite simply calling 862 00:29:31,250 --> 00:29:32,869 us by faith back to him. 863 00:29:33,250 --> 00:29:35,650 What is man? Come to the Lord Jesus 864 00:29:35,650 --> 00:29:37,724 Christ and he will show you. A weak 865 00:29:37,724 --> 00:29:39,484 clay jar, but yet God will use your 866 00:29:39,484 --> 00:29:41,265 prayers to accomplish his purposes. 867 00:29:42,045 --> 00:29:42,545 Small 868 00:29:42,924 --> 00:29:44,684 compared to God, because you're not the creator, 869 00:29:44,684 --> 00:29:47,085 but that's good news, because the creator has 870 00:29:47,085 --> 00:29:48,065 made you glorious, 871 00:29:48,525 --> 00:29:50,625 and even though we've walked away and frustrated 872 00:29:50,684 --> 00:29:53,399 his purposes and sin, by his grace he 873 00:29:53,399 --> 00:29:55,259 comes to us in the person of Christ, 874 00:29:55,799 --> 00:29:58,839 the truly human one, who through his life, 875 00:29:58,839 --> 00:29:59,819 death, and resurrection 876 00:30:00,119 --> 00:30:02,059 invites us back into that majestic 877 00:30:02,839 --> 00:30:03,980 name of God. 878 00:30:04,599 --> 00:30:05,579 What is man? 879 00:30:06,039 --> 00:30:07,019 That's the answer. 880 00:30:07,715 --> 00:30:08,855 Proverbs 18, 881 00:30:09,394 --> 00:30:10,994 and we'll close with this, calls us to 882 00:30:10,994 --> 00:30:12,535 Christ with these beautiful words. 883 00:30:13,234 --> 00:30:15,315 The name of the Lord is a strong 884 00:30:15,315 --> 00:30:15,815 tower. 885 00:30:16,355 --> 00:30:18,775 The righteous man runs into it 886 00:30:19,075 --> 00:30:20,055 and is safe. 887 00:30:20,640 --> 00:30:21,940 In the name of the father, 888 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:24,019 son, and holy spirit. 889 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:24,820 Amen.