April 21, 2024
ONLY GOD IS GREAT!
Psalm 8:1-9
Our God is Great and Greatly to be praised!
ONLY GOD IS GREAT!
Muhammad Ali was identified by his self-evaluation, “I am the greatest!”
Tony the Tiger declares it of Frosty Flakes “They’re GREAT!”
We sing, “How Great Thou Art”
We teach our children to say, God is great, God is good…
We use the word to describe extraordinary acts, events, places, and things.
We even call pro athletes great.
We call our spouses great.
We call our children great.
We tell church members they are great.
Everything about God is great. ONLY GOD IS GREAT!
Regardless of man’s inflated view of himself, God alone is truly great. Not only is he the Creator of all; the Lord is the sustainer of all and thus sovereign over all. God, not man, is great, so he alone is to be praised. Psalm 8 is a magnificent hymn written by David under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that testifies to the majesty of God’s name. Throughout all creation, God’s unsurpassed greatness and glory is clearly seen. From the vastness of the universe to the weakness of man who is enabled to overcome his enemies by God’s strength, all the creation testifies, “Only God is Great.”
Compared to this awesome God, what is man? May this psalm cause hearts to look upward and consider the glory of God.
I. CONSIDER GOD’S MAJESTIC NAME (v. 1-2)
The first LORD is Yahweh (Hebrew), (Jehovah, Greek), God’s personal name, it means Self-existent, or Eternal. Why is this significant?
First, we know the Creator of the universe personally. He is not a distant God far off in outer space somewhere. He introduced himself to us and desires a relationship with us.
Second, the mighty Creator of the universe offers a covenant with us. Yahweh is the God who makes and keeps His covenant with His people. We have a relationship with Him through His covenant.
Third, we can get His attention. David began this psalm by simply uttering, “O LORD.”
The LORD (Yahweh, Jehovah) is our Lord (Adonai). Lord (Adonai) means master or ruler; it refers to ownership and absolute sovereignty. All who truly acknowledge God as Adonai serve Him and obey Him.
His name---power and glory---is revealed in all the earth v. 1.
As master of His creation, the name of the Lord is excellent and majestic in every corner of the earth.
His glory is above the heavens v. 1.
The shining greatness of his character, cannot be contained by creation. His glory exceeds the heights of creation.
His strength is seen in His choice of the weak (children) to praise Him (v. 2).
God chooses the weakness of men to defeat His enemies. This means God uses the weak to defeat the mighty.
II. CONSIDER GOD’S CARE FOR US (THE HUMAN RACE) (v. 3-4).
Consider the majestic heavens above (v. 3).
As David gazed into the night sky, he became lost in the majestic beauty and glory of the heavens---revealing just how great God is. David did not know all that we today know about what is out there, but he contemplated the heavenly bodies that light the night, he was amazed that it all the work of God’s fingers, a relatively easy project.
Consider how small and frail we are-----compared to the vastness of space----yet God cares for us (v. 4).
Think of it: we are less than tiny dots on the face of the universe. In proportion to God’s vast creation, every one of us is smaller than a single grain of sand on the shore. We are small and frail (weak), but God is mindful of man and exercises care toward him. This creating God is also a caring God.
CONSIDER OUR EXALTED POSITION OVER CREATION (v. 5-8)
God made man a little lower than the angels (v. 5a)
God made man a lower than Him, because he made man in His image.
Though humankind is small in light of who God is, nevertheless, the Creator made them only a little less than God and crowned [them] with glory and honor. This means that though we are reduced in size in comparison to God, we are increased in significance in relationship to him. (Tony Evans)
God crowned man with honor: He made him ruler over God’s creation (vv. 5b-8).
Over all flocks & herds
Over all animals
Over all birds
Over all fish
Over all creatures
Philippians 2:13 (NLT), “For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.”
ONLY GOD IS GREAT!
Responsive Reading: Psalm 8:1-9
