Majesty

Language of Prayer / Psalm 8

Psalm 8 (ESV)

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.

O Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouth of babies and infants,

you have established strength because of your foes,

to still the enemy and the avenger.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

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

what is man that you are mindful of him,

and the son of man that you care for him?

Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory and honor.

You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;

you have put all things under his feet,

all sheep and oxen,

and also the beasts of the field,

the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,

whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

• This psalm is a sandwich, of sorts. It communicates it’s most important parts at the beginning and end of the psalm, telling us what it is that we are to know about God. The psalmist begins the psalm and ends it with

God’s Majesty is found in all of Creation and in the middle of all our experiences . The most majestic takes up the most of our attention.

• Define a time where you have experienced something majestic. What made it majestic?

• No matter what is happening in and around us, through us by us, near us, above us, we are to know that the Lord is our Lord and His name is majestic in all the earth. We are led from the majesty of God and led to the Majesty of God.

• Hearing the language of prayer helps us to communicate with God on His level, with who He is and how He operates. The psalmist says that He is majestic. Above all creation He is majestic.

• How easy or difficult is prayer for you? What is one thing that could make it easier?

God’s Sovereignty helps us to cry Majesty!

“you have set your glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouth of babies and infants,

you have established strength because of your foes,

to still the enemy and the avenger.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

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

• One who is sovereign is one who rules over something. The Psalmist gives God the range of creation, of humanity, enemy and friend, young and old.

• The psalmist covers the range of humanity and the range of creation.

• There is not a part of creation in which God does not have a part, or as we will see, does not take part in.

• Make a list of all the ways that God is majestic

God’s imminence helps us to cry majesty!

Psalm 8:3–5 ESV

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

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

what is man that you are mindful of him,

and the son of man that you care for him?

Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory and honor.

• God is sovereign over creation and yet He has considered humanity. He is mindful of us, He cares for us. It is His closeness to us that allows us to cry out Glory!

• Have you ever gotten into the mindset where we are frustrated with God for not doing things specifically in the way we have wanted?

• What is one thing you can do to transition to desiring your will to God’s will?

God’s compassion helps us to cry majesty!

English Standard Version Hebrews 2:5–9

5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world lto come, of which we are speaking. 6 It has been testified somewhere,

m“What is man, that you are mindful of him,
or the son of man, that you care for him?
7  You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
you have crowned him with glory and honor,1
8  putting everything in subjection under his feet.”

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, nwe do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9 But we see him owho for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, pcrowned with glory and honor qbecause of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might rtaste death sfor everyone.

Hebrews 2 borrows deeply from psalm 8

– Hebrews places Christ in the place where the psalmist places man. Christ is the one in which nothing is out of control. Christ is the one in whom everything is subject to.

Hebrews 4:14–16 ESV

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

• It is Christ’s compassion that allows us the confidence to draw near to God. We see the mercy within the character of Christ. It is His very demeanor that allows us to know how we can approach Him.

• How does knowing Christ’s compassion for us help us to grow in confidence toward Him?

Sermon Notes will be available by Sunday morning 1/2/22