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How many of you remember the country singer, Kris Kristofferson? I don’t know if he’s still around, but I really like Kris Kristofferson. I can’t stand his music, but I like him because he’s the only person I know who makes me feel good about the way I sing. There was one song of his that really sticks out in my mind. It was called Why Me Lord. Why me Lord… what have I ever done… to deserve even one… of the pleasures I’ve known. Good lyrics. It would have been even better if he would have believed them. But have you ever done that yourself? Have you ever sat back and said, “Why me Lord?” So many times we do that when things are going wrong. If we lose somebody we love. If we get sick. If something bad happens in our life. Many times the first thing we want to say is, “Why me Lord?” But do you ever find yourself looking at everything that God has given you? Do you ever sit back and look at all the blessings in your life and ask that same question? That’s what the psalmist did here. You can almost picture him laying on his back staring up at the stars and thinking this. Maybe that’s what we need to do tonight. Maybe we need to spend some time thinking about the way the Lord has blessed us this year. No matter what has gone on in your life this year, God has blessed you. This Psalm starts and ends the same way. It starts and ends with the biggest blessing we have. Notice what the psalmist says. He says, “O Lord, OUR Lord.” Think about that for a minute. If that were all there was—wouldn’t it be enough? The fact that the all-sufficient, all-powerful God of eternity chooses to be our God. Don’t skip over that. In and of Himself, God is completely sufficient. That means that He doesn’t need anything. He is completely fulfilled and satisfied in His relationship between Father Son and Holy Spirit. He was never lonely. He was never needy. He was never discontent. But for some completely unexplainable reason, He chose to create us. He chose to create human beings for the sole purpose of being our Lord. Oh Lord OUR Lord. If He never did anything else for us, that would be infinitely more than enough. That would be enough to proclaim His name as excellent. That would be enough to proclaim his name as majestic. That would be enough to proclaim His name as worthy of all praise and honor and glory. But, oh He gives us so much more. First, He gives us the assurance of His control. Look back at the second part of verse 1 and verse 2:
PSALM 8:1a-2
What comfort there is in knowing God is in control. An all-knowing, all-powerful, righteous, holy, loving and gracious God is in control. What wonderful assurance that is! It brings to mind the picture of rest that is given us throughout the Bible. From the seventh day of creation on through the 4th chapter of Hebrews, rest has been an important theme. Why is that? Because the only time you can truly rest is when you’re at peace. And the only time you can be at peace is when you know that you are safe. When the eye of hurricane George passed within a couple of miles of my house in Gulfport, MS, we weren’t sleeping. We caught some cat-naps, but we didn’t rest. We didn’t rest, because the weather around us was spinning out of control. When I was in Saudi Arabia and the scud sirens would go off, I didn’t rest. I didn’t rest, because I didn’t know whether it was an exercise or if we were under attack. It was unknown. There was danger out there and the control that I thought I had was gone. But no matter how out of control I felt, God was still in control. And He’s still in control today. And He will always be in control. And isn’t it wonderful how He shows us? He shows us in the awesome grandeur of creation… and He shows us in the supreme humility of our weakest moments. He sets His glory above the heavens. He shows His strength through the weakest and most helpless. Have there been times this year when you have been made weak? Have there been times when you thought, “How am I going to make it?” This sounds strange, but what a blessing. What a blessing, because unless the Lord was truly in control, you wouldn’t have made it. Pray that the Lord will give you the eyes to see how He was shown to be strong in your times of greatest weakness. In those times when you felt as helpless as a nursing baby—how did God still the enemy? Isn’t there comfort in that? Isn’t there comfort in the fact that nothing will come after you that hasn’t passed through the hands of an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving God? Isn’t there comfort in the fact that He’s promised that no matter what things might look like today—He’s working it all together for good? Look back. Look back and see God in those times. See God in those times and thank Him that He’s in control. The Lord gives us the assurance of His control. He also gives us the assurance of His love. Look at verses 3-4:
PSALM 8:3-4
I remember when we lived overseas when we first got married. We rented the top floor of a little house that overlooked the ocean. One evening I remember sitting on the rocks watching the ocean. I don’t know what came over me, but I was completely overwhelmed. I began to think about how small I was compared to the rock I was sitting on. And then I thought about how small that rock was compared to the island we lived on. And our island was only 10 miles wide by 18 miles long. So I thought about how tiny that island was compared to how vast the ocean was that I was watching. To give you an idea, if a map shows that island on it, it’s usually only a dot. Most maps don’t even have it on it. But when I thought about all of that, I felt so small. Then you put that in the perspective of our whole planet. And then put our planet in the perspective of our galaxy. And then put our galaxy in the perspective of the entire universe. Now, if you really think about it that way, does it make you feel small? When I picture the psalmist looking up at the stars, that’s what I think was going through his mind. With all that universe out there, why do you care about us, God? We are so small and frail and seemingly insignificant. This planet we’re on isn’t much in the big scheme of things. Much less the people that are on it. But then again, there are billions of people on the planet. If you’ve ever stood in an extremely crowded room, you can start to feel insignificant. You can feel small. But not to God. As a matter of fact, the heavens and the work of His fingers and the moon and stars—He created them for us. He created them so that when we consider their immensity and their grandeur… that we would begin to catch a glimpse of How big and beautiful He is. What is man that God would pay attention to us? Man is the crown jewel of His creation. Man is the only thing in the entire universe that God cared enough about to create in His very image. But that’s just a portion of it. He didn’t just love us enough to pay attention to us. He loved us enough to visit us, to attend to us, to enjoin us. In other words, He loved us enough to empty Himself of His glory in heaven and become as small as we are. God didn’t just create you as a tiny part of a great big machine. He didn’t create you as His plaything. He created you so that He might pay attention to you. He created you so that He might visit you. He created you so that He might live in an intimate relationship with you. So that He can comfort you and care for you and provide for you. So that He can grow you and mold you and make you like He is. So that He can eternally bask in the glory of your praises forever. So that He can receive glory from the fullness of your complete and total satisfaction and contentment and joy in Him. Thank God for the assurance of His love for you. The assurance of His love that He showed you in creating you. The assurance of His love that He showed you in saving you. The assurance of His love that He shows you in sustaining you. And the assurance of His love that He will show you in keeping you as His forever. The Lord gives us assurance of His love. He also gives us assurance of His gifts. Look at verses 5-8:
PSALM 8:5-8
Think about the rich gifts that the Lord has poured out on us this year. Think of the gifts He’s given us as a church. We’ve seen people saved. We’ve seen people baptized. We’ve seen successful ministries. We’ve seen lives changed. We’ve seen the gospel taught and seen the name of Jesus lifted up. The Lord has richly blessed us in 2008. Now think about the gifts that God’s given you personally. He has made you a little lower than the angels. I have no idea why the King James translators said angels there. The original word is Elohim. Elohim is one of the names for God. It can also mean gods, when you’re talking about idols. But this isn’t talking about idols. The Lord is saying that He created you in His very likeness. He created you in His image. Now, that likeness and image has been marred by sin. But God made you extremely special. He created you special and poured out the riches of His grace on you. He crowned you. Verse 1 talks about God’s glory and His position above creation. Here He designates us as little kings over all the rest of creation. He has crowned you. And by crowning you, He has given you a position of authority. He has given you dominion over a portion of His kingdom. Are we talking about your house and car and animals? In a small way, yes. But not in the ultimate way. Because God has given you real responsibility in His kingdom. He didn’t just give you a paper crown. He gave you a job to do in His kingdom. And He gave you gifts to help you with your job. And the wonderful thing is that He takes care of the results. All He asks you to do is to use the tools He’s given you… use them in the place He’s planted you… and use them with the people He’s place around you. That’s it! He takes care of the rest. He has put all things under your feet. He has given you dominion over the work of your hands. Real responsibility, the tools to perform it, and no concern about the results. What a gift! Think about all the opportunities the Lord has given you this past year to proclaim His name to others. Think about the voice He’s given you. Think about the audience He’s given you. Whether it’s your family or your friends or your neighbors. Whether it’s only the grocery store clerk or the salesman on the telephone. He gives you opportunities almost every day. That’s real responsibility. That’s real dominion. That is a real, meaningful position in the kingdom of God. Thank God for the assurance of His gifts to you. He has blessed you with more than possessions. He has blessed you with more than money. He has blessed you with more than cars and houses and land and stuff. He has even blessed you with more than children and family and friends. He has blessed you with a place in His Kingdom. What a gift! The Lord gives us assurance of His gifts.
O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! You have richly blessed us with the assurance of your control. You have richly blessed us with your love. And you have richly blessed us with your gifts. Your name is truly excellent in all the earth.
