Psalm 8:1-9, Isaiah 6:1-8, Revelation 4:1-11, John 3:1-15.
A). A PRAYER OF PRAISE.
Psalm 8:1-9.
This is the only praise Psalm which is addressed entirely to the LORD. No call to worship like Psalm 95:1, ‘O come let us sing unto the LORD’. No asides to the congregation like Psalm 107:2, ‘Let the redeemed of the LORD say so’.
Psalm 8:1. The vocative brings us straight into the presence of the LORD (Yahweh): “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!” That presence is maintained throughout the meditation, right down to the repetition of the same line in the final verse (Psalm 8:9). This brackets the whole Psalm with the awareness of the One to whom our address is made. Thus we may ‘boldly approach’ (cf. Hebrews 4:16) the LORD, the Sovereign, the maker of heaven and earth.
Although bold, the very use of the vocative suggests a sense of awe in this approach to the LORD. Yet it is not cold fear, but an approach to One who we can call “our” Adonai, “our” sovereign - ultimately “our” Father! The approach celebrates the excellence, the magnificence of God’s great name “in all the earth!” and reminds us how He has set His “glory”, his ‘weight’, as it were, “above the heavens.”
Psalm 8:2. Jesus quoted “out of the mouth of babes and sucklings” as a challenge to ‘the chief priests and scribes’, who wanted to silence the children from singing ‘Hosanna to the son of David’ (Matthew 21:15-16). The babbling of “babes and sucklings” is better than the bitterness of the unbelief of ‘religious’ people! The “babes and sucklings” represent the ‘babes in Christ’, new disciples (Luke 10:21; Mark 10:15; John 3:3), or maybe even all disciples (1 Corinthians 1:27).
Such babbling “stills the enemy and the avenger”. One faltering lisping prayer from faith-filled trusting lips has more value, more weight before God than all the litanies of unbelief. The Psalm’s “thou hast ordained strength” becomes ‘thou hast ordained praise’ in Matthew 21:16. I would suggest that that is where our ‘strength’ lies - in ‘praise’!
Psalm 8:3. The glory of the LORD has already been recognised as “above the heavens” (Psalm 8:1). Now we turn to the heavens themselves, the visible heavens.
I learned this Psalm by heart, in the Scottish metrical version, under the tutelage of a Free Church Minister, the Chaplain of my High School days. This verse in particular remained with me even in my unbelieving years in my late teens and early twenties. It seemed only apt since the Apollo missions were just getting under way.
“When I look up unto the heavens,
which thine own fingers framed,
Unto the moon, and to the stars,
which were by thee ordained…”
Psalm 8:4-6. At the centre of the Psalm is a meditation on the question, “What is man?” Man in his first estate, in paradise, was given a certain dignity and authority within God’s creation. That dignity and authority, though marred by sin, is not entirely eradicated.
Psalm 8:4. “Man” is a singular noun, although it might indicate a gender inclusive collective (cf. Genesis 1:27). What can “man” be, that the LORD should be “mindful of him?”
“Son of man” - literally “ben Adam” - is also singular, but it cannot refer to the man Adam in his first estate, nor the man Adam after the fall, since the man Adam was no man’s son! We must keep the translation “son of man” in the singular to see what is ultimately meant: not ‘mere mortals’, as some would have it, but Jesus Christ, whose preferred name when referring to Himself was, ‘the Son of man’!
Psalm 8:5-6. Well, everything about “man” is significant because of what God has done: “thou hast made him…”, and “hast crowned him”. “Thou made him to have dominion…; thou hast put all under his feet.”
Psalm 8:5. The New Jewish Publication Society of America translates this verse, ‘For thou hast made him a little less than divine’. The Hebrew word is doubtless, “Elohim” which reads as God, or gods, or even ‘heavenly beings’. ‘Angels’ is the preferred translation of Psalm 8:5 in the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. This appears to be the translation quoted in the Greek New Testament (Hebrews 2:7; and Hebrews 2:9).
Psalm 8:6. There is only one way that mankind has “all things under his feet”, and that is mankind in Christ, mankind in the risen Lord Jesus, ‘the church’ (Ephesians 1:20-22). This is where ‘church’ is: ‘sitting together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus’ (Ephesians 2:6). It can be said of Christ, as it can be said of man, even redeemed man, ‘But we see not yet all things put under him’ (Hebrews 2:8). ‘For He (Jesus) must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death’ (1 Corinthians 15:25-26).
Psalm 8:7-8 lists the earthly limits of man’s original stewardship. Perhaps we should learn to look after life here before we spend our fortunes trying to find life elsewhere in this magnificent universe?
Psalm 8:9. Which brings us back full circle to the repetition of the psalmist’s adoration: “O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”
B). WHERE HEAVEN AND EARTH MEET
Isaiah 6:1-8
1. THE AWESOMENESS AND MAJESTY OF GOD (Isaiah 6:1-4)
It was the year that King Uzziah, king of Judah, died (Isaiah 6:1).
In Jerusalem, the prophet Isaiah was in the Temple, the place where the LORD God had set His tabernacle amongst His people (Leviticus 26:11-12). Here heaven and earth met, and the Temple below merged with the Temple above - of which it was a type and symbol. It was an awesome event.
Isaiah saw the LORD, enthroned in heaven, “high and lifted up” (Isaiah 6:1), and His train filled the Temple. Here the LORD was seen to be above the manipulation that hypocritical worshippers were offering (Isaiah 1:12-17; Isaiah 2:22). “The King, the LORD Almighty” (Isaiah 6:5) is set in stark contrast to the presumptuousness of King Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:16).
The word “seraph” (Isaiah 6:2) comes from the Hebrew verb for burning. Burning was a sign of divine holiness, as had been seen at Mount Sinai (Exodus 3:2; Deuteronomy 5:23-24). The same word is used of the serpents which bit the Israelites in the wilderness (Numbers 21:6), and is echoed in Isaiah 14:29; Isaiah 30:6.
One of the seraphim sang the praises of the thrice holy God (Isaiah 6:3). This is a variation on the song of heaven (Revelation 4:8). To be “holy” is to be separate: the LORD is totally Other.
“Glory” speaks of heaviness: He ‘carries weight’ in the world. “The earth is full of His glory” - and at the cry of the voice the posts of the door moved, and the house filled with smoke (Isaiah 6:4). Manifestations of God’s ‘glory’ is evidence of His presence (Ezekiel 10:18; Ezekiel 43:4-5).
2. A SENSE OF INADEQUACY (Isaiah 6:5)
Isaiah’s awareness of his own sin, and that of his nation, set him apart from his unrepentant contemporaries. Against a background of ‘woes’ (Isaiah 5:8; Isaiah 5:11; Isaiah 5:18; Isaiah 5:20-22), his “Woe!” is a confession of being “undone” - lost, utterly ruined. Isaiah sees two reasons for his ruin:
(a) “Unclean lips.” The ‘lips’ stands for the whole person, but ‘unclean’ lips is set against the background of King Uzziah’s leprosy (2 Chronicles 26:21; Leviticus 13:45). Isaiah stands as a representative of his people.
(b) Isaiah has seen the LORD. The LORD had told Moses, ‘there shall no man see me, and live’ (Exodus 33:20). The children of Israel also perceived this to be true (Deuteronomy 5:25). This was what was in the mind of Samson’s father when he said to his wife, ‘We shall surely die, because we have seen God’ (Judges 13:22).
Now Isaiah pronounces “woe” upon himself, because he has “seen God” (Isaiah 6:5). Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50) - yet faith can (Job 19:25-27). Amazingly, we are told in the last book of the Bible that the servants of ‘God and the Lamb’ - ‘shall see His (singular) face; and His name is upon their foreheads’ (Revelation 22:4).
3. EQUIPPED BY GRACE (Isaiah 6:6-7)
No sooner had Isaiah confessed his sin and sinfulness, than one of the seraphim took a “live coal” from the altar with a pair of tongs. A coal too hot for even a fiery seraph to handle! The “live coal” had the effect of:
(a) Cleansing Isaiah. No mere man, no angel, no seraph could hope to cleanse a man of the leprosy of sin. This was from beginning to end an act of God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8).
(b) Preparing his “lips” to speak for God.
4. AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE (Isaiah 6:8)
- gives rise to a willingness to serve.
Isaiah recognised the gift in him, and responded to God’s call.
In the temple of our experience, where the LORD makes His dwelling amongst men, the cry still goes forth:
“Whom shall I send?”
What will be the response of our hearts to the call of God?
C). A THRONE SET IN HEAVEN.
Revelation 4:1-11.
REVELATION 4:1. (a). In effect, what John says is, “After these things I looked and beheld an open door in heaven, and the voice which I heard first as of a trumpet speaking with me.” “I looked” or ‘I saw’ – signifying, ‘I saw in the Spirit’ (cf. Revelation 1:10). The “heaven” which John beheld was neither the sky nor space, but the ‘third heaven’ spoken of by Paul (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:2). The “voice” was the same voice as John had ‘heard’ in Revelation 1:10, and which he had ‘turned to see’ in Revelation 1:12.
(b). The voice was saying, “Come up hither and I will show you what things must take place after these things.” John was already ‘in the Spirit’ (cf. Revelation 1:10), but he was being summoned to a yet higher perception of spiritual things. There is a basic principle here: if we wish to understand the things that are going on in this troubled world of ours, then we must view them from God’s point of view, not our own. “Come up hither.”
REVELATION 4:2. It is an interesting observation that when God gives an instruction to His people, He also empowers us to perform it. “And immediately I was in the Spirit.” John beheld “a throne was situated in heaven, and upon the throne (One) sitting.” The throne signifies God’s universal dominion over all things.
REVELATION 4:3. John describes something of the glory of the LORD – but not in human terms, lest we fall into idolatry. The mention of various gemstones suggests the surpassing brightness of the LORD, and the rainbow about the throne speaks to us of His covenant mercy and love, revealed to us in Christ Jesus our Lord (cf. Ezekiel 1:26-28).
REVELATION 4:4. Upon the “seats” (literally, “thrones”) around the Throne are seated 24 elders. These represent the church universal (cf. Revelation 21:12-14). After all, we can say with Paul that even now we are ‘seated in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus’ (cf. Ephesians 2:6). Their white clothing represents the imputed and imparted righteousness of the saints. The crowns upon their heads are because Christ has ‘made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign in the earth’ (cf. Revelation 5:10).
REVELATION 4:5. “Lightnings and thundering and voices” remind us of the awesome majesty of God (cf. Exodus 19:16). The “seven lamps of fire burning before the throne” remind us of the seven-branched candlestick in the tabernacle and Temple (cf. Exodus 25:31-40), and represent “the seven Spirits of God.” This expression points us to the perfections of the Holy Spirit (cf. Isaiah 11:2).
Isaiah 11:2 speaks of the manifestation of “the Spirit of the LORD” in Jesus’ life in several different ways. Of these, wisdom and understanding together touch upon the intellect. Counsel and might pertain to practical ability. Knowledge and the fear of the LORD are gifts of piety.
1. The Spirit of the LORD is the source of all God’s thoughts.
2. The Spirit of Wisdom enables us to think God’s thoughts after Him.
3. The Spirit of Understanding helps us to understand His thoughts.
4. The Spirit of Counsel helps us choose the right course for godliness.
5. The Spirit of Strength empowers us to do God’s will in our lives.
6. The Spirit of Knowledge sees God’s thoughts manifested in our lives.
7. The Spirit of the Fear of the LORD is a reverent walking in His way.
REVELATION 4:6. (a). The vivid description continues with, “Before the throne was a sea of glass, like unto crystal.” There was a ‘sea’ in the Temple, too: a large bronze basin for the priests to wash in (cf. 2 Chronicles 4:2-6). The basin for purification today is the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, in which we are cleansed from all our sins.
(b). The “beasts” (or more exactly ‘living creatures’) represent God’s world. When man fell, the ground was cursed, and all nature fell with him. Since then ‘the whole creation’ has been groaning (cf. Romans 8:22), ‘waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God’ (cf. Romans 8:19).
REVELATION 4:7. As the living creatures are situated between the throne (where God is) and the twenty-four elders (representing the whole people of God), some have taken them to represent the true ministers of the Gospel. Such ministers require the strength and courage of a lion (cf. Proverbs 30:30); the toilsomeness of an ox (cf. Ezekiel 1:10); the knowledge, wisdom, and sympathy of a man; and an eagle-like swiftness in sharing the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
REVELATION 4:8. (a). Like the seraphim in Isaiah 6:2, they have six wings: (i) two to cover their faces out of reverence toward God; (ii) two to cover their feet out of a sense of unworthiness in His presence; and (iii) two to fly out with the Gospel to all the nations.
(b). They have “eyes within” to draw out ‘old things and new’ from the treasure which God has put within them (cf. Matthew 13:52).
(c) Also like the seraphim (cf. Isaiah 6:3), they are incessantly crying “Holy, holy, holy” to “the Lord God Almighty:” our Thrice-holy, Three-in-One God.
REVELATION 4:9-10. When the living creatures thus “give glory and honour and thanks to Him that sat upon the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,” the twenty-four elders prostrate themselves before Him (cf. Revelation 1:17), cast their crowns before the throne, and say (as we sing):
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (REVELATION 4:11).
D). THE CROSS AND REGENERATION.
John 3:1-15.
JOHN 3:1. Nicodemus was a member of the strictest sect of the Jews: the Pharisees. No doubt he sought to keep all the man-made rules of his religion, as well as the law of God which was given to Moses. Nicodemus was a religious man; an upright man; a leader; a teacher; respected in society: yet Nicodemus knew within himself that something was missing in his life. UNTIL WE COME TO FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, THERE IS INDEED SOMETHING MISSING IN OUR LIVES.
JOHN 3:2. Because of his position, fearing what people may think of him seeking advice from Jesus, Nicodemus made his approach to our Lord secretly, and at night. Better that than not at all! Nicodemus had a good opinion of Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, addressing Jesus with the respect due to a teacher and to a holy man. “We know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles (signs) that thou doest, except God be with him.”
JOHN 3:3. In reply Jesus declared: “EXCEPT A MAN BE BORN AGAIN, HE CANNOT SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD.” So, Nicodemus was missing something. With the generality of mankind, he was presuming upon his own ability to qualify for heaven. If anyone thinks they can get to heaven by their own good works, they will surely fail: “You must be born again.”
JOHN 3:4. Still this teacher of the Jews faltered: "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter the second time into his mother's womb to be born!"
JOHN 3:5. Jesus answered, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
JOHN 3:6. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh,” says Jesus; “and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” To be born again, or born anew, is to be born from above, to be born of God. It is a spiritual birth in which God’s Holy Spirit bears us into the family of God, male and female individuals becoming heirs of God, joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
JOHN 3:7. Jesus said, “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”
JOHN 3:8. In a play on words that works in both the Greek and Hebrew languages, Jesus continued,’ The wind blows where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is everyone that is born of the Spirit.”
The same word means both WIND and SPIRIT, and is also used to signify the BREATH of God! So, just as God first breathed the breath of life into the clay which He had fashioned into man, and just as He is said to out-breathe the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments [which is the literal meaning of ‘inspiration’ (cf. 2 Timothy 3:16)], so God breathes into His people the breath of the new life in Christ Jesus. This is not to the credit of the preacher, nor of the convert to Christianity. It is all to the praise of God Himself!
JOHN 3:9. Poor Nicodemus was still struggling: “HOW CAN THIS BE?” Man cannot easily concede that heaven is attained not by his own merit, but only by the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ. Folks love to think that they are good enough, and no-one, they imagine, should say otherwise.
People need to get away from the notion that they are good enough for God, or that they can co-operate with Him in the mighty work of their salvation from their sins. We must rather learn to turn to Him, wholeheartedly, relying on Him alone for our salvation, trusting not in our own righteousness, but in the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. We all need faith to believe these things, and to put our trust in Him: without Him we can do nothing!
JOHN 3:10-12. Jesus wanted to tell Nicodemus more things but, like so many of us, Nicodemus was dull of sense. Mere man cannot grasp the realities represented to him in “earthly” things, as Jesus put it. Jesus wanted to speak of “heavenly” things.
JOHN 3:13. “No man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.”
Jesus was not merely ‘a teacher come from God,’ (cf. John 3:2), but a sharer of the divine nature, who was ‘in the beginning with God’ (cf. John 1:1-2). He is the One who (in the incarnation) “came down from heaven,” and He is (since the ascension) “the Son of man which is in heaven.”
JOHN 3:14. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.” This refers back to an incident during the wilderness wanderings of the children of Israel (cf. Numbers 21:4-9), and forward to the crucifixion.
If a serpent on a pole was a shocking symbol for a monotheistic people, so is the picture in our minds’ eye of the broken body of a man impaled upon a wooden cross. Yet, in both instances, this is what God commanded.
Without the brazen serpent there was no healing for the Israelite who had been bitten by a serpent (cf. Numbers 21:9) - and without the Cross there is no salvation for any one of us, bitten as we are by the sting of death which is sin (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:55-57).
JOHN 3:15. “That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” Jesus was ‘lifted up’ in the crucifixion, so that everyone who “believeth in Him,” trusting not in themselves but trusting in His sacrificial blood, would have “eternal life.” It is through such faith that we receive this truth into our hearts.
