Why God Is So Great

Islington Baptist Church

September 22, 2002

Psalm 8

Scriptures: Hebrews 2, Matt. 21, Gen 1-2

Why God is so great

Last week we finished our series in the book of I Thessalonians—which has as its big theme: the return of Jesus Christ.

Today we are going back to the O.T to begin a brand new series in the book of Psalms. The book of Psalms is one of the most loved and most referred to book, of all the books of the Bible. It is a book that we readily identify with. Through the centuries the church has used the Psalms as a worship song book.

In the next 10 weeks or so, we are going to do a survey of the Psalms, for there are many different kinds of Psalms: For example: some Psalms are laments, others are Psalms of thanksgiving, others are Psalms of repentance, yet others are Psalms of praise and worship, etc.

Today we are going to begin our series by looking at a praise and worship Psalm. There are many Psalms that have the praise and worship of God as their central theme. The one for us today is Psalm 8.

Before we turn to Psalm 8 and read it, I would like to make a few brief comments on the subject of the praise and worship of God.

Sometimes you and I will bump into a person who asks “Why does God want us to the praise him all the time, does that not make him proud and self centred”

Such a question fails to take into account the worthiness of God to receive our praises. In Revelations 4:11 it says “You are worthy our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” Psalm 8 concerns the worthiness of God to receive our praise.

Such a question shows a failure to comprehend that our enjoyment of God is vitally bound up in our glorifying him. In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him. In David Watson’s book “I believe in the Church” he says “There is no relationship so satisfying and enriching as our personal relationship with God; and it is only when we open our hearts to him in loving adoration that God, in turn, pours his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.”

Such a question shows that the person has, according to C.S Lewis, forgotten that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise. Listen to what C.S Lewis says “The world rings with praise—lovers praising each other, readers their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, praise of weather, wines, dishes, etc….. Just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it.

In today’s praise Psalm that we will shortly consider, David praises God, but not only that, he by his words of praise invites us to join in with him.

READ PSALM 8

As you can see Psalm 8 is bracketed at either ends by the same assertion “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.”

The assertion of our text is that our God is an awesome God. Our God is an amazing, wonderful, beautiful, awe inspiring God.

When David says “how majestic is your name in all the earth” we need to understand that for David to speak of God’s majestic name this means that David personally knows and experiences God, a relationship between him and God exist.

Why does David proclaim the majesty of our God? The center part of Psalm 8 makes it clear why God is so wonderful, amazing, majestic, and excellent and hence praiseworthy.

I. What is it that makes our God so wonderful, amazing, and awesome and hence praiseworthy? The fact that his glory and power is manifest in all places and in all corners of the created order. V.1b

In Psalm 19:1-4 it says “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. They voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”

In further contemplating God’s manifest glory I would like to read to you from Charles Spurgeon’s commentary on the Psalms. Spurgeon writes “The whole creation is full of His glory and radiant with the excellence of his power. His goodness and wisdom are manifested on every hand. The countless myriads of earthly beings, from man to the creeping worm, are all supported and nourished by Him. The fabric of the universe leans on His eternal arm. Universally He is present; everywhere His name is excellent. Travel the silent valleys where rocks enclose you on either side, rising like heaven’s battlements until you can see but a strip of blue sky. You may be the only traveler who has passed through that glen; the birds are frightened, and the moss may tremble beneath the first step of a human foot. Yet God is there in a thousand wonders, upholding the rocky barriers, filling the flowers with perfume, and refreshing the lonely pines with His breath. Descend to the lowest depths of the ocean where the water sleeps undisturbed and the sand is motionless in unbroken quiet. The glory of the Lord is there, revealing its excellence in the silent palace of the sea. Borrow the wings of the morning and fly to the farthest parts of the sea. God is there. Fly to the highest heaven, and God is praised in everlasting song. His brightness shines in the sky. His glory exceeds the glory of the starry heavens and above the region of the stars He has set His everlasting throne; there He dwells in ineffable light. O come let us adore Him.