Title: Amazing Divine Visitation!
Text: Psalm 8: 3-9
Date: November 27, 2011
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
Psalm 8 is a Psalm of David praising the excellent name of the LORD our Lord. Verse 1 declares that the name of the LORD is excellent in all the earth. And that the LORD has set his glory ABOVE the heavens.
Where does the regenerated child behold the excellent name of the Lord?
Acts 4: 12: Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Philippians 2: 9: Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
In whom do we behold the glory of the LORD Jehovah?
2 Corinthians 4: 6: For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
The LORD has set Christ his glory above the heavens.
Hebrews 7: 26: For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
Ephesians 4: 10: He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
Verse 2 declares that God himself stills the enemy and the avenger by ordaining strength out of the mouth of babes and sucklings. The Son of God’s love was made of a woman—formed in the womb of a virgin. He came forth an infant—a suckling. He grew in wisdom and stature as a man—God’s babe.
Luke 2:40: And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.
When he walked this earth the Perfect Son of Man silenced the enemy and the avenger time and again till at last: “…neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.” (Mt 22:46) It is through believers—his babes and sucklings—those whom haughty, arrogant, know-it-all self-righteous men look down their noses that the LORD our Lord stills—shuts the mouth—confounds—and brings to nothing—those very enemies and the great avenger—the devil himself.
On one occasion this Holy Child of God looked up to heaven and justified Wisdom saying, “Father I thank thee that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes, even so Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight.” (Luke 10: 21.)
So as we have seen Christ in the first three verses, as we look at the rest of this Psalm, we will look to one greater than David—Christ Jesus the righteous Son of Man himself.
In verse 3, I see the Son of Man, the great Shepherd of the sheep, gone off to pray in the mount alone, looking up on a clear night and praising the excellent name, saying:
Psalm 8: 3: When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 4: What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Illustration: The Arkansas Delta
Thy Heavens the Work of thy Fingers—the moon and the stars.
Job 26 7: He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing: 8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them. 9: He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it. 10: He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end. 11: The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof. 12: He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud. 13: By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent. 14: Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?
By the testimony of God’s own creation, sinners are without excuse:
Romans 1:20: For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
What a God! The Son of God made these things.
Colossians 1:16: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth,
Then the Son of God took our nature and as the Righteous Son of Man looked up from earth to heaven and praised the LORD for the work of his fingers—for Christ is the Son of God who took our nature and became the Son of man who had not where to lay his head (Mt 8: 20.) What a visitation! But why was it necessary?
First, Consider the Honor Bestowed Upon Adam
Psalm 8: 5: For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. 6: Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: 7: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; 8: The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
Genesis 1: 27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28: And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Genesis 2: 19: And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. 20: And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field;
But after Adam sinned man came under the curse.
Romans 8: 22: For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
We have to marvel that the Son of God would come down and visit man because:
Job 15: 15: Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight. 16: How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?
Yet, God the Son Came Down Became the Son of Man and Visited his People to Redeem us From the Curse.
Psalm 8: 5: For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels and hast crowned him with glory and honour….Hebrews 2: 9: But we see Jesus, who made a little lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor,
The Work of Making His People Perfect was the Work Put Into our Sanctifier’s Hands. And the Work of his Hands are his People Over Whom Christ Has Dominion.
Psalm 8: 6: Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands…Hebrews 2: 9:…for (by) the suffering of death, that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. 10: For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11: For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.
The stars and moon are the work of his fingers but perfecting his people forever by his one offering is the work of his hands. He put away the sin of his people. Christ is the Lord our Righteousness. By what Christ accomplished for his children he is not ashamed to call us brethren. He finished the work of redemption.
By Setting Christ Above the Heavens in Resurrection Glory God the Father Has and Shall Put All Things Under Christ’s Feet and By Putting All Things Under Christ’s Feet the Lord Has and Shall Put All Things Under the Feet of His People
Psalm 8: 6…thou hast put all things under his feet: 7: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; 8: The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
When Noah and his sons, came out of the ark after the flood, God restored to them the dominion over all creatures which was lost in Adam.
Genesis 9: 1: And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. 2: And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
The wording is almost the same as God said to Adam before sin entered in—almost because Noah and his sons were yet sinners in the flesh.
But we see in this a beautiful allegory of Christ restoring his regenerated child to the image of God by his Spirit. Because his elect were in Christ our Ark when Christ bore the flood of God’s wrath on our behalf, the flood of wrath being put away, God has blessed Christ and blesses his sons in Christ—in the new man—which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him (Col 3: 10.)
Note: Most of these animals which Noah and his sons would subdue were in the Ark, too. Those elect who are yet dead in their sins may be as wild as beasts of the field now, but because they were in Christ with us when he died, they too must and shall be tamed by his grace through the gospel of Christ.
God strengthens his elect sheep to forth as his witnesses to plow like oxen, being yoked together by the same Spirit indwelling us. And out of the mouth of his babes the Lord creates life in his children, stilling the enemy and the avenger.
Believer, we do not yet see all things put under our feet…but we have a sure hope…why?
Hebrews 2: 8: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. 9: But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour;
Mark 12: 36: For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
1 Corinthians 15: 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25: For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26: The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
The world wherein all things shall be put under our feet is the world to come in which all things shall be the work of Christ’s hands
Hebrews 2: 5: For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.
2 Peter 3: 13: Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. 15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation;
So the next time you look up and marvel at the work of his fingers, remember this great work of his hands and say with David,
Psalm 8: 9: O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
Amen!