Genesis 21-23, Psalm 8, Matthew 4:12-17, Acts 5:1-16

Psalm 8:

One of the many reasons for faith and worship is the astonishing, majestic pattern of the universe in which we live. In David’s ancient cosmology, this thought is the same that resonates through this psalm. “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in the all the earth.” The psalm starts and ends with this refrain, and this sentence summarizes the message of the psalm. The LORD God, “our” LORD—the covenant God of God’s people—his name is majestic throughout all the earth.

Why is that? To begin, God has a pattern of using even the weak things of this world, “babies and infants,” to accomplish his purposes. Thus it is shown even more how great God is: no one can think it is the inherent power of an “infant” who speaks such words of wisdom to answer the “enemy and avenger.” So it was with the apostles. They were astonished that they spoke with such wisdom, being ordinary unschooled men, and took note that they “had been with Jesus.”

But then there is the astonishing contrast. You look at the heavens, the sheer scale of the nearly infinite universe, the moon and all the stars, made by God—and yet! And yet God cares for these men and women on this planet. What an astonishing condescension and kindness of the Almighty God that he deigns to set his attention, be mindful of, care for, this little group of people on this small planet, out of the whole vast expanse of the galaxy and the universe.

And not only does God care for humanity, he has given him “dominion,” made him just a little lower than the angels, and he is lord of the earth on which he lives. What power and majesty has this God that he raises humanity to such responsibility! Indeed, concludes David, “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Would you this morning worship God in the glory of his majesty!