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This is a hymn of praise written in a language to be sung directly
to God. In fact it is the first hymn of praise. Interestingly “it interrupts
the sequence of prayer for salvation.”1 In doing so it points out something
about the God who saves, and we who are saved. It speaks of God’s majesty
and sovereignty, and of our duty.
The imagery evokes awe at the wonders God has created. Here,
everything in creation, from the highest heavens to the voice of a small baby,
the crowning jewel of creation, is heard declaring the majesty and glory of
the Creator.
By using “dominion” language the psalm refers back
to the Genesis 1-2 stories of creation, where God gives humans authority over
His creation. God is the one who has controlled the chaos, so He is the Sovereign.2
Genesis 9 informs our understanding of the psalm, because Noah is promised,
“The fear and dread of you shall be on everything that creeps on the
ground, and on all fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered”
(v. 2, nrsv). Instead of into the hands of humans, in Psalm 8 He has put those
things “under their feet” (v. 6).
This imagery sets up a hierarchy where human beings are given
a special place in all this majestic display. We are a little lower than angels,
but the created things are under our feet. That is our place in creation.
We are managers under God’s sovereign reign. The question is how do
we fulfill our purpose in that office?
Hebrews 2:8-11 reveals that we have had some very important
company in that office. Christ, who in Hebrews 1:3 is called “the exact
imprint of the invisible God,” comes and shares with us this place,
“a little lower than the angels” (2:7, nrsv). Colossians 1:15
says that, “He is the image of the invisible God, and the firstborn
of all creation” (NRSV). Hebrews 2:11 says, “He is not ashamed
to call us brothers and sisters” (nrsv). When the Son graced our human
level of God’s majestic creation with His presence, He showed how dominion
was done. Now, far from dreading its ultimate demise, all creation “eagerly
awaits the revealing of the children of God” (Romans 8:22, NRSV).
God has put all creation under our feet. That means if God’s
desire for creation is to be fulfilled in creation; it is at least in some
ways up to us. This speaks of a great need for a holistic view of creation
for holiness people. Such a view is not easy to come by when modern “enemies
and avengers” have a political stake in narrowing our respect and care
to only part of creation. No matter which side of the political aisle people
come from, those with big voices seem to need to contravene what God has spoken
in creation. On the far-right side of things, human life is affirmed and protected
(at least unborn life). Here God is high and lifted up. Jesus’ divinity
is emphasized (sometimes) to the exclusion of his humanity, and if creation
is going to be destroyed, why bother taking care of it? On the far left side
of things, Jesus was just a man. (i.e. a recent best-selling novel and movie
based on interpretation of art, and written to undermine belief that Jesus
is the Son of God.) In this view, humans are often just another class of animals
and the rest of “nature” (rather than “creation”)
is just as important, if not more important, than human life. This group seems
to value nature over human choice, but human choice over human life. When
we allow the voices of the political enemies and avengers to force the church
to choose a side in that debate, we fail in our office of dominion, because
we don’t recognize the majesty of God in some part of creation.
The good news is God is not a Creator that sets it all in motion
and steps back. Yes, He put the creation under our dominion, but He continues
to care for us. His glory is above the heavens, but the refrain in this Psalm
is, “How majestic is your name in all the earth.” In the cry of
an infant and the complexity of a butterfly’s wing, His name is majestic.
These things aren’t God, but they speak, or rather sing of God and His
majesty.
Furthermore, God’s care for us also includes sending Jesus
who “for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned
with glory and honor . . . ” (Heb. 2:9, nrsv). God was mindful enough
of us to send Jesus His Son. This is how He cared: God the Creator became
a creature, and forever stamped the mark of His divinity on the created world.
He has spoken loudly enough in the world He made, that if you listen at all,
you can hear echoes of the divine in all that is.
When we enjoy a sunset, we don’t just enjoy a sunset-we
see it praising God and we work to make sure the display is unhindered by
pollution. It means that when we hear a baby cry, we hear an anthem of praise
to the Sovereign One, and we work to make sure the anthem is continually heard.
We work to make sure that the new members of the mass choir of little under-cherubs
are not silenced before they can sing. God gave us dominion over His masterpiece.
He cares for us, so we care for all His creation, human and otherwise. A position
of dominion is really a position of caring.
(For the full manuscript
of this sermon go to www.preachersmagazine.org and click on “Sermons”.)
Here in the late spring, this sermon uses imagery from beautiful
vacation spots to evoke the unquestioned majesty of God the creator. It takes
the congregation to the delivery room to hear the voice of a child, and interprets
what is heard there according to the words of the Psalm. It then uses images
from everyday life, as well as media reported scenes of pollution and abuse
to evoke questions about the sovereignty of God who put us in charge of His
masterpiece. It explores the tension between the two sides of the political
spectrum, where creation is concerned. The phrase “under their feet”
is used to create the image of a painter’s masterpiece used as a doormat
for wiping dirty shoes. This was displayed graphically with a beautiful painting
of creation done by a man in the congregation. (When I put it on the ground,
I didn’t actually wipe my feet on it, but you couldn’t tell I
didn’t from the back.) The sermon works on how our majestic God is sovereign
while giving us dominion over His works.
1. Mays, James L. Interpretation: Psalms (Louisville: John Knox,
1994), 65-66.
2. Ibid.