Scripture References: Psalm 8

I. God’s Praise – Continued

God is not God because He performs miracles that convince us He is God. He is not God because we believe Him to be God. He is not God because we trust Him to be God. He is God whether or not we believe in Him. Our faith does not make Him God. But unless you choose to approach Him with faith, it doesn’t make a bit of difference what else may occur. You still won’t believe Him.

You believe what you choose to believe, either coming with faith or doubt, with faith or skepticism. It is your choice. We can neither explain it nor understand it. In the world most people do not claim the name of God unless in a cursing manner, yet the live and act as if God doesn’t exist. But in spite of the world’s infidelity, “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name, in all the earth!” He is there. He is here.

The key is: Our Lord. He is not merely God in a detached manner. He is my Lord, my God. The truth of the Word of God is not simply that there is a theology or a philosophy that claims there is a God who somewhere and somehow exists, but the absolute truth of the Word is that the Lord of all the universe, the mystery and infinitude of eternity, is the God who is my God. Here is the Lord’s praise. “O Lord, . . . how excellent is Your name in all the earth! Who have set Your glory above the heavens.” The heavens cannot contain the glory of God. God had to put His glory above the heavens.

Gaze into the vastness of outer space. Month after month astronomers discover new galaxies and stars. Christian scientists believe that God is still expanding His universe. Yet if they could reach to the end of all the innumerable galaxies of the universe, it is still too small to contain the glory of God above the heavens. When you focus the eyes of the heart upon the glory of God, the majesty of God; when you begin to comprehend who God is and begin to praise Him, it pinpoints an entirely new light upon life each and every day. The psalmist starts out with the Lord’s praise. In verses 2 and 3, he extols the Lord’s power.

II. The Lord’s Power

In the Lord’s name there is a superabundance of majesty. The name of the Lord is majestic, awesome, powerful. And the psalmist speaks initially about the name of the Lord as being a mighty conqueror. In verse 2 he declares that when his accusers, his avengers, his enemies try to attack God, “Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength.” God Himself asserts, “My glory is so powerful, My nature so strong that when all the might of an evil world marshals its forces to discredit, attack, and condemn Me, just the praise in the mouth of a baby is sufficient to sustain My strength in the world.” The cry of a little infant is all the defense that God needs. The mere fact that we can conceive of God and from our earliest years we can express a desire for God, is convincing evidence of God. God is such a conqueror that the words of children carry far greater weight than all the accusations of mighty men.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.