God Leads Many Sons to Glory

God Leads Many Sons to Glory
Psalm 8:1-9
September 9-10, 2023

Now, at the beginning of your Psalm, it has a little introduction that says, "For the choir director on the Gittite." A Psalm of David. David wrote it, gave it to the choir director, as we know that the Psalms were meant to be sung. David had a choir. Did you know that David had a full-time choir? That's all they did was to sing and worship. Can you just imagine how good a choir can be if that's all they did all day long, every week? Oh, what a glorious choir David had. I mean, David loved worship, and David had a heart of a worshiper, which is God's heart. David wanted a full-time choir. Oh, amazing.

This song he wrote, gave it to the choir director, wanted it to be accompanied by the Gittite. We don't know what that is. Could have been a stringed instrument. Now, someone from Gath is called a Gittite, so many presume that it was an instrument used in the Philistine area where David was hiding. You remember when he was running from Saul, who was pursuing him for his life? He hid amongst the Philistines. David very likely saw this instrument, loved that instrument, maybe learned it. He was a very good musician and wanted that Psalm to be accompanied by the Gittite.

This is Psalm, again, sung by the choir, filled with majesty, declarations of worship. It's also filled with deep insight in the nature of God, the splendor of the majesty of creation, but it also speaks of the nature of man in his lowly condition, but here in the Psalm, there is also a very deep insight, prophetic picture of the Lord Jesus Christ and the restoring of man to glory.

Now, Psalm 8 is quoted and referred to many places in the Bible, in the New Testament, and it's a very deep Psalm. He writes of the majesty of God and that He displays His splendor above the heavens. Then when he considers the majesty, the splendor of God, then he says, "What is man that you would take thought of him? God is great and wondrous in glory. Why would you even take notice or give any thought to man?" He does. Not only does He take thought of man, He crowns him with glory and majesty. David is like, "That's amazing." How He does it is also a display of His splendor. Far above all that He has even done in creation, that is how glorious it is.

I. Worship His Majesty

Let's read it, Psalm 8:1. "Oh, Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth?" Now, right there. Oh, that's beautiful in declaration. "Jehovah Adonai, how majestic is your name. In all the earth, your name is Majesty. You have displayed your splendor, far above the heavens, and then turning from the majesty and the splendor of all that he's seen, he turns, he says to infants." Look, from the mouth of infants and nursing babes, you have established strength or a bulwark or praise for yourself because of your enemies or your adversaries to make the enemy and the revengeful feasts." In other words, it is the glory of God to confound his adversaries by the joyful, simple children.

Then he pauses again. Then he says, "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained, which you have established and set into place, when I consider all of that, then I say, what is man that you would take thought of him or the Son of Man that you would care for him, yet you made him a little lower--" and I'm going to use the Hebrew here, "you made him a little lower than Elohim." Now, that is a word commonly translated as God or the angels.

Now, the writer of Hebrews interprets this for us as the angels, so that is the interpretation. You have made man a little lower than the angels, Elohim, yet you have crowned him with glory and majesty. That's amazing, God. You make him man to rule over the works of your hand. You gave him dominion, that you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen and beasts of the fields, birds of the heavens, fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

Then he finishes the Psalm as he began it. "Oh, Jehovah Adonai, how majestic is your name and all the earth?" Oh, is that not a wondrous, glorious Psalm? Beautiful in aspect and much for us to take hold of and apply to our lives, starting with the beginning. "Worship His majesty." See that? What a glorious declaration. Oh, Jehovah Adonai, how majestic is your-- There's just something about that that makes your soul want to sing. It makes you just want to lift up your hands and shout.

See, God made our souls to resonate with the glory of God. When you read that, there's something in your soul that just wants to arise to it. "Oh, Adonai, how majestic is your name." See, the word majesty is beautiful. I don't think there is a more fitting word to describe not only the greatness but the goodness of God. All of that is captured in the word majesty, greatness and goodness of God.

David wrote this Psalm, as I mentioned, and it brings to mind that David wanted to build a temple in Jerusalem to the glory and honor of God. See, David was so amazed that God and what God had done for David in his life, that he wanted to build a house for God. The idea that he had was that this was going to be so amazing, so filled with glory, it would be like one of the wonders of the world, and it was.

Now, David was not allowed to build the temple. He had envisioned this grandiose thing, but he could not build that because God says that he was a man of war. It would be built by a man of peace, his son, Solomon. In fact, the name Solomon Shalom, you can see in it, and yet David designed it. He had the architects draw it. He gathered all the materials for it, all the wood, the gold, the silver in vast, vast supply, gold which would cover the walls and the floor. When you walked in the room, the outer court is like, "Oh, amazing Lord." He was one of the wonders of the world.

The gold from which they would make the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat we set upon it, and the poles which ran through the rings to support it, and the angels that were behind it. All of this, David assembled it all. Then he wanted every aspect of that to be dedicated to the Lord, and so he gathered all the leaders, all the people. Can you imagine? David gives a prayer that is filled with majesty and glory itself. The prayer is so honoring to God, so powerful.

Listen, in 1st Chronicles 29:10-13, where David says in this great prayer, "Blessed are thou, oh, Lord, God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, oh, Lord, is the greatness and the power, and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth. Yours is the dominion, oh, Lord." Here it is, "The dominion Lord is yours and you exalt yourself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all and in your hand is power and might, and it lies in your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. Now, therefore, our God, we thank you and we praise your glorious name.

A. He silences His adversaries in glory

Isn't that a great prayer? We praise your glorious name. There's something in your soul that wants to just say amen. Just arise to the great prayer. Oh, amen, Lord. David then in Psalm 8, he speaks of the majesty, the splendor of God, then turns to the babes. There's glory here. He silences his adversaries in glory by using the simple, joyful little children from the mouth of infants and nursing babes, you have established strength or praise for yourself. It's a declaration of God's glory that He would silence His enemies using the simple. Doesn't it remind you, that verse might remind you of the Lord Jesus who quoted that verse when the chief priests and the scribes became indignant at Jesus. Remember the story? This was on that day that we called a triumphant entry or Palm Sunday, He descended from the Mount of Olives. There was Jerusalem laid out before Him.

He entered the temple, and there He saw those money changers and those selling doves and He took hold of their tables and He threw them over and get out. This is my Father's house, and it ought to be a house of prayer, and you are making it a den of robbers. Get out. Then it says that the lame and the blind came to Him and He healed them all.

Then the children, they saw Him there in the temple, and then the children started like, "Hosanna, Hosanna." They were in the crowd that day. Remember when the crowd was shouting Hosanna, Hosanna? That's Psalm 118. Everyone knew you don't bring out that Psalm until you got the Messiah. The children, they see Him in the temple and they're like, "Hosanna, Hosanna."

See, I love imagining the scene because God loves children. You know this, right? God loves children. I just imagine the scene. You can imagine kids, they're like, "Hey there He is. There He is. Let's say it. Let's say it. Let's say it. Hosanna, Hosanna to the son of David." That's a Messiah declaration. Jesus sees the kids, "Hi kids," smile on His face. "Hi kids."

The chief priests and the scribes are like grr, "Do you see all the wonderful things that He's doing? Look, He's healing people. We can't have this. He's healing the blind, He's healing the lame, if He goes on like this, He will win everyone over too, and look at the children shouting, Hosanna, Hosanna."

They say to Him in Matthew 21, the chief priest and the scribe say to Him, "Do you hear what these children are saying?" Jesus said to them, "Yes. And have you never read?" I love that because these were supposedly experts in the law, "Yes," "And have you never read?" and he quotes Psalm 8, "Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes, you have prepared praise for yourself."

God is using children in their simple, sincere joy to silence His adversaries. Children are not complicated by political intrigues. Children are not complicated by dark and ungodly conspiracies. They see the wonderful things and they know that they're wonderful and they declare them. "Oh, wonderful. Look what He's doing. Hosanna."

God uses the simple to confound the wise because it gives Him glory. It's a declaration of the majesty and the glory of God. Reminds me of First Corinthians 1:27-29 where Paul wrote this, "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong. And the base things of the world, and the despised God has chosen. The things that are not that He may nullify the things that are so that no man may boast before God." It gives Him all glory. Can you imagine God turning the world upside down using a few fishermen and a despised tax collector? I'm talking about the disciples of the Lord Jesus.

In fact, there's an interesting story in the book of Acts chapter 4 where Peter and John, they're in the temple and a man is healed and there's a big crowd commotion and so they arrest them and bring them in front of the Jewish leaders to give an encounter of this thing. "In whose name are you doing these things?"

Peter and John stand up in front of the Jewish leaders of council. "If you wonder in whose name these things are being done, well, it is the name of Jesus of Nazareth whom you crucified. He is that stone whom the builders rejected. You rejected Him, but He is that chief cornerstone and it is in that name that this man stands healed today."

When they beheld the confidence of Peter and John, they noticed that they were uneducated and untrained men, but that they had been with Jesus. I love that. That God is using the fishermen and tax collectors to turn the world upside down. Can you imagine. Why not use the clever? Why not use the eloquent debaters of the day? Because their so-called wisdom blinded their eyes.

God chose the foolish things. Can you imagine God taking the number one enemy of the church, talking about Saul who was later Paul, a man enraged at Christians, persecuting them at every turn and then knocking him off his high horse, literally, and then making him the greatest advocate and preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

It gives Him all glory. Can you imagine God bringing about a revival by using hippies and druggies to lead a worldwide movement of teaching God's word verse by verse and leading hundreds of thousands to faith? Talking about The Jesus Movement, The Calvary Chapel Jesus Movement. Can you imagine? I love imagining God explaining this to the angels.

I love just how scenes might unfold. I just imagine God explaining, "All right, here's what we're going to do. Here's the plan. We're going to bring a revival and we're going to use these hippies." Angel goes, "What are hippies?" These are, you'll see them, they have long hair and they're rebellious, they're counterculture revolutionaries who are strung out on drugs, and we're going to use them for a revival,.

You can just imagine the angel saying, "You're right. That's amazing. That is glorious." I love that scene. Can you imagine what God would do? He takes the simple and He takes the humble. Second Corinthians 4:7, we have this treasure in earth in vessels, the treasure, the glory of the gospel, the plan of the ages.

We have that treasure in earth in vessels, simple, clay pots, clay pots. That's what earth and vessels are. That's what we are He says. I suppose the older we get, the more we look like clay pots, but His point is that glorious treasure we have in earth in vessels, plain old clay pots, so that the surpassing glory or the surpassing greatness of the power would be of God and not from ourselves.

It gives Him glory. It declares His majesty to do such things. Jeremiah chapter 9 is another one of those places, verses 23-24, "Thus says the Lord, Jehovah, let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows me.

B. In the light of God’s glory, who is man?

That I am the Lord who exercises loving kindness and justice and righteousness on the earth. For it is in these things that I delight." It gives Him glory. I delight in these things. Then He turns, back to Psalm 8, He turns His attention and He says, "In the light of God's glory and the grandeur of your splendor, who is man?"

In other words, when you compare man to the glory of God's majesty, well, man is nothing. Maybe you've done this. Have you ever gone out at night, stood under the stars and just stood amazed? "God, will you look at this? This is amazing. Who am I when I consider the vastness of all that you have created by the power of your might and earth is just a speck?

On the corner of the universe and then I stand here on the shore under the stars as nothing. Who am I that you would take note of me? Why do you care for us?" He does notice. He does care. First of all, I think it's important to point out that of all the stars and the planets in the sky, there is only one that He calls His footstool.

There is only one to whom He sent His Son to give His life as a ransom for many. It is unique. There is only one. Isaiah 66:1-2, "Thus says the Lord, heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool. Where then is a house that you could build for me? Where is the place that I might rest? For my hand made all these things. Thus all these came into being, declares the Lord, but to this one I look. My hand made all these things, but to this one, I look. To him who is humbled -and contrite in Spirit and trembles at my word."

You might wonder, why would God care for me? Why would I consider the grand jury of your Spirit? Who am I? In fact, you might even say, not only am I just a simple common person, I'm a sinner. Why would God care? Why would God love? I am a sinner. I have messed up my life. Why? Why would God love me?

Answer, because you were made in the image of God. He made you in His image. He loves you. Because you're made in His image, He's grieved and broken of heart that you have sinned and messed up the life and He has sent His Son to redeem because He loves. He sent His Son to seek and to save, to reconcile to Himself because you were made in His image.

When I think of that, I think of an illustration, and that is when I was a young man, I was really never into babies. It's like if you have a baby, that's nice for you. That's nice. That's really nice. "You want to hold my baby?" "Not really. That's nice. That's good for you." I was never into babies until I had one. If there's a switch to be switched, they were switched. If there's a light to go on, that light went on.

It is like I'm in now. It's like, this is my baby, and I'm in. I'm all in. I took the recording of the heartbeat and brought it all to my friends, "This is my baby. Are you listening? This is my baby here." I was saying, "This is my baby. This is my image." I was so in. I went to every doctor's appointment. In fact, I even said to the doctor, "Look, I'm so into this. I want to deliver the baby."

Our doctor was one of the leaders in the modern birthing movement and whatever that is. He said, "Sure. You can deliver the baby." I thought, "Yes." He said, "Now there are two conditions." I said, "Okay. What are they?" He said, "Well, the first one is if anything goes wrong, you step aside and I take over." I go, "Oh, I like this one. That's right. If anything goes wrong, you take over."

I said, "Now you said there were two. What's the second condition?" He said, "The second one is that you're still paying the same price." "I understand. That's no problem." Anyway, it's like, "I'm in. I'll get up at night. I'll change the diapers. I'm in. It's my baby." That was our first, Nicole. There's something about the first, I suppose. We were close all her life. She died when she was 29.

Many of you know my story. We were close. There was something special. All the other kids knew it. She just loves her dad. There was something between us. The night before she died, we were at Starbucks. It was a hot August evening, drinking a cold drink, talking about God, about family, about life. For hours we sat just talking. I'll never forget what a blessing God gave me to have a conversation like that the night before she died.

II. God Leads You to Glory and Majesty!

Why does God love? Why does God care? Because you were made in His image and He cares deeply, so much so that David says, "Then why wouldn't you take thought of men? Not only that, but you lead him to glory and majesty. You crown him with glory and majesty." God leads you to glory and majesty. It's one of the great declarations of the Psalm. It's a prophetic declaration because it is fulfilled in the Son.

A. God sent His Son to lead you to glory

God sends His Son to lead you to glory. That's how God declares His greatness by sending His son to lead many sons to glory. If you step back and you see the purpose and intent of God from the beginning, you are made in the image of God. One great aspect of that image is to move in the authority of God. Notice, for example, Genesis 1:26. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image according to our likeness, and let them rule."

Very first declaration of the aspect of the image of God. Let them rule to have dominion that is operating and moving in the image of God. Let them rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, and over the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. The intent of God and the purpose of God was broken when Adam sinned. The relationship to the earth itself was broken as a result of that sin.

Notice Genesis 3:17, where then to Adam, God said, again, this is after the fall, the sin of Adam. As the result and consequence, He said to Adam, "Cursed is the ground because of you. In toil, you will eat of it all the days of your life, but thorns and thistles, it will grow for you and you will eat of the plants of the field, by the sweat of your face, you will eat bread." That relationship is broken, but it is restored.

B. Dominion is restored under Christ

See, dominion is restored under Christ. We have to see that relationship, dominion is restored under Christ. Notice verse five where he says, "You made him a little lower than the angels." Hebrews 2 explains what that means. God sent His Son to break the power of sin and darkness over your life. It was sin that brought the curse of death. It was sin that broke that relationship to God.

It was sin that broke even the relationship to the earth. God restores by reconciling you to Himself through His Son. How explains to us because Jesus was made a little lower than the angels. In our behalf, He came to carry our sins upon His shoulders to pay for them in full and then to lead many sons to glory. Notice Hebrews 2 explains it's a definite specific reference to Psalm. You can read the whole Psalm and see it.

Hebrews 2:9-10. He writes, "We see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels." Meaning He came as a man and suffered as a man. It says in Isaiah 6:53, he had no stately form or majesty. He was marred beyond recognition as a man. He took upon us the iniquities of us all. Scourged on our behalf.

He was made for a little while lower than the angels. Hebrews 2 goes on mainly, "Jesus because of the suffering of death, He was therefore crowned with glory and honor that by the grace of God, He might taste death for everyone, for it was fitting for him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through suffering."

Oh, what a wonderful phrase. That is the intent of purpose and God to restore that was broken and amen. Let's hear the Lord Praise. Absolutely right. The intent of purpose of God is to restore what was broken and then to bring many sons to glory. All that was lost through sin has been restored through Him who suffered on our behalf. God even restores dominion over the works of His hems when He led many sons to glory. Romans 8.

Now, you might know that the whole of Romans 8 is amazing, but notice these verses. The Spirit Himself testifies with our Spirit that we are children of God. If we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. If indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him, that is the intent and purpose of God to be glorified. He will lead many sons to glory. "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us."

You have no idea. He is saying the glory that God intends, He will lead many sons to glory, the majesty of it all. He says, "The anxious longing of creation itself waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God for the creation was subjected to futility-" Not willingly, but because of Him. "-who subjected it in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. That is amazing.

Even the curse upon the earth itself as He will bring forth in the age to come a new heaven and a new earth and dominion reestablished. Having been reconciled with God, I suggest and submit that He's beginning that even now. He is reconciling us, He reconciles sinners to Himself and then having been reconciled, He will lead many sons to glory. He is leading you to glory. There is something that God is doing and building and leading and that is glory.

He is restoring even dominion and authority to those who are in Christ and under that authority, who reside well under that authority. He is the captain, He is the commander and those who are under that authority then have authority. Jesus says all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth, and I am with you always even to the end of the age. Sometimes people come to a place in their lives. I mentioned this Wednesday. It bears repeating.

Sometimes people come to a place in their lives where they say, I have enough of God. I'm good. It's enough. It's enough to know that I'm saved. I'll come here, a message now and then. I'm good though. It's enough for me. To which God would say, "Oh, you have no idea. I sent my Son to lead many sons to glory. I got so much more in mind for you. You're done? Oh, you have no idea. Don't miss out. I have something glorious."

1st Corinthians 2:9. Just as it is written, things which I have not seen, ear has not heard, which have not even entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him. Oh, you have no idea. You have enough? No, you don't. God has way more in mind for you. God wants you to seek Him, to long for Him, to pursue Him. There's far deeper things. There's far greater things. There's far more glory. You have just got started. He is leading many sons to glory.

Does anybody remember this song? It was very big in the church for a long time a number of years ago, majesty. Anybody remember the song, Majesty, worship His Majesty? That was written by Pastor Jack Hayford. The story behind it is an interesting one. Says, he was vacationing in Great Britain with his wife and it was the same year as the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's coronation.

He said symbols of royalty were evident everywhere. He wrote later while visiting many of the castles. "I begin to sense the influence that one might feel if raised as a child in such regal majestic settings, that it would become quite clear to me how a person accustomed to such regality might more likely conceive of themselves as being bred to influence the world." He began to see the kingdom correlation.

Now, God is doing a work in majesty in us. He says, as I was driving I wrote, I said to my wife, write this down, write this down. He made the words of the song began to come to his heart and his mind and they declare. He said I began to feel something of Christ's royalty and dignity and majesty that began to feel my heart. I began to feel something new of what it meant to be truly His.

The triumph on the cross, not only unlock for us. The chains of bondage, that restored to us the fellowship of the Father and unfolded to us a life of authority over sin and over hell and raised us in partnership with Him on His throne. Even now He fills us with His majesty and thus the song, I want to read you the words.

Majesty, worship His Majesty,

Unto Jesus be all glory and honor and praise.

Majesty, Kingdom authority,

Flows from His throne, unto His own,

His anthem raise.

So exalt, lift up on high the name of Jesus.

Magnify, come glorify, Christ Jesus the King.

Majesty, worship His Majesty,

Jesus who died, now glorified,

He is the king of all kings.

Majesty, fill me with that Majesty for He has sent His Son to lead many sons to glory.

Let's pray. Oh, Lord, how amazing it is when we consider we have looked at the stars and wondered how majestic is your name in all of the earth, how you have revealed your majesty above the heavens. What is man? But not only do you take thought of him, you crown him with glory and honor and majesty. That's amazing. God, we see it now. We see your heart, the intent or purpose of God made in the image of God. You sent your Son to seek and to save that which was lost, then having reconciled them to God, your Father, you led many sons to glory.

Church, how many today would say fill me with your glory? Do that in me, God, I hunger, I search, I seek, I want more. Fill me with majesty. You are leading many sons to glory? Well, here I am. Lead me to that glory. Fill me with your majesty. Is that your prayer, your heart, your desire? Would you just raise your hand as a way of saying it to the Lord fill me with your majesty, that the glory and the dominion of God reside. Lead many sons to glory will lead me to glory.

God, fill me today a hunger and thirst for more. Fill me with your majesty. Thank you, Lord, for everyone who has raised their hand as a prayer of saying do that in me. We praise your Holy name and everyone said, Amen. Let's give the Lord praise and glory and honor. Amen.