Knowing GODby J.I. PackerChapter 8

1 O LORD, our Lord,    how majestic is your name in all the earth!You have set your glory above the heavens.2      Out of the mouth of babies and infants,you have established strength because of your foes,    to still the enemy and the avenger.3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,    the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,4  what is man that you are mindful of him,     and the son of man that you care for him?5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings[b]

    and crowned him with glory and honor.6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;     you have put all things under his feet,7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,    whatever passes along the paths of the seas.9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Definition: Webster’s: majesty(noun) - regal, lofty, or stately dignity; imposing character; grandeur,

the dignity and authority of sovereign power; quality or state which inspires awe or reverence; whether proceeding from rank, character, or bearing; imposing loftiness; stateliness;

-- usually applied to the rank and dignity of sovereigns

The Bible uses Majesty it to express 2 truths about God:

the greatness of God and how much higher He is compared to His creation and human beings that he is our Lord, Sovereign and King.

Psalm 93: 1-2:  Psalm 145:2-5  2 Peter 1:16-18  Hebrews 1:1-4  Hebrews 8:1

By Malcolm Du Plessis

We declare Your majestyWe proclaim that Your name is exaltedFor You reign magnificently, rule victoriouslyAnd Your power is shown throughout the earth

And we exclaim our God is mightyLift up Your name, for You are holySing it again, all honor and gloryIn adoration we bow before Your throne

when the Bible speaks of God as “being on high” and “in heaven” this does not mean far distant and removed from us. But that God is far above us in greatness and is to be adored

Psalm 48:1Psalm 95:3-6

A Christian’s knowledge of the greatness of God should stimulate our trust and worship of Him.

Isaiah 6:1-5

In the beginning…Illustration of mankind before the fallGods image bearerPristine and free from death and decay

After the rebellion…Still the image bearer but…Remnants of the original intent remainBut decay, sin and death are evident

Genesis 1:1-5 (NASB)1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The

earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

Every act of sin arises when we forget that we are not the Creator and then attempt to live by our own rules.

The Bible shows us Two steps:Remove from our thoughts of God limits that make Him small

Psalm 139 Verses 1-12 Verses 17-18Verses 23-24

Compare Him with powers and forces which we regard as great

Isaiah 40 Verses 12; 15; 22; 23 and 26

Isaiah asks 3 questions of the downcast people from the perspective of God.1. Isaiah 40: 25 (ESV) 25 To whom then will you

compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.

2. Isaiah 40: 27 (ESV) 27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”?

3. Isaiah 40: 28 (ESV) 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.

It is only our vision of the sovereignty and majesty of God that can help us when we face difficulties in this life and give us confidence and trust in God for the life to come.

God moves in a mysterious wayHis wonders to perform;He plants His footsteps in the sea,And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable minesOf never-failing skillHe treasures up His bright designs,And works His sovereign will.