HANCOCK CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH
Our Father, the Creator
Rev. Harrison Newhouse
4/25/2010
This is a sermon on Lord’s Day 9 from the Heidelberg Catechism and Psalm 8.
Psalm 8
O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
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LORD'S DAY 9
26 Q. What do you believe when you say,
"I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth"?
A. That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who out of nothing created heaven and earth
and everything in them,^1
who still upholds and rules them
by his eternal counsel and providence,^2
is my God and Father
because of Christ his Son.^3
I trust him so much that I do not doubt
he will provide
whatever I need
for body and soul,^4
and he will turn to my good
whatever adversity he sends me
in this sad world.^5
He is able to do this because he is almighty God;^6
he desires to do this because he is a faithful Father.^7
^1
^2
^3
^4
^5
^6
^7
Gen. 1 & 2; Ex. 20:11; Ps. 33:6; Isa. 44:24; Acts 4:24; 14:15
Ps. 104; Matt. 6:30; 10:29; Eph. 1:11
John 1:12-13; Rom. 8:15-16; Gal. 4:4-7; Eph. 1:5
Ps. 55:22; Matt. 6:25-26; Luke 12:22-31
Rom. 8:28
Gen. 18:14; Rom. 8:31-39
Matt. 7:9-11
Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ:
The more we learn about the universe from the Word of God and science the more
David’s question, “What is man that you are mindful of him?” is relevant. My high school
science teacher taught us about the vastness of the universe saying, “We are teensy weensy
beings when you realize the vastness of this planet. This planet is teensy weensy when you
realize the vastness of this solar system. This solar system is teensy weensy when you realize the
vastness of the Milky Way, which is a teeny weensy galaxy when you realize the vastness of the
billions of galaxies in the universe.”
When David asks, “What is man that you are mindful of him?” his question seems to be
an understatement. Why would this great God who created this vast universe be so concerned
about human beings indeed? But he is! Not only is he interested in us small creatures, but he is
also pleased to adopt us as his very children in his Son Jesus Christ. We look at this amazing
contrast from Psalm 8 and consider our connection to the Father and our creation! Not only do
we want to understand why we are so important to God, but we also want to understand how the
gospel is connected to creation. We confess, “I believe in God the father, almighty, maker of
heaven and earth.” The theme is that the Church confesses faith in her Father, the Creator in two
ways. First, creation gives glory to God. Second, a new creation gives glory to God.
Creation gives glory to God
“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.” These words of King
David indicate the purpose of all of life. The Westminster Confession states that “the chief end
of man is to glorify God and enjoy him.” If someone asks, “Why does God save us in Jesus
Christ?” the answer is primarily to give himself glory! When God reveals himself to his people,
the first revelation of himself is that he created the heavens and the earth. The very first words of
the Bible are “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Because of this
revelation those who know him by faith can study that creation and interpret it by his Word. We
know that the Lord made the heavens and the earth, displaying the majesty of his name. The
psalmist confesses that God has set that glory above the heavens. We are overwhelmed with his
infinite majesty and power. Even without special revelation, the Bible, Paul teaches that God has
made his glory plain to the human race by what he has made and by what we see, even as we
look up into the sky and observe the natural world around us. All mankind can clearly see God’s
eternal power and divine nature. In fact natural man is without excuse for choosing not to give
glory to God. (Romans 1:19 and 20)
Rebellion has led people to deny that there is a God or to dishonor God by believing that
creation made itself through an accident or making creation itself a god. It is a tragedy that as
God gives mankind technological advances, such as the Hubbell telescope, that display the
majesty of the universe; that mankind continues to diminish God’s glory. Mankind cannot fully
understand or comprehend what they see, and yet they fail to give honor to the incredible artist
who made it. Man makes his own tiny intellect the arbiter of truth and devises theories about
natural accidents originating everything we see instead of listening to the word of God, which
plainly reveals that God in three persons made everything that our telescopes, microscopes, and
naked eyes reveal to us. This is not intelligence at work, as unbelieving educators will tell us;
but this is the folly of the unredeemed, groping in the darkness, making wild guesses.
The tragedy is that man fails to be thankful to God and take his rightful place as crown of
God’s creation, giving him the praise and glory that God has ordained, understanding the glory
and honor given to human beings as the crown of his creation. Created in God’s very image, the
modern scientists, educators, philosophers, and rulers reject the very existence of God. Rather
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than seeing themselves as privileged rulers over the creation under God, mankind will misuse it
for his own purposes. Even those who care about environmental issues will either give praise to
the planet itself or see the human race as an enemy of the planet rather than ruler of it. In the end
the mankind’s praise goes somewhere else than to its rightful place, God.
David tells us that people were made a little lower than the heavenly beings, angels, and
crowned them with glory and honor. Sadly Adam and Eve and their subsequent descendants lost
these gifts, became separated from God, and corrupted that very nature created in his image.
God did not leave us in this fallen state, but through his Son Jesus Christ, he has raised a
community chosen for eternal life. By his grace and Holy Spirit, he is restoring people to their
rightful place as those whom he has ordained to give him praise. As redeemed Christians we are
restored as those who rule over creation.
A New Creation gives glory to God
We confess our faith in God the father, creator of heaven and earth. Jesus Christ has
brought us back into that relationship with the Father by his saving work! We are new creatures
in Christ, but we must not think that new creatures make us something entirely different than
what we were originally created to be. Part of Christ’s saving work is bringing us back to our
original purpose.
It is our position as redeemed children of Christ to give God the praise and honor for
which we were created but lost in the fall. We are restored to our rightful place as rulers of the
works of his hands. “From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of
your enemies to silence the foe and the avenger.” With these interesting words, David shows
that God would use him in great ways for his honor and glory, as God revealed to Samuel when
God told him to anoint little David to be Israel’s king instead of his bigger and stronger brothers.
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David knew that God does not look upon the stature and might of people. Later Paul described
those who come to Christ as not the overly educated or wise of this world. Both of these
instances show that the real wisdom and majesty in creation is not man’s but God’s. God is most
concerned about the weak and insignificant in this world. To these people, God is pleased to
reveal his glory and accept their praises. The point is that creation is about the glory of God and
the majesty of his name. The glory and honor given to man by God is not for man’s glory, as
man in his sinful nature thinks or wants; but it is for God’s. Our need is to know God as creator
through his Son, Jesus Christ, so that we can rightly see ourselves as children ordained to give
God honor and praise.
How do we praise him? We praise him by being obedient to him. We praise him by
confessing Christ. We praise him through our worship and our work. We praise him by
“offering our bodies as living sacrifices in praise to him, no longer conforming to this sinful
world but by being transformed by the renewing of our mind through the Holy Spirit.”
As those who rightly interpret the universe as the handiwork of an all-powerful God, we
can also trust his ability and willingness to provide all that we need for this life. We confess that
God is able to do so as almighty creator, and he is pleased to do so as a loving father. When you
consider the vastness and beauty of creation, remember David’s question, “What is man that you
are mindful of him?” The human race is crowned with glory and honor and ruler over his
creation. Your Father in heaven will provide what you need through Jesus Christ. As Jesus
said, showing the crowds the field flowers around them, “Are you not more valuable than
these?” Previously we learned that our salvation was ordained by God even before he created
the world; and that part of God’s ultimate plan for creation was to include a redeemed
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community chosen for eternal life. There are many mysteries surrounding this teaching, but it
too gives glory to God in his Creating power.
The application for this message is to broaden your faith in Jesus Christ to understand
that all of creation, including your salvation, gives glory to God. Remember that you are saved
for the purpose of being a ruler over God’s creation. Lead the way in giving glory to him. As
technology improves and our understanding of the vastness of the universe and the delicate
design of creation increases, may we say with David “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your
name in all the earth!”
Amen
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