Well, we continue in the Word
of Hebrews. This is our seventh study we've
brought in the Word of Hebrews. We're in chapter 2 of Hebrews,
verses 5-9. Will you join me in reading Hebrews
chapter 2 beginning at verse 5? For unto the angels hath he
not put in subjection the world to come, whereof he we speak,
but one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou
art mindful of him? or the Son of Man that thou visitest
Him. Thou madest Him a little lower
than the angels. Thou crownedest Him with glory
and honor and did set Him over the work of thy hands. Thou hast put all things in subjection
under His feet. For in that He put all in subjection
under Him, He left nothing that is not put under Him. But now
we see Not yet all things put under him, but we see Jesus,
who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering
of death, crowned with glory and honor, that he by the grace
of God should taste death for every man. What words we see
here, what words we see here of the Lord's description of
man Angels and our Savior God in the flesh Jesus Christ. Throughout
these first two chapters the writer has been establishing
one point. One point. He's been establishing
that God is the creator of everything. Is the creator of everything
and everything else is his creation. Including angels. Our Lord is
majestic in all that is Him. And the fullness of Him is seen
in the face of His Son, Jesus Christ. Everything else, let
me repeat that to you. Let me repeat that to me. Everything
else is less. We must see the Lord in His majesty. It is impossible for you and
I to form a proper estimate of ourselves until we see something
of the greatness of God. Neither can we form any proper
estimate of God's wondrous works until we know something of His
greatness. That's what this is all about. It's the realization of God's
greatness which caused David to cry out these words What is
man that thou art mindful of him? Or the son of man that thou
visitest him? Those are quotations from the
eighth psalm. Hold your place here in Hebrews.
Mark it if you would. And turn over to the eighth psalm.
I want you to read this with me. Turn over to the eighth psalm.
Let's read this together. This realization of what we are
before God. You see, that's the difficulty
in this flesh, isn't it? to see what we truly are before
God. David realizes this. He's been
given the sight to see the truth of what man is before God. And
he writes this psalm in the 8th psalm, and he writes these words
listed at the beginning of verse 1. It says, O Lord, David, just
as you and I calls Him Lord, as in my Lord, O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Thy name in all the earth. How excellent,
how majestic, how above everything is Your name in all the earth. Who has set Thy glory above the
heavens. Folks, all glory goes to Him. Whether we know it or not, He
will have all glory. Verse 2, out of the mouth of
babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of
thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. When I consider, writes David,
thy heavens, the works of thy fingers, the moon, and the stars
which thou hast ordained, what is man that thou art mindful
of him, and the son of man that visiteth him? For thou hast made
him a little lower than the angels. And we see here where the writer
of Hebrews is quoting these very words. For thou hast made him
a little lower than the angels, and has crowned him with glory
and honor. Thou hast made him to have dominion over the works
of thy hands. Thou hast put all things under
his feet, all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field,
the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever
passeth through the passage. of the paths of the seas, our
Lord, O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth. The quotation that we found in
Hebrews 2 verse 6 is taken from that eighth song, in that it
inspired a song of praise. The psalmist extols or lifts
up the greatness of God in five distinct ways. First, he lifts
up the excellency of God's name as we read there in verse one.
Read that again with me if you would. He says, oh Lord, our
Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth. Our great God,
folks, is Jehovah, the God, the one and only God. The Creator
of everything that is. Everything that you and I can
see, our Lord has brought to be. And this is the God who saves
His people. That's the peace that you and
I have, considering our salvation is of the Lord and of the Lord
alone. We know that He is Lord and Controller of everything,
so when He says, this is to be, it shall be. Don't we know that?
Oh, to see our Lord, the Jehovah, as the God who saved. Secondly,
David sang about the glorious supremacy, the solitariness of
God our Savior. The second line of verse one
speaks of the exaltation of Christ as our covenant surety, our mediator. It says, thou hast set thy glory,
the Lord Jesus, above the heavens. And then thirdly, the psalmist
exhibits God's purpose His purpose of grace. In verse 2 it says,
out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast ordained.
God has ordained strength because of thine enemies that thou mightest
still the enemy and the avenger. Look over if you would. Hold
your place here in Solomon. We'll come right back to it. Turn over
to 1 Corinthians. Turn over to 1 Corinthians for just a moment.
I want to point this out. This you can see You cannot miss
the meanings of David's words here in 1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians 1, looking at verse
26. For you see your calling, brethren,
for you see your calling, how that not many wise men after
the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God
hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the
wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound
the things which are mighty, and the base things of the world
and the things which are despised hath God chosen, yea, and the
things which are not to bring to naught things that are, that
no flesh should glory in his presence." Can that not make David's words
any more clear? That no flesh should glory in
his presence, but of him, but of God, are ye in Christ Jesus. Who of God is made unto us wisdom,
Christ Jesus is our wisdom. And righteousness, Christ Jesus
is our righteousness. And sanctification, Christ Jesus
is our sanctification. And redemption, Jesus Christ
is our redemption. Verse 31, that according as it
is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. Fourthly, back in our text, Psalms
chapter 8. So great is our God that the
whole of His vast creation is set before us as the work of
His fingers. Look at that. It says, I consider
thy heavens the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which
thou hast ordained. Think about that for just a moment.
It's the work of His fingers. Have you ever Have you ever driven
a car that didn't have power steering? Some of us are old
enough to remember what that's like. I think just about everybody
here probably is. If I was talking to my grandkids,
they would say, what is a car that you shift and doesn't have
power steering? But you and I, we've experienced
it, right? So think about this. The difference in today's world,
you can take your finger, and turn a car. Remember how hard
it was to turn it one time when there was no power steering?
Now you just take your finger. That's as easy it is for our
Lord. He just takes His finger and puts things where He wants
them. That's what that's talking about.
That gives us the implication of how easy everything is to
the Lord. How creation? We might think
that, oh, did God work up a sweat when he created everything? No.
No, not the God of all creation. He does it with his finger. Don
Porter wrote it this way. He says, the work of a finger
is one which requires no strength but great skill and detail. So great is our God that the
vast universe is his finger's work. Fifthly, we see in Psalms chapter
8 verses 4-9, the psalmist extols, lifts up the greatness of God
by humbly rejoicing in God's universal providence. Describing
the whole machinery of providence as God's gracious visitations. David knew what the Holy Spirit
tells you and I in Romans 8.28. David knew the very same thing.
He knew that all things... Why do all things? Because God
is God. That's why. We know that He works
all things out according to the counsel of His will. David knew
the same God as you and I. He may have looked forward to
that. Deliverer, that Messiah that was to come. Whereas you
and I look back at the One who came and gave Himself for us,
but it's the same Messiah, God in the flesh. It's the same Deliverer. It's the same Deliverer that
speaks to you and I through the Word in Romans 8. It says, all
things are for our good. David knew that too. ever entertaining great things,
great thoughts of God. Anything that lowers God's character
or lessens His greatness, and you know what I'm talking about,
don't you? You know what I'm talking about.
We're talking about man's free will. Anything that takes away from
the glory of God Almighty is an abomination. It's a lie from Satan. Do not
tolerate it. Let no doctrine be believed. Let no sermon be heard. Let no
song that diminishes our Lord and Savior be sung, let no thought
be received which in any way distracts us from the greatness
of our God. In all things at all times ascribe
ye greatness unto our God. That's what it says in Deuteronomy
32.3. We read in scriptures, behold
the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. Do you
know that our Lord is great? Is he great to you? Turn over
to Isaiah. Turn over to Isaiah chapter 40. Isaiah knew what David knew. Isaiah knows exactly what you
know about God, Mike Lovelace. The exact same thing. He is God. He will never cease to be God.
No matter what happens to me in this world, He is still God.
He is still the Creator. He is still all-powerful. Isaiah
knew that. Look at verse 40, beginning at
verse 10. Chapter 40, beginning of verse
10. Isaiah writes, Behold, the Lord God will come with a strong
hand, and his arm shall rule for him. Behold, his reward is
with him, and his work before him. See how Isaiah is lifting
up God in all things, including, including, including salvation. It's the work of God. Verse 11, and he shall feed his
flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with
his arm and carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead those
that are with young. Who hath measured the waters
in the hollow of his hand? Who has been able to see the
depths of the master of the majestic God that we serve? Who hath measured
the waters of the shadow in his hand, and metered, and meted
out heaven with a span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure,
and weighted the mountains in scales, and the hills in the
balance? Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being
his counselor, hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and
who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment,
and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?
Who, who has done that? Verse 15, Behold, the nations
are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust
of the balance. Behold, he taketh up the aisles
as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient
to burn, nor the beast thereof sufficient to burn offering. All nations before him are as
nothing, and they are counted to him less than nothing and
vanity. To whom then will he liken God? Or what likeness will he compare
unto him? Verse 19, the workman melteth
a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over it with gold,
and casteth silver chains. He that is so impoverished that
he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot. He
seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image that
shall not be moved. Have ye not known? Have ye not
heard? Hath it not been told you from
the beginning? Have ye not understood from the
foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon the
circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers,
that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them
out as a tent to dwell in, that bringeth the princes to nothing.
He maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. Yea, they shall not
be planted. Yea, they shall not be sown.
Yea, their stalk shall not take root in the earth, and he shall
also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind
shall take them away as stubble. To whom then will ye liken me,
or shall I be equal, saith the Holy One. Verse 26 Lift up your
eyes on high, and behold who has created these things. Lift up your eyes on high, and
behold he that bringeth out their host by number. He calleth them
by their names, by the greatness of his might, for that he is
strong in power, not one that, not one faileth. Verse 27, Why
sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, my way is hid from
the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast
thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God,
the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not,
neither is weary? There is no searching his understanding. He giveth power to the faint,
and to them that have no might, he increases strength. Even the
youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly
fall. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings
as eagles. They shall run and not be weary,
and they shall walk and not faint." What is man? What have we just read? that
answers that question. What is man? In the light of
our Lord's greatness and the glory His as God, does it not
astonish you that God should be mindful of man? Especially when we see the answer
that we just read given in the Bible. What is man? Man is set before us in the Word
of God as the peculiar, distinct object of God's mercy, God's
love, God's grace. But what is man? What is he? Anyone who knows and acknowledges
the greatness of God will also freely, willingly acknowledge
their utter insignificance before God. As soon as David looked
up to heaven and spoke to God of his greatness, his heart was
humbled, his pride was withered, and he cried out, what is man
that thou art mindful of him? What am I? What am I that God
would be mindful of me? It is impossible for anyone to
have both a great view of God and a great view of themselves. It's impossible. If you know
God for who He truly is, you will know yourself truly for
what you are. What is man? The word of God
tells us plainly. All flesh is as grass and all
the goodness thereof is the flower of the field. That's in Isaiah
chapter 40 verse 6 that we just read. Verily every man at his
best estate is altogether vanity. That's in Psalms 39-5. Men are
a lie. That's in Psalms 62-9. What is man? Don't ask philosophers of this
world. They won't tell you the truth.
They can only tell you what they can imagine. Educators can only
tell you of what they read in manly books. Scientists can only
tell you what they see under microscopes. Psychologists can
only tell you what they see in asylums. And socialists can only
tell you what they have learned from taking tests. Ask the one
who made us. Ask your God what is man. He declares in his word that
man is fallen. He declares in his word that
men are depraved with nothing. Sinners, sinful, cursed, condemned. helpless, dying flesh. Men are
as grasshoppers, as we just read before him. Men are the dust
of the earth, as we just read in his word. Nothing more. Man
is a lump of clay. We are a puff of smoke, a mist
of vapor, a drop in the bucket, as we just read. Oh, how insignificant
man truly is. All the nations of all men and
all the world are less than nothing before their great and infinite
God. Once again, I quote from Brother
Don Faulkner who says, man is nothing. Man has nothing. Man can do nothing. You are nothing,
and I am nothing. No matter how many of us nothings
you put together in one room, nothing added to nothing is still
what? Nothing. That's right, Kathy. Nothing.
Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord, teach us. to know our
nothingness, that we may look to Christ for everything. Amen.