Psalm 8

GRATITUDE –

A Mark Of Spirituality

Speaker: Dr John Ng

Aldersgate Methodist Church,

Singapore

In Praise of God

v 1 O LORD, Our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.

v 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the

avenger.

In Praise of Humankind

Their Insignificance

v 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

v 4 What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for Him?

Their Significance

v 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

v 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet:

v 7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,

v 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.

In Praise of God v 9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in

all the earth!

Psalm 8

Introduction

What do parents want from

their children?

GRATITUDE

Children get along

Children are grateful

Psalm 8

Introduction

God wants us to honor &

praise Him

Psalm 8 is a psalm of praise and

honor. It celebrates the glory and

grace of God, rehearsing who He is

and what He has done.

Ungrateful people will not enrich

community.

GRATITUDE – A Mark of

Spirituality

Psalm 8 Gratitude comes from a recognition and

experience of who God is v 1 O LORD, Our Lord, how majestic is

your name in all the earth! You have set your glory

above the heavens.

Adonai: Divine, majestic God

Yhwh: “I am who I am”

Unchangeable and Unchanging God

How do we

cultivate

gratitude?

Psalm 8 Gratitude comes from a recognition and

experience of who God is v 1 O LORD, Our Lord, how majestic is

your name in all the earth! You have set your glory

above the heavens.

Direct correlation between our

experience of God and gratitude

to Him: Who is God to us?

(Shunyi’s story)

How do we

cultivate

gratitude?

Psalm 8 Gratitude comes from a recognition of our need for Him v 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise

because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.

Our need for Him & our

strength resides in Him:

Relationship between infants

and enemies?

Matt 21: 14 - 16

How do we

cultivate

gratitude?

Psalm 8 Matt 21: 14 - 16

There was healing of blind &

lame How do we

cultivate

gratitude? Children were shouting,

“Hosanna to the Son of David”

Chief priests & teachers were

indignant: ‘Do you hear what

these children are saying?’

Jesus quoted this verse (Psalm 8:

2)

Psalm 8 Matt 21: 14 - 16

In one stroke, Jesus claimed to be

God & that teachers were

enemies.

How do we

cultivate

gratitude?

Children recognize their

inadequacies, a cry for help” God

is their strength.

Psalm 8 Gratitude comes from a recognition of our need for Him v 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise

because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. How do we

cultivate

gratitude? A self-made person will find it

difficult to be grateful.

Psalm 8 Gratitude comes from a recognition of

who we are in the context of

God’s creation v 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

How do we

cultivate

gratitude? The World is at His finger-tip!

Psalm 8 Gratitude comes from a recognition of

who we are in the context of

God’s creation

v 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

How do we

cultivate

gratitude? Egocentric individuals need to be

reminded that they are not the

center of the universe.

Psalm 8

Anderson, “Looking at the star-studded night sky, the psalmist is overwhelmed

with a sense of the relatively ephemeral and frail character of human beings and

wonders why the Creator pays any attention to such infinitesimally tiny

creatures.”

Psalm 8 Gratitude comes from a recognition

that we are special

v 4 What is man that you are mindful of him,

the son of man that you care for him? v 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory and honor.

v 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet:

v 7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,

v 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.

How do we

cultivate

gratitude?

Psalm 8 Gratitude comes from a recognition

that we are special

v 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings How do we

cultivate

gratitude? We are more God-like rather

than beast-like

Psalm 8 Gratitude comes from a recognition

that we are special

v 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings How do we

cultivate

gratitude? We are God-like rather than

beast-like

But we are paradox: Human is a

golden child and a black sheep.

Paradox of Our Time

ABRI Show of Force

The paradox of our

time in history is that

we have

Taller buildings, but

shorter tempers.

Wider freeways, but

narrower viewpoints.

We spent more, but have less.

We buy more, but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families;

More conveniences, but less time.

We have more

degrees, but less

common sense;

More knowledge,

but less judgment.

More experts, but

less solutions.

More medicine, but

less wellness.

We have multiplied our

possessions, but reduced our

values.

We talk too much, love too

seldom and hate too often.

We’ve learned how to make a

living but not a life;

We’ve added years to life, not life

to years.

We’ve been all the way to the moon and

back, but have trouble crossing the street

to meet the new neighbor.

Anthrax Scare

We have conquered outer space,

but not inner space;

We’ve cleaned up the air,

but polluted the soul;

We’ve split the atom, but not our prejudice.

We have higher incomes, but lower morals.

We have

become long

on quantity, but

short of

quality.

These are the

times of tall

men, and short

character.

Steep profits, and shallow relationships.

There are times of world peace, but

domestic warfare;

Mad Cow Disease

More leisure, but less fun.

More kinds of food, but less nutrition.

These are days of two incomes,

but more divorce.

Of fancier houses,

but broken homes.

Psalm 8 Gratitude comes from a recognition

that we are special

v 5 crowned him with glory and honor’ How do we

cultivate

gratitude? We are crowned as king with

glory

The psalm takes a radically different approach to the Near Eastern paradigm of the time that

kingship is reserved for a selected group. Here, God has made everyone a king.

Psalm 8 Gratitude comes from a recognition

that we are special

v 5 ‘You made him ruler over the works of your hands’ How do we

cultivate

gratitude? We are ruler over God’s other

creation. Gen 1

We are stewards: We have

management responsibilities

God takes the risk. We have paradise lost in Gen 2,3.

Conclusion:

Pursue Excellence, Give Glory to God

v 9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.

Thank you for giving to the LORD