THE GLORY OF LIFE
Psalm 8: 1- 9
1 O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have set Your glory above the heavens!
2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have ordained strength,
Because of Your enemies,
That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
4 What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen—
Even the beasts of the field,
8 The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!
The title of this psalm – To the Chief Musician. On the instrument of Gath. A Psalm of David.
The audience – the Chief Musician
The author –David
The sound –the instrument of Gath (harp or kinnor).
David speaks of the glory of God, and how the glory of man and his destiny reflect upon God.
Title: THE GLORY OF LIFE.
- The Nature and Expression of God’s Glory.
- The Surprising Glory of Mankind.
- The Lost Glory
- The Glory of Life In The Lord of Glory
Meaning and Application of GLORY:
Glory means magnificence or great beauty.- Oxford Dictionary
Praise, honor, or distinction extended by common consent.- Meriam-Webster
In reference to natural objects “glory” may refer to
- the brightness of heavenly bodies(1 Corinthians 15:41) “The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.”,
- the fruitfulness of a forest ( Isa 35:2 ; 60:13 ) or
- the elegance of expensive clothing ( Luke 7:25 ).
As applied to external manifestations and conditions of human beings, glory may refer to position, possessions, strength, or length of life.
In the sense of position:
- Joseph’s glory is his position in Egypt (Gen 45:13),
- David’s splendor and majesty (Psalm 21:5 ),
- Joshua’s position of authority over the people of God. (Num. 27:20)
In the sense of possessions:
- Jacob’s gained wealth from his father in law, like is his servants and animals (Gen 30 and 31 ),
- The wealth of the wicked rich ( Psalm 49:17 )
- The industrious, ideal wife (Prov. 31:24-25 ).
Prov. 20:29“The glory of young men is their strength”,
- Glory as strength is illustrated in righteous Job (Job 29:20),
- Glory as the long life of the elderly (Prov. 16:31).
Deeper level:
- Willingness to overlook the faults of others(Prov 19:11)“…the wise bring calm in the end”
- Avoiding strife(Prov. 20:3)“It is to one’s honor to avoid strife,…”
Psalm 8:5 “You crowned him with glory and honor”– an inherent glory resulting from their being created in God’s image.
- THE NATURE AND EXPRESSION OF GOD’S GLORY
“Kabod” conveys the idea of a weight of glory, heaviness and honor. This word is used by the psalmist in Psalm 8:5 where he speaks of man being crowned with glory. The writer to the Hebrews applies this quotation to Jesus (Hebrews 2:7).
The Greek word – “Doxa” is used right through the New Testament. It is a word of praise. God is the God of glory and of grace. What begins in grace ends in glory.
Glory, in the Bible, is the expression of the satisfaction of God’s nature. God is holy. God is righteous. God is truth. God is love. God’s nature is utter and exact, without mixture, compromise, or duplicity. When things are as God wills them to be, there is glory whether in a perceptive way, or in a spirit of glory.
As to the expression, in the Bible it is usually something that is registered on the senses, especially sight. A radiance, a glow, light and splendor.
E.g.
-Adam and Eve’s radiance.
– Moses’ face
– Stephen’s face
– The body of Jesus
At the time of new birth a new light comes into the eyes and face of the one concerned.
2 KINDS OF GOD’S GLORY
- The Glory of God– revealed in the Old Testament in Theophanies and Christophanies.
A ‘Theophany’ is an appearance of God perceived as the first person of the Trinity. Examples are the figure in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:25) and the appearance to Abraham in Genesis 18.
A ‘Christophany’ is an appearance of God perceived in retrospect as the second person of the Trinity – it is a preview of the incarnate Jesus Christ. Melchizedek may be a Christophany (Genesis 14:17-20).
He is certainly a type of Christ as indicated by the following:
- King of righteousness and king of peace
- Priest of the Most High God
- He appeared without genealogy and without announcement
- He was greater than the other kings and gave Abraham a blessing
- He received tithes from Abraham
- The Shekinah Glory– shown in the tabernacle and the Temple to indicate the presence of God in a special way. This glory was revealed in the Incarnation of the eternal Word, then in the lives of believers indwelt by the Holy Spirit and also in the body of believers and finally it will be shown in the Holy City, the Heavenly Jerusalem.
- THE SURPRISING GLORY OF MANKIND
Though seemingly insignificant, man is crowned with glory and honor.
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.(v3- 5)
David knew the value of simply considering the glory of God’s creation. He knew what it was like to look up into the starry sky and consider what a great God had made this vast, wonderful universe.
Considering the heavens makes us see the greatness of God.
“Notwithstanding the amazing magnitude of the sun, we have abundant reason to believe that some of the fixed stars are much larger: and yet we are told they are the work of GOD’S FINGERS! What a hand, to move, form, and launch these globes!” (Clarke)
Considering the greatness of the heavens also made David consider the relative smallness and insignificance of man.
God is so big that He makes the universe with His fingers; man is so small that he is dwarfed by the universe.
Sickly man, a mass of mortalities, a map of miseries, a mixture or compound of dirt and sin…and yet God is mindful of him.” (Trapp)
Son of man is a title that emphasizes the “humanness” of man,
“visit him” is yet stronger than are “mindful of him.”God does not only carefully thought about man, but that He had some kind of personal connection and contact with men (that You visit him).
A little lower than the angels – man is beneath the angels in present glory, power, and nearness to God.
The word translated angels is Elohim, and most often refers to God Himself.
The ancient translators of the Bible from Hebrew to Greek understood Elohim here to speak of angelic beings;
“The Hebrew for angels is simply ‘God’ or ‘gods’ (‘Elohim’). It may refer to angelic beings.” (VanGemeren)
“Although made in God’s image and ordained to become increasingly like the God to whom they look, men and women have turned their backs on God. And since they will not look upward to God, which is their privilege and duty, they actually look downward to the beasts and so become increasingly like them.” (Boice)
Man’s destiny is one day to be crowned with a glory and honor that surpasses even the angels. It is the destiny of redeemed men and women to one day be lifted above the angels (1 Corinthians 6:3a)“Do you not know that we will judge angels?”.(Revelation 5:10) “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
Three wonderful and important truths about man found in Psalm 8.
- God made man.
- God made man something glorious.
- God made man for a high and worthy destiny.
God’s glory is above the heavens; yet He put this same glory and honor on man as a crown.
III. THE LOST GLORY
From before time began, the glory and excellency of God filled the heavens (v1)“O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens!” and He shared His glory to our first parents, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (v5 NIV) You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.”
Their disobedience resulted to sin and its consequences. The glory of God left and there was death.Blood sacrifice was required, as He displayed it during the fall. Genesis 3: 21“The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them”.Hebrews 9: 22“In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
When the children of Israel committed sin in the book of Judges, God removed His presence and the enemies attacked and enslaved them. But when they cried to God in repentance the presence of God came back and delivered them.
What makes God’s Glory depart?
The story of Eli in the Book of Samuel:
1 Samuel 2: 12 – 17Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas,were good-for-nothing priests; they had no faith in the Lord. Now, this was how the priests dealt with the people who were offering sacrifices: While the meat was boiling, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand. Then he would stick it into the pot, kettle, cauldron, or pan. Whatever the fork brought up from the potbelonged to the priest. This is what the priests did in Shiloh to all the people of Israel who came there to sacrifice. But in the case of Eli’s sons, even before the people burned the fat, their servants would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the meat to the priest to roast. He doesn’t want boiled meat from you. He wants it raw.”
If the man said to the servant, “First let the fat be burned, then take as much as you want,” the servant would say to him, “Give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force.” The sin of Eli’s sons was a serious matter to the Lord, because these men were treating the offerings made to the Lord with contempt.
1 Samuel 4: 21 21 Then she named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel!” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
Why God’s glory departed?
- Lack of respect for what belongs to God.
From the story of Hophni and Phinehas, sons of Prophet Eli, we note that they took God’s offering and sacrifices and made them theirs. They ate and desecrated holy things. Whenever we take what belongs to God and use it for another purpose we set ourselves up for loss of glory.
When we do not have respect for God, we have nothing of His glory but a curse.
- Cheating
The sons of Eli took advantage of the people of God and robbed them of their dignity. God is very sensitive and gets angry when He finds His people being cheated or robbed. The scriptures make it clear that it is better for a millstone to be tied to the neck of that person and for that person to be drowned than for such person to deceive God’s people
A lifestyle of cheating and dishonesty will remove God’s glory from your life.
- Defiling of the Temple
They defiled the temple of God.
In our case, our body is the temple of the living God. We have been bought with a very high price – the blood of Jesus. We cannot afford to misuse our bodies because God resides inside us. When the temple of God is defiled the glory is lost. When you abuse your body, you will defile the temple and lose the glory of God.
Other sins and little foxes in your life. Song of Solomon 2:15“Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines”
The “sins of the flesh” are the gross sins of adultery, murder, blasphemy, drunkenness.
The “sins of the spirit” are “the little foxes” that creep in almost unnoticed and spoil the vines and take away the fruit.
What are these “little foxes”?
There are three kinds: there are the wrong things we think, the wrong things we say and the wrong things we do.
(1) The Heart Sins or the Secret Sins.
They are sins such as jealousy, pride and impurity. These are the sins of the spirit that hinder the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.
(2) The Lip Sins.
This “little fox” is the unruly, undisciplined tongue, a lying, a critical or a tale-bearing tongue.
(3) The Behavior Sins.
These are sins that we commit when we are unkind, thoughtless or harsh in our treatment of others, or when we are wrong in our relationship with another person.
When these “little foxes” are not dealt with, they will slowly destroy your life and you will lose your glow and glory. They will rob your lives of the fruit that the Holy Spirit is waiting and wanting to produce in and through you!
Is there anything in what you are doing that can make you lose God’s glory in your life? Are you not afraid of losing that glory?
It is a terrible thing to be robbed of your glory. Your glory is the key to every other thing in your life. What are the signs of losingyour glory?
- You suddenly become a shadow of yourself because you are empty.
Certain things you do with ease suddenly become difficult for you because your ability and strength have disappeared.
- You begin to have constant setbacks.
You discover that you work hard but things are not working out.
iii. You become valueless.
You become an object of ridicule and people prefer others to you. Nothing you say ever makes sense to them because there is no glory that makes you significant.
- You have persistent barrenness.
Other people’s businesses are working but your own is not working. You carry something of value but nobody patronizes you.
- You lose self-confidence.
A man who has lost his glory is always afraid and not confident. Success in a man’s life will be a difficult thing if he loses his confidence because it makes many things work in your life if it is applied.
E.g. Confidence of Esther
- THE GLORY OF LIFE IN THE LORD OF GLORY
The fallen man seems so weak and incapable of dominion over his own thoughts and desires, much less crowned with glory and honor. Yet, Hebrews properly says, but we see Jesus(Hebrew 2:9). “But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”
“In Him (Jesus) we have had the full revelation of the greatness of man. But we have seen more than that. We have seen Him ‘crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He should taste death for every man.” (Morgan)
God longed for restoration of His glory among men. He does not plan for a temporary glory. He wants a permanent glory but it will be permanent only when God is SATISFIED.
The dedication of Solomon’s temple was awesome because it was filled with the presence and glory of God. But the glory filling demanded the absolute exclusion of man by nature. Even the Priests had to go out of the Temple when the glory entered.
Why was God so exact and particular to a detail in all this? For one reason only: God knew that the lost glory in man and creation could only be recovered by the satisfaction of His own nature. That satisfaction would alone be restored to Him by His own Son in incarnation, life, death and resurrection. Glory for Him was bound up with His Son. Therefore, everything to a detail must represent His Son, and the glory would return – through redemption.
God’s original plan – He wants to dwell among men forever.
Indeed God came to dwell among men in the Person of Jesus, His only begotten Son. Matthew 21: 36– “Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them.”
John 1: 1, 14–“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Jesus came as the glory of God. His life was an embodiment of God’s glory and there was no cause or reason for God’s glory to leave him because He lived a blameless and sinless life. He honored God, He loved people even the sinners, and He gave himself unselfishly.It was only when He was crucified on the cross at Calvary, that darkness filled the earth for a few hours, as a symbol that God temporarily shut His glory upon His own Son. That day at the cross Jesus had no glory but shame, pain, destruction and death. And through it all, He was glorified and He is sharing His glory to every soul especially to those who believe, trust and LOVE Him.Then one day as He promised, a glorified body when we see Him face to face.
Today, we do not have glorified bodies yet, as we will wait until Jesus comes again or when we see Him face to face. But at the moment we can live a life filled with the glory of God. A life that is praised, honored, distinct, fruitful, elegant, full, confident, strong, honored and worthy of destiny. Let the glory be restored. It can!
Jesus is called “the Lord of glory”. The title declares that Christ is our Lord and He is the most glorious Lord. He is the One with “clean hands and a pure heart” who can “ascend the mountain of the Lord” and He ascended to heaven.
1 Corinthians 2:7-9 (NASB). . . but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written,
“THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”
CONCLUSION:
We do things in our lives, and we do things in our services to give God glory in what we do, but God reciprocates and gives glory back to us more than what we could ever give to him. Because what we have to know and understand is that God has always intended for man to be in his presence and in his glory. From the beginning in the Garden of Eden, God visited man in the coolness of the day. But, because of sin, we have all fallen short of the Glory of God, and sin has caused the Glory to depart from man and depart from the Church because what we must realize is that the Glory of God is not going to dwell in the same place where sin abides.
But God knew that the lost glory in man and creation could only be recovered by the satisfaction of His own nature. That satisfaction would alone be restored to Him by His own Son in incarnation, life, death and resurrection. Jesus is God’s nature and satisfaction. He came and through His death on the cross He was deprived of His glory which He had since the beginning of time so that by His shame, pain, death and resurrection, our lost glory is restored.
