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Leader Guide Sunday, Sept. 23, 2018
Psalm 21 Sermon Text: Psalm 21 Study Texts: Psalm 8 Sermon Recap: Psalm 20 and 21 are considered Royal Psalms, in that they focus on the glory of God’s King, King Jesus. In Psalm 21, we have seen the thanksgiving that comes from God’s victories through His King. Through King Jesus, God’s plan triumphs in the world; He succeeds in all that He does. Furthermore, we see in Psalm 21 that Jesus’ victorious triumph is the triumph of the gospel itself! “His glory is great through Your Salvation.” This is tremendous news for the people of God. When people have a good king, they flourish. King Jesus is the greatest of all kings, and thus the strength of the Lord, of King Jesus, is our joy! Sermon Connection: As we have studied through the Psalms, it is important to note the various connections that exist throughout the Psalter (the collected book of Psalms). As we read the Royal Psalms (ch. 20-21), we note connections with earlier Psalms, such as Psalm 8. In Psalm 8, we find David praising God for His majesty in the world, and God’s majesty is seen in three primary ways. First, David notes God’s majesty in the created realm. Second, he notes God’s glory in mankind. And third, and most importantly, he notes God’s glory in His King, King Jesus. Just as we are lead to rejoice in the King of Psalm 21, so David leads us to see that God’s majesty in the world is seen most clearly through the gospel triumph of King Jesus.
Lesson Plan Lesson Goal: To see Jesus as the true King of God’s people in Whom salvation is accomplished. Lesson Points: Point 1: The Glory of God’s King in the World (vv. 1-2, 9) Point 2: The Glory of Mankind in the Image of God’s King (vv. 3-8) Point 3: The Glory of God’s King, Jesus (vv. 3-8)
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The Context: The best practice of Bible Study is to let the Bible interpret the Bible. That is exactly what we want to do with Psalm 8. We want to take Psalm 21 and lay it over Psalm 8 in order to get a more full picture of the divine majesty David celebrates in Psalm 8. When we do this, when we begin to understand the idea of King Jesus that lies behind David’s writing in Psalm, we get a more full picture of what the Psalm communicates. God’s majesty, His magnificence, is found fully in King Jesus! Opening Question: Has there ever been a time when you gained a deeper understanding of something you already knew? If so, what was it? What helped you gain further understanding? Transition Statement: As we consider Psalm 8 in the light of King Jesus, let’s pray as we begin and ask the Holy Spirit to help us in this... Point 1 - The Glory of God’s King in the World (vv. 1-2, 9) In verses 1 and 9, why is it important to note the personal way David addresses God? “O Lord, o ur Lord,…” In the Old Testament, God revealed Himself to His people in a special way. He revealed His personal Name to them, Yahweh. And what David is doing here is relating to God in that personal way; He is extolling the God Who has revealed Himself to David. The Creator God, Who created and sustains all that is, the God Whose majesty is throughout the earth, is our God. He has come to know us through His covenant promises; most importantly, as we will see, He has come to know us through His Son, King Jesus. What attribute does David assign to the Name of God? How can we see this in God’s creation? He calls God’s Name majestic, and David says that the majesty of His Name is known throughout the created realm. Majesty has to do with the word magnificence and carries the idea of greatness. “...it is used of God the Father, signifying His greatness and dignity...an ascription of praise acknowledging His attributes”1 such as is found in Jude 25. Knowing that David is speaking of God’s magnificence, we can see this in countless ways throughout God’s earth but also in God’s people. The highest display of God’s majesty is in the salvation accomplished through King Jesus (Ps. 21:5). How has God accomplished the promise in verse 2? See also 2 Cor. 4:7. The promises of this verse is that God establishes His people through weakness. David says, “Out of the mouth of babies and infants, You have established strength…” This calls our attention to other biblical passages like 2 Cor. 4:7, where Paul says our weakness displays God’s glory and might. The same is true here. The triumph and success of God’s people 1
W.E. Vine, Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary, 386.
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come through weakness, and we see this nowhere more clearly displayed than King Jesus on the cross. How is this triumph seen in Psalm 21:1, 5? In Psalm 21, David is reflecting on God’s provision and protection of the king. The Psalm applies both to David, in an immediate sense, but ultimately points us to King Jesus, the true King. In 21:1, we note that the joy of God’s King is in God’s accomplishing of salvation, and this is what motivated Jesus to carry out the work of redemption (Lk. 22:42). We also note that v. 5 highlights the King’s glory in salvation, and at His resurrection, Jesus was glorified forevermore through the finished work of God’s salvation. Transition Statement: As we follow David’s flow of thought, we see that he recognizes God’s majesty in mankind in a particular way distinct from the created realm. Point 2 - The Glory of Mankind in the Image of God’s King (vv. 3-8) What does David use to give himself a right perspective on his own existence? In vv. 3-4, David takes the very creation he has been speaking of, the creation in which God’s majesty is displayed, and allows it to help him understand himself and his place in the world. “...what is man that you are mindful of him...?” In other words, “of all the things in Your glorious world, why would you focus on man, God?” David is drawing attention to the inconsequential nature of our lives; we are only a small part of God’s creation. And yet, even as a small part, God has chosen to be aware of us; He has chosen to make Himself known to us and to know us. So while we are small in many ways, God has given us dignity and worth far beyond any other part of His creation. What is the purpose of vv. 3-4? How does it help us relate to King Jesus? Understanding our place in God’s creation helps us not to think too highly of our natural selves, but more importantly, it draws our attention to why God would save sinful humans. People bear the image of God (a point the next few verses call our attention to). To no other creature has God given such honor and such care. God has given and desires to give us this special care; and most importantly, He cares for us eternally through the gospel of King Jesus. Verse 5 has a double meaning, but one meaning speaks of the glory of mankind and his God-given dignity. What does David want us to understand about mankind, about ourselves? Applied to humanity, we understand that God has made us different and distinct from the rest of the created realm. Mankind bears the image of God, and so bears a distinct dignity over and above the animals, plants, and other natural aspects of the world. Because we bear God’s image, we are a part of the magnificence of God’s glory in the world, and thus we are “...crowned with glory and honor. ” 3
How do verses 6-8 help us to understand our role in God’s world? See also Genesis 1:28. From this dignity that God has given man, we understand that we are to steward our dignity well to the glory of God. God gave Adam and Eve dominion over the created realm in the Garden, meaning that they were to rule over it in a way that extended God’s goodness. In the same way, the dominion we have over the creation is to be an extension of God’s goodness and love in the world. How does having Jesus as our King help us to understand our calling and role in God’s world? As we understand our calling to have dominion over the world as we bear God's image, we understand that this is a call to extend God’s goodness in the world. The highest and purest expression of God’s goodness is in and through King Jesus and His gospel. Therefore, we understand our role in God’s world as one that primarily makes much of Jesus in all things. Point 3 - The Glory of God’s King, Jesus (vv. 5-8) Read Hebrews 2:6-10. How does this New Testament interpretation of Psalm 8 help us to gain a Jesus-centered understanding of Ps. 8:5-6? As we mentioned earlier, these verses have a double meaning, and the greater meaning points us to Jesus Christ, the King! In Hebrews, we find the author interpreting this Psalms’ passage in reference to Jesus. He also changes the wording a bit by applying the incarnation. He writes, “But we see Him Who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.” There is a lot going on in this Hebrews passage, but we want to notice that the writer applies the Psalm 8 text to Jesus, and this reveals for us its fuller meaning: that through the incarnation, Jesus glorified God by humbling Himself, taking on the likeness of men, suffering the death of sin, and rising to new life. How does Psalm 21:5-7 help us to understand the Jesus-centered nature of Psalm 8:5-6? We find a very similar biblical idea in Psalm 21:5-7. In these verses, David celebrates God’s King and His achievement of salvation. David highlights that God’s King is glorified in God’s salvation, which looking more broadly at the Bible, we know is the gospel work of Jesus. David writes, “...You make Him most blessed forever, and You make Him glad with the joy of Your presence...” and Jesus teaches that He and God the Father are One (Jn.10:30). Jesus notes that He has the authority spoken of in v. 6 in Matthew 28:19-20. What is He saying in claiming such authority? King Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth. More than this, He is Himself the authority. When we read His words in Matthew 28, we come away with the truth that Jesus 4
Himself is God incarnate. He is the eternal second person of the Trinity and the only One in Whom there is salvation. The Big Picture - The Bible is about Jesus. We have noted several times in the past year that we want to read the Bible using a Redemptive Historical Hermeneutic. This fancy phrase means that we want to read the Bible as being about Jesus, about the gospel, and about how God is always at work redeeming His people in and through King Jesus. God’s glory is great in the earth, all throughout it. His majesty is seen in His wonderful creation. God’s magnificence is seen in His creation of mankind and how God has graciously bestowed the honor of bearing His image upon man. But nothing in all the world compares with the majesty of God in and through King Jesus. It is through Jesus that God created the world, sustains the world, and is redeeming the world. This is why David says both, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your Name in all the earth…” and “His [Jesus] glory is great through Your [God’s] salvation.” Application Questions ● How am I celebrating the goodness of King Jesus in my life? ● Does my appreciation of God’s world lead me to worship King Jesus? ● How am I teaching my children to love and worship King Jesus? ● How can our growth group love and honor King Jesus together? ● How does Jesus’ gospel glory motivate our growth group to missional obedience?
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