Psalm 8

GRATITUDE –
A Mark Of Spirituality
Speaker: Dr John Ng
Aldersgate Methodist Church,
Singapore
In Praise of God
v1 O LORD, Our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the
earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.

v2 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
v5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly
beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

v6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands;

you put everything under his feet:

v7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,

v8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that
swim the paths of the seas.

In Praise of God
v9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in
all the earth!
Psalm 8 GRATITUDE
Introduction

What do parents want from

their children?
Children get along

Children are grateful

Psalm 8 GRATITUDE – A Mark of
Spirituality
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.
Psalm 8 Gratitude comes from a
recognition and
experience of who God is
How do we v 1 O LORD, Our Lord, how majestic is
cultivate your name in all the earth! You have set your glory
above the heavens.
gratitude?
Yhwh: “I am who I am”
Unchangeable and Unchanging God
Adonai: Divine, majestic God
Psalm 8 Gratitude comes from a
recognition and
experience of who God is
How do we v 1 O LORD, Our Lord, how majestic is
cultivate your name in all the earth! You have set your glory
above the heavens.
gratitude?
Direct correlation between our
experience of God and gratitude
to Him: Who is God to us?
(Shunyi’s story)
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
How do we because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
cultivate Our need for Him & our
gratitude? strength resides in Him:
Relationship between infants
and enemies?

Matt 21: 14 - 16
Psalm 8 Matt 21: 14 - 16
There was healing of blind &
How do we lame
cultivate
Children were shouting,
gratitude?
“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
How do we God & that teachers were
cultivate enemies.
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
How do we because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
cultivate
A self-made person will find it
gratitude?
difficult to be grateful.
Psalm 8 Gratitude comes from a recognition of
who we are in the context of
God’s creation
How do we v 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
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
How do we
cultivate v 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
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

How do we v4 What is man that you are mindful of him,

the son of man that you care for him?
cultivate v5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
gratitude? and crowned him with glory and honor.
v6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:
v7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,
v8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
Psalm 8 Gratitude comes from a recognition
that we are special
v5 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
v5 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

The paradox of our
time in history is that ABRI Show of Force
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
v5 crowned him with glory and honor’
How do we
cultivate
We are crowned as king with
gratitude?
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
v5 ‘You made him ruler over the works of your hands’
How do we
cultivate
We are ruler over God’s other
gratitude?
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