“1 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
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Forty-seven years ago this week, the Supreme Court handed down their decision on Roe v. Wade. Since then more than 61 million babies have been aborted in this nation.
It’s hard to wrap your mind around 61 million babies. It’s easier to wrap your mind around eight babies. Eight babies were born into our church last year: Luke Bonnema, Ruth Bonnema, Hudson Eisenga, Tayvia Williams, Jett Blankespoor, Eliza Nieuwendorp, Harper Folkerts, and Lennon VanGrouw.
Some are crawling; some are walking; some are pulling themselves up on chairs. Maybe you are holding one of these babies right now or perhaps you have held one of them.
How grieved would we all be if anything happened to one of these little ones? How enraged would we all be if someone hurt one of these little ones? Remember, we are talking about only eight babies, but each of them is very precious.
How precious are eight babies? How precious are 61 babies? How precious are 61 million babies? They are precious to the God. He takes babies very seriously. He made them to reflect His own glory. God takes His image bearers seriously and so should we. That’s our point derived from the text: God takes His image bearers seriously and so should we.
We will see this in four points. First: scale. Second: glory and honor. Third: worth. Fourth: power. We will take these verses out of order. First, in verses 3-4 we will think about scale. Second, in verses 6-8 we will think about glory and honor. Third, in verse 2 we will think about power. Fourth, in verse 5 we will think about worth.
First: scale. David wrote this rather famous Psalm in awe of God and in awe of what it means to be human. His awe was connected to scale as we see in verse 3, “When I consider your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?”
David didn’t have a telescope, but he could see that the universe was an enormous place. He didn’t know that the sun was 91 million miles from the earth, but he knew it was really far away. He didn’t know that the moon weighed 73 million, million, million metric tons but he knew that it was heavy. He didn’t know that the universe was 93 billion light years in diameter, but he knew it was gigantic. He didn’t have our scientific instruments, but he did consider the same heavens, the work of God’s fingers, and the moon and the stars, which God had set in place.
The scale of this enormous universe leaves many people feeling insignificant. Astronomer Carl Sagan was famous for his remarks on a picture taken by Voyager One. In these pictures the earth looks like a pale blue dot. About this pale blue dot, he said, “Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark.”
Maybe you’ve felt that way. Maybe you’ve walked alone under the night sky and felt more insignificant than you could bear. Maybe you’ve felt almost humiliated by your puniness in the grand scheme of things.
David knew this feeling of insignificance, but he knew what to do with it and you see what he did in verse 3, “When I consider your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?”
David knew that despite his seeming insignificance before the universe, he was significant to the One who made the universe. God cared for him. The One who made the universe was mindful of David. The One who made the moon and stars cared for David. He cares about you.
God takes a special interest in David and in you because He has made us in His image. He set us apart from the rest of creation. “God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.”
God’s interest in you is far different than His interest in the 93 million miles between here and the sun. Those miles may be bigger than you, but does He adopt them as children? They may dwarf you in size, but does He speak to them? Does He listen to them? Does He tell those 93 million miles to cast their cares on Him because He cares for them? Only we have such an exalted place in God’s heart. “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?”
Now do you think that this God who is mindful of a two-hundred and eight-pound man in the midst of a universe that is 93 billion light years in diameter is somehow unmindful of an eight-pound baby? Do you think this God who is mindful of an eight-pound baby is somehow unmindful of an eight-ounce baby? Do you think babies in the womb are unimportant to God because they are smaller than a baby out of the womb?
Much of the logic behind abortion lies in the fact that the embryo is too small to matter. God is mindful of these little ones even though they are tiny in the womb just like He is mindful of you even though you are tiny in this vast universe.
You might feel insignificant before the vastness of the cosmos or even before the vastness of a mountain, but God is mindful of you. An embryo might seem insignificant in the midst of all the cells in a woman’s body, but God is mindful of that baby.
We humans are not insignificant in the vastness of creation. In fact, it was made for us. We see that in our second point: glory and honor. Verse 5 ends by saying that God crowned us with glory and honor. Verses 6-8 give specifics of this glory and honor. “You made him ruler over the works of Your hands; You put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.”
God gave us humans dominion over this vast creation—to tend it and use it. He wants us to grow crops to feed ourselves and others. He wants us to use noble gases to make superconductors and medicine. He wants us to make balance beams and swimming pools. This creation is for us and we are to care for it and improve upon it.
We improve upon a stream when we purify it for drinking. We improve upon radon when we use it to make capsules to destroy cancerous cells. We improve upon a tree when we make it into a crib for our baby or into a book we can read to our children. Creation is for us to use. Part of our glory and our honor is that we can use it. We tend it and care for it and make it productive for our advancement and enjoyment.
That’s part of your honor and glory. The glory of a carpenter is the houses he builds. The glory of a housewife is the home she establishes. The glory of a chemist is the way in which she uses creation to enhance human life. The glory of a jeweler is the way in which he recrafts creation to ornament the crown of creation, which is us. We humans enjoy creation, care for creation, and improve upon creation. This is creation is for us. God has made us rulers over the work of His hands. That is our glory and honor.
Abortion overlooks this glory. Abortion overlooks this honor. Rather than seeing this baby as a ruler of creation, abortion sees this baby as a mere part of creation, as a clump of cells.
Many women who have had abortions know this truth. They remember the baby’s due date. They imagine what the baby would look like now. What would she be doing? What would he grow up to be? In other words, how would he rule creation? What would she enjoy about life in this world which God made for her?
Abortion focuses on what we humans cost. God focuses on what we humans add. “You made him ruler over the works of your hands; You put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.”
Humans are never dispensable. We have an exalted position. We are not mere animals. We are made in the image of God. We rule because He rules. We cultivate because He cultivates. We create because He creates. We provide because He provides. We love because He loves. Abortion robs the world of a lord or lady of creation.
Now, we humans have this glory and honor irrespective of our power. The CEO of an internet startup in Silicon Valley has this glory and honor, the ER doctor nurse in Canton has this honor, and the baby in the womb has this honor. We have this glory and honor irrespective of our power. We see that in our third point: power. Our culture finds it quite easy to overpower the powerless. Life works far different in God’s economy as we see in verse 2, “From the lips of children and infants You have ordained praise because of Your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.”
The cooing of infants, the babbling of babies, and the questions of toddlers are incredibly powerful because they give God praise. These actions do what the actions of humans were designed to do—they give glory to God. “From the lips of children and infants You have ordained praise.”
Now infants can’t do much. Infants eat, dirty their diapers, and repeat. But, “From the lips of children and infants You have ordained praise,” is still true. They might not be able to focus their eyes yet, but they give glory to God. They might not be able to sit themselves up, but God delights in them. They have very little power, but that is not how God assesses them. He honors them because they are doing what He created them to do. They are delighting Him.
That is not how the logic at work in abortion assesses these little ones. The logic of abortion says that your life out of the womb is worth more than that of a fetus because of what you have the power to do. You can walk away from harm. You can communicate that you don’t want to be hurt. You have power.
Pro-choice arguments say that the baby doesn’t have the power to feel pain; the baby doesn’t have the power to think. God isn’t impressed by that argument. He doesn’t value human life based by such metrics.
We see that in the relationship between infants and God’s enemies. “From the lips of children and infants You have ordained praise because of Your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.”
If you value power, recognize that God’s enemies are powerful. The devil has terrifying sway. “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” “For still our ancient foe, does seek to work us woe, his craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate – on earth is not his equal.” In this corner, you have Satan. In this corner, you have a helpless baby boy who can’t roll over.
The world is also powerful. The pattern of this world is hostile to God. Babylon the Great makes the nations drunk on her adulteries. In this corner, you have the world. In this corner, you have a tiny baby who just pulled herself up on a chair.
God’s enemies have great power. Babies seem to have no power, but, David tells us that, “From the lips of children and infants God has ordained praise because of His enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.”
The power struggle, however, isn’t really between babies and Satan or the world. The power struggle is between God and Satan and the world. It isn’t really a struggle. God’s power is so absolute that He tells His enemies – Satan and the world – that the babbling of babies is more consequential than their roars of evil.
A baby’s jiggling laughter has power with God because it is for His glory. He sees that as meaningful. Satan’s teeth and the world’s claws have no power with God because they stand against Him. He sees their opposition as ultimately inconsequential.
In the end babies, will praise God and God’s enemies will be silenced. “From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.” In the end, babies are more powerful because God takes up their cause.
Abortion looks at what the baby in the womb can’t do – what power he lacks. God looks at what the baby can do. The baby can give Him glory. God says these babies have worth. We think about worth in our final point.
You have worth. So many people consider themselves unworthy. Verse 5 tells you that you have worth. Verse 5, “You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.” You were created to be crowned with glory. You were created to be crowned with honor. You were created with worth. You have worth. Maybe you need to hear that again. You have worth. There is nothing better in all creation than being a human, and you are a human. Shakespeare was right, “What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel! In apprehension how like a god!”
A Nobel prize winning physicist and the cashier working right now at the Oak Street share this dignity. The chief justice of the Supreme Court and a baby girl just born at a hospital on the southside of Chicago share this worth.
Now the world has long since stopped defining humans in terms of this worth. They do not define our worth in terms of the image of God. As a result, the world has found itself on a slippery slope that has sucked us into ethnic cleansing because, apparently, Jews aren’t worth as much as Germans, into slavery because, apparently, black people are worth less than white people, into discrimination because, apparently, special needs people are worth less than others, into abortion because apparently, humans in the womb are worth less than humans outside the womb.
A person’s worth is determined not by the color of their skin, nor by the absence or presence of genetic abnormalities, nor by whether or not they are in the womb. God determines a person’s worth and He made us all a little lower than the heavenly beings and He crowned us with glory and honor.
We don’t determine worth. You don’t determine worth. God determines worth. Abortion tells us that we have the power to determine worth. Pro-choice arguments say that adults have the power to determine the worth of a child by whether or not we want her. If we want that child, she is a baby and we have baby showers and invite our friends to celebrate. If we don’t want that child, she isn’t alive as far as we are concerned in this culture.
Abortion tells us that we have the power to determine relative worth. If you are a college student who gets pregnant, getting that degree to open doors may be worth more to you than the baby. If you are athlete who gets pregnant, breaking those records may be worth more than the baby. If you are just starting your career, getting yourself started right may be worth more to you than the baby. After all, it is your life. You should decide what you do with it. You must determine what has worth to you.
God disagrees. God assigns incredible worth to all people. If God didn’t think babies, fetuses, and zygotes had value, why would He become one? ‘The angel said to Mary, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you... Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.”’
The Son of God saved humanity by first becoming a zygote that was barely visible to the naked eye. He became tiny in a body full of cells on one small planet in the midst of this vast universe, but that didn’t make him any less God. He became powerless taking nutrients through Mary’s umbilical cord. That didn’t make him any less God. He was no less God on Christmas Eve in the womb than he was on Christmas Day when he was born.
He came to save we who had sinned against him and against his image bearers. We all have. Each of us in this sanctuary has harmed people made in the image of God. Each of us has injured those of whom God is mindful, those for whom God cares. Each of us has hurt people who are made a little bit lower than the heavenly beings. Abortion may be one way that you have done it, but each of us has marred the sanctity of human life. We have spoken words in order to hurt. We have pushed away our children for the sake of ourselves. We have disrespected our parents. We have broken friendship. We have not loved others the way we love ourselves. Each of us has marred the sanctity of human life. God takes that very seriously. He is a holy God. He cannot and He will not overlook what we have done.
He won’t overlook it just simply because we are so very valuable. He won’t forgive you because of the sanctity of your life. He won’t forgive you because He can’t imagine heaven without you. His forgiveness is not about your glory. It is about His own. “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy,” says God. “I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” God’s mercy reveals His glory. It is His glory to forgive. There is something far more precious than the sanctity of human life: the glory of God.
You see this glory most clearly in the Son of God. He became a zygote, a fetus, a newborn, an infant, a toddler, a child, a man, but we don’t see his full glory in the incarnation by itself. We see his glory in that he took on the sanctity of our life so that he might suffer in it on the cross for sinners.
Now if you haven’t received that mercy, you can. It is for all who will take it. If you have had an abortion, that mercy is available to you. If you have pressured a woman into an abortion, that mercy is available to you. If you have thought yourself superior to those who have had an abortion, that mercy is available to you. We all find it in the same place. We all find mercy in Christ crucified and only in Christ crucified.
Today is a day to remember the value of human life. You see it in babies. You see it in yourself. You see it in Christ. Today is also a day to remember the glory of God seen in the mercy of God. You see that in Christ. I hope you see it at work in yourself. Amen.