You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
– Psalm 8:5
Ah, I love this verse. Psalm 8 begins by talking about God’s glory above the heavens, God’s glory on display in Creation. Just picture the trillions and trillions of stars that are shining at night to the glory of God… And planets in addition to everything else, in all Creation.
Just picture mountains and hills and canyons. Picture the Grand Canyon as a display of the glory of God. That’s what Psalm 8 is talking about, God’s glory on display in Creation. And then you get verse five talking about people like you and me. And verse five says you’ve made him, mankind, you and me… A little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
Psalm 8:5 explains God’s glory displayed in creation and humanity.
So God’s glory, yes, is above the heavens in all Creation, but his glory is on display. And the language here in Psalm 8 points to an even greater glory on display in people. Just let that soak in. Yes, look at majestic pictures of Creation and see the glory of God. And then look at the person next to you today. They are God’s glory on display. Look at the people in your family.
Look at the people at your work, the people in the store or restaurant or gas station you see today. They are God’s glory on display. The Bible teaches that God’s made men, women, and children down to babies and infants in his image crowned with glory. This totally transforms the way we see people around us and transforms the way we see ourselves.
Do you want to see the glory of God on display? Look in the mirror today and realize that you are crowned with glory and honor by God himself. You do not need this person or that person. This man or that woman, this boss or that authority to find your worth, to find your honor, because you are crowned with worth, with glory, with honor by God himself. Contrary to what science would try to tell us, we’re not created a little higher than animals.
Psalm 8:5 pictures God’s view of our identity.
We are created a little lower than angels, a little lower than God himself, and we have unimaginable glory and honor from God himself. And so we pray, God, help us when we look in the mirror today to see ourselves as you see us. God, I pray this over every single person listening right now that they would find their worth and value in the glory and honor you have crowned them with.
They would see themselves as fearfully and wonderfully made in your image and crowned with glory and honor by you. And God, we pray that you would help us to see others around us this way. Help us to love people as men, women, children made in your image, crowned with glory and honor. Lord, help us to honor them. Help us to love the people around us, to care for them, to esteem them, to serve them in a way that your image in them.
And God, we know that we and everybody around us has fallen, has given into sin, and is missing out on the glory and honor to the full that you’ve designed for us. Jesus, we praise you for making that possible, for making our redemption recreation into your image possible. So we pray that you would help us to grow in the image of Jesus today, and you would help us to lead others to grow into the image of Jesus.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, help us to encourage them in Christ today and, God, to lead others who don’t know you to be redeemed, recreated by you through faith in Jesus.
Prayer for the Dangaleat People
And God, we pray for the spread of your redemption to the corners of the earth, to the ends of the earth, specifically today to the Dangaleat people of Chad, 130,000 Muslim men, women, and children crowned with glory and honor by you and in need of the Gospel of Jesus to experience all that you’ve made them for in your image.
God, we pray on behalf of the Dangaleat people of Chad, please cause your redemption, your salvation to spread to them. We pray all of this in light of your word, which we love, in Psalm 8:5. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
