The following sermon was preached at Christ Reformed Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. If you are interested in our church or would like more information about us, you can visit us online at ChristReformedChurchTulsa.org. If you have your Bibles turn to Hebrews chapter 2 Hebrews chapter 2 is where we're going to be at today and we're going to look today at verses 5 through 9 Hebrews chapter 2 verses 5 through 9. And when you have found your place in God's Word, there in Hebrews chapter 2, let's begin reading in verse 5. It says, For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere, what is man, that you were mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him. You made him for a little while lower than the angels, You have crowned Him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under His feet. Now in putting everything in subjection to Him, He left nothing outside of His control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to Him. 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 of His death. So that by the grace of God, he might taste death for everyone. Let's pray. Father, as we come to this passage of scripture, which is so deep, Lord, it is so vast. There are so many things to pull out of these verses. I pray that you would help me to communicate clearly what your word says. I pray, Lord, that you would guard my lips from error. I pray that Lord, as Your Word goes forth, that You would sanctify us, that You would instill within us a hope that Lord causes us to persevere in the Christian walk. I pray that You would help us as we look at this passage together to see the great salvation that is ours in Christ Jesus. I pray, Lord, that You would exhort and build up Your church. I pray, Lord, that You would encourage us in our walk with Christ. May we see these glorious, rich truths, these things that show the riches that are ours in Christ Jesus, that we might exalt our Savior, that we might praise His great name. Lord, we pray that You alone would be lifted up in this place. Lord, give me the words to say, and give us understanding by Your Spirit to understand these things, to receive them as what they are, the Word of God. Lord, we ask all of these things in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You guys may be seated. Well, we come once again to the book of Hebrews, which as we know from Hebrews 13 and verse 22, that Hebrews, this book, is a word of exhortation. That was the purpose for which it was written. It was written as a word of exhortation to those who are drifting from their profession of faith in Christ. To those who are turning away from Christ, or to put it more bluntly, to those who are in danger of apostasy. And the reason they were in danger, we've already looked at this, but I want to go over it again. The reason that they were in danger of drifting and falling away from Christ is found in several places throughout the letter. We know that these people, that they had failed to mature in their faith, some of them. We know that they were neglecting some of them to meet together with other Christians when the church met. They were being lured away by false teachers. There was a temptation just to give up on Christ this hard way, this narrow way, and go back and resort to Judaism, going back to the Law. We know that some of them, because of their profession of faith, they had lost nearly everything. They had had their property plundered. And some of them, as we read, even had been thrown into prison. So to encourage these people to continue to press on in the Christian faith, to get them to go forward and not back, the author reminds them of the great dangers of neglecting Christ. Now, as I said, it is a word of exhortation. And when we think in our modern day of a word like exhorting somebody, we think of just giving them all kinds of praises and accolades that they might feel good about themselves. But the author of Hebrews does not do that. He gives them stern warnings. We have several of them scattered throughout this book. Warnings that if you don't continue in the faith, if you don't hold fast to Christ, if you neglect what you have heard, this message of salvation, this gospel, then you will not be saved, but you will suffer eternal damnation under God's wrath. but He also, at the same time, in the midst of these words of warning, He exhorts them by giving them not only warnings, but He also gives them Christ. He shows them that there is no other name by which we must be saved. There is no other way of salvation. He shows them the riches that are ours. He shows us all that has been accomplished in Christ to save us. And in all of this, He holds out to them the hope of eternal life. He shows them and He points them in Hebrews 11 to those who have gone before them. Those others in the Old Testament who had put their faith in Christ, who had went out and forsaken all to follow Christ. He holds out to them Abraham. He holds out to them Moses and Sarah and so forth. They encourage them that they too might run the race with endurance. And so in order to do this, He holds out Christ to them, that they might not neglect Him, nor turn from Him or turn away from Him. Christ is the only way of salvation. He is the only remedy for sin. It's not going back or away from Him, but it is Christ. And so He shows them this great salvation. Now, to do this, To accomplish this task of exhortation, we have chapter 1, which we've already looked at. And in that chapter, we find Him pointing us to Christ. From the very outset, chapter 1, verses 1-4, He points us to Christ. He shows us how Christ is greater than the prophets whom they might have esteemed. He shows us how they are greater than Christ. Yes, they spoke the Word of God to us, but in these last days, God has spoken to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. And this one Jesus Christ, the Son of God who has spoken in the last days, He is the exact representation of God's nature. That is, He is God. He is the One who has created all things. He is the One who upholds all things by the Word of His power, everything in the universe. And so He shows him His superiority overall. And this One who is God, as He points out, has made redemption for our sins. He has accomplished this great redemption. He has offered His body up, making purifications for sins, and He has sat down at the right hand of God. Now in all of this, He also goes on to show that He is far superior to the angels. the angels they may have esteemed and looked to. But He shows that He is far superior to them. He gives seven ways in which He is superior to them. He shows that He is God. He is the Son of God. They worship Him. He doesn't worship the angels. He goes on to talk about how Christ is Lord of Lords. He's King of Kings. He is eternal and He sits at the right hand of the Father. He has been exalted to this place until all enemies become His footstool. Now in light of all of this, someone might say, well how can Christ be so great and superior to the angels since He became a man? How can He be so great and superior to the angels when He has become a man and He suffered and He died? That may be the objection that somebody might raise that listens to the book of Hebrews chapter 1. Well, to remove this objection and to answer these questions that might arise, He demonstrates for us in this passage how Christ is superior to the angels. He is superior in that He is God. He has established that in chapter 1. But now we get into the subject, well, we know that He was the God-man. He was God and He was man. But how is a man superior to the angels? Well, he answers that question for us here in this passage that is before us in verses 5 through 9. Now, as we looked at last week, verses 1 through 4, these are basically an application to everything that has been said in chapter 1. He is superior to the angels. He is superior to the prophets, the angels. spoke and delivered God's message. The prophets spoke and gave God's message. And if what the angels had said was the message they declared proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how much more so will those who forsake what they have heard from Christ receive a just retribution? If we neglect the One who speaks in these last days, How much more will we suffer the wrath of God? That is the application of verses 1-5. But now he picks up to answer the questions that might arise in verses 13-14. In verses 13-14, he said that Christ sits at the right hand of God. He sits at the right hand of God until all of His enemies are made His footstool. And then he says of those of us, that these spirits, these angels, they are sent out to serve us for the sake of us who are to inherit eternal salvation. That's what they are. But how in the world, as the question arises, how are we crowned with glory and honor since we are mere men. How can this be that Christ, this One who has accomplished this salvation, how can He be so superior since He was a man? Well, let's look at this answer that He gives here in verses 5-8. As I pointed out before, The Jewish people had high regard for angels. Because of their abilities, their roles that we see in Scripture, all throughout redemptive history, we see that they may have esteemed them greatly because, for example, as we pointed out before, they were there in delivering the Ten Commandments to God's people. They were there at Mount Sinai. They displayed their power in single-handedly wiping out armies that came against Israel. We know that they at times would bring about judgment on wicked cities, upon men who were evil and wicked. And they even ministered at times to God's people when they were down and out. And because of their great power, because of their abilities, they were seen as being much stronger, much mightier than any Old Testament saint. Much mightier and greater than Abraham or Moses or even David. They are presented in so many places as remarkable creatures throughout the Scriptures, who are more powerful than man. However, despite their splendor, despite how great they are presented to us in the Scriptures, we find in the Scriptures that God has not subjected the world to come to them. They are not going to be the ones who rule over all things. It is going to be us. It is going to be man. who is going to rule in the world to come. We see this in verse 5 where he says, For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere, What is man, that you are mindful of him? Or the son of man, that you care for him? For you made him for a little while lower than the angels. You have crowned Him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under His feet." We see this was the plan of God from the very beginning. You know, we've talked about how people sometimes will worship and get caught up in angelology and worshiping angels and being fascinated with them. We should not do that. Because one day, we as believers, we will even judge the angels, as Paul says. in 1 Corinthians 5. We will judge the angels. We will be over them. He hasn't subjected the world to come to angels, but as we see here, He has subjected it to us, to man. And that's the way it's always been. In Genesis 1 and verse 26, we read this from the outset of Scripture. Then God said, Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness. He didn't say that to angels. And then He says, "...and let them, that is man, have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So, we see here that it was man who was made in God's image. We see here that it was man who was to have dominion over the fish, and over the birds, and over every living thing. But we know as we read on in Genesis, in Genesis chapter 2, in Genesis chapter 3, we find that something went wrong. That first man Adam, who was given dominion over all things, who was set in paradise and was over all, We find in Genesis chapter 2 that something went wrong. This one who was called Adam, this representative of the human race, this one who represented us all, he disobeyed God. He disobeyed the commands of God and because of his sin, He was cast out and no longer had the dominion over the garden that He once had. Because He ate of that forbidden fruit that God had told Him not to eat of. Not only that, but we know that rather than ruling over everything, we know that He became subject to a life of misery. And not just Adam, but all of us. All of us who are in Adam. All of us who are in Adam by virtue of being born. We come into this world to a life of misery, a life of chaos, a life where we are under the curse because of sin. When Adam sinned, we know that disease and sickness and pain and tears and death, all of these things entered into the human race. Despite the suffering, the misery, the sin of man, and how far he had fallen, the author here could say of man, in Hebrews 2, he could say of man this, for it was not the angels that God subjected the world to come, it was man that God subjected the world to come. It wasn't the angels, but it was man that God subjected the world to come. It is man who will one day rule as kings in the world to come. But how could this be? Right? Now, as we see everything, when we look upon the landscape of the world, it doesn't seem like this will ever take place. Because everything is in chaos. Even verse 8 points this out. If you look at verse 8 in chapter 2, it says this in verse 8. At present, this time in which we live, we do not yet see everything in subjection to Him. Not all things are under our control. In fact, in many ways the world is in chaos. Man is a slave rather than a ruler. He is a slave to his environment. He has no control over the evil spirits. He has no control over disease. He has no control over his own sinful heart. He has no control over the weather. No control over the animals. He cannot bring peace to this world. He may try and sometimes get ahead just a little bit. But at the end of the day, He is still subject to all of the curse that has been brought upon us because of sin. Everything is out of control. And because of this, He is subject, even though He may get ahead a little bit here and there in this life. At the very end, it goes to show that He doesn't have the full dominion. Because why? Death will take Him out. Death will come to every single one of us. Death still has a grip on us. That last enemy still has its hold upon us. So if this is the case for man, if this is man's lot in life, this life of chaos, this life of disease and sickness and death, how in the world could the author of Hebrews as He does here in verse 13 and verse 14 of chapter 1, say the things that He does. How could He say to Christ, who became a man, came into this world under the curse, how could He say that He now sits at the right hand of God until He makes all of His enemies His footstool? Not only that, but how could He say of us, who are not, we don't have, we're not God, but we are fooling man, and how could He say of us that we are, that these angels, these ministering spirits, they serve us, and that we are going to inherit eternal salvation, or inherit salvation. How does He say this? in light of the present circumstance. How does he say this in light of verse 8, when at the present we do not see everything in subjection to man as God had intended it? How does he say that? Well, the answer is found here in God's Word in verse 5. Verse 5 says, For it was not to the angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere. What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you care for him? You have made Him for a little while lower than the angels. You have crowned Him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under His feet. Now, although we don't see the present world in which we live in, subject to Christ or to man, even though it looks like the enemies of this world against Christ are just having their way, even though it looks like the wicked are prospering, even though it looks like there is no hope for us, We find these blessed words here in verse 5. He speaks here of a world to come. He's not talking about the present in which you and I live in, but the world to come is going to be different than what we presently see. In this world, we do still have death. We still have disease and sickness. There are still enemies of God running loose. But in the world to come, that is not going to be the case. And the only reason that this can happen, the only reason the author can say that this world to come is going to be subject to man is because of Christ Jesus. All of the promises that are found in these verses, verses 6 through 8, which are taken from Psalm 8, all of these things can be said right now, applying to us who are believers, because of Jesus Christ. Now, let's look at this together. To prove this, we have here in verse 6 the quotation that is taken from Psalm 8, which we read in our call to worship. Even though the author sounds here like he doesn't know where it comes from, that's where it comes from. Because in verse 6 he'll say this, it has been testified somewhere. Now, he doesn't even feel like he needs to say exactly where it's at. He knows where it's at though. He speaks in a general way about where this quotation is taken from. And not only that, but he probably even assumes that they already know, as Hebrews who should know their Bibles, where this comes from. But it's Psalm 8 is what he is quoting here in verses 6 through 8. Now, to understand this quotation, I want us to go back for a second to Psalm 8, and I want us to look at this. Psalm 8, and your Bibles, if you will, turn there with me as we walk through briefly these verses. I want you to see the context in which we find this verse. In verses 1 through 2, you have David speaking. And David starts off here by praising the Lord for how majestic His name is in all the earth. And not only that, but he ends this psalm in verse 9 with the same words. Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth. So he's contemplating how great God is, how He has set His glory above the heavens. And out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes to steal the enemy and the avenger. And then as a man, he looks to the works of God's hands. He looks to the heavens. And he compares himself to the heavens. He looks to those celestial bodies that are floating out in space. He says, when I look at your heavens, verse 3, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, they cause him to ask this question. What is man that you are mindful of him, and the Son of Man that you care for him? Yet you have made Him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned Him with glory and honor. You have given Him dominion over the works of your hands, and you have put all things under His feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the fields, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the sea. What is man that you are mindful of him? Why would you do this for man? Why would you subject all things to him? Why would you set him and give him dominion over all the works of your hands? That's David's question here. You are great God. And I see this moon and these stars that are so much greater than I. Here I am a speck of dust. Here I am in the midst of this created order, and I am so small, I'm so tiny. That is the question that David asked. Not only that, but in light of the fall. I know David knew about the fall. He knew about sin, and the sin and corruption even in his own heart. And so he would ask this question, Lord, what is man that You're mindful of him? In the midst of all of this, here we are, sinners. We have sinned against God. In light of what happened when Adam sinned, how is it that you were mindful of man? How is it that you, Lord, could make a sinful man and have him have one day dominion over all? How could you crown him with glory and honor? How could you crown a sinner, a man, with glory and honor? When David says these things, when the Hebrew author quotes this psalm, they are able to see these realities. And the way they can say this, the reason why David could say these things, that these are going to happen, that God is going to crown man with glory and honor. And notice it's in the past tense. It's not in the future tense, though it is going to take place one day in the future. But he says it in the past tense as though it's already set in stone. Because it is set in stone. These things have been predestined by God in eternity past. In the covenant of redemption, Christ is going to redeem a people. And these people are going to be a kingdom of priests before God, a kingdom of kings. They will be crowned with glory and honor, and they will rule over the created order. Eden lost will become Eden restored. And so do you see this? The reason David could say this, that these things are going to happen, is not because of you and I, that we're so great. It's not because you and I who have sinned, he can say these things, because something's great about us, or God highly esteems us. It's because of Christ. He is the one that is the ultimate fulfillment. He is the one who brings about these things. And the way He brings about these things for man is He becomes the second Adam. He does what the first Adam could not do. The first Adam was given all things. And what happened? He lost it. He sinned against God. He was kicked out of the garden. Things became chaotic. But the second man comes who takes upon human flesh. the Son of Man, and for a little while He made Him lower than these heavenly beings. He is superior to the angels. He's always been. He's God. But for a little while He took upon human flesh. For a little while He came down here and was made like us in every way, yet without sin. And so for a little while He came to this earth and He died a death. on our behalf. He died and took upon Him the curse of sin to deliver us from the curse. He came and did all of these things, and when He died, He rose again, and He ascended to the right hand of the Father. And so God in Christ, God had crowned Him with glory and honor. And so therefore, those who are co-heirs with Christ, those who have trusted in Christ. Remember in the past, Adam was our representative. And in him there is condemnation for all because we're all in him. Because of the one man's sin, death came and so we all sinned and we're all going to die. But because of this one who came the second time, this greater Adam, this one whom we call Jesus Christ, who has come, God himself coming in human flesh because of him, if you are united with him by faith, then this is true of you. You see, Psalm 8 is not... David is not speaking here of the unbeliever in the future. God is not going to take the unbeliever in the future and crown him with glory and honor and give him this dominion over all things. He's not going to do that. He's only going to do that for those who are in Christ. Because this is what is true of Christ. For a little while He was made lower than the angels. What is man that you're mindful of him? Or the son of man that you care for him? You made him. This is speaking of Christ. You made him for a little while lower than the angels, and you have crowned him with glory and honor, and you put everything in subjection under his feet. And so now that's why in verse 13 he could say of Jesus, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. He is putting all things in order, even though at this present time we do not yet see everything in subjection to Him. Notice the tenses here. We find the future, we find the present, and we find the past. The reason, right now in the present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to Christ. Everything seems chaotic. It seems like this will never come about in the believer's life. But, at the present time, we look back by faith. We look back by faith and we look forward in faith. We look back to what Christ has done. He has conquered every enemy, even the last enemy, death, by being raised from the grave. And so we look back by faith, as verse 9 says, but we see Him who who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus. We see Him who for a little while, that is Him who was in the past, who was made a little lower than the angels. We look to the past at what He has done, His finished work of on the cross. And then we look to the future, to the world to come. And of that world to come, that renewed world that is renewed by Christ, it is in that world that God will for all of those who are in Christ, just as He did with Christ, He will crown us with glory and honor. Those of us who are men who have been saved by Jesus Christ. And He will put all things, everything, in subjection under our feet. He will give dominion, as it says now, in putting everything in subjection to Him. He left nothing outside of His control. You remember what Revelation chapter 5 says in verse 10. And you have made them, speaking of the redeemed, a kingdom and priest to our God, and they shall reign on the earth. We will reign. That's why it says, or Jesus said in the Beatitudes, are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." This is why Abraham, he left his homeland. He went out just as God had told him to. And what did he go out seeking? A land in the Middle East? He was looking far beyond that. Chapter 11, verse 8, By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. And by faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with them of the same promise. Listen to this, For he was looking forward to the city that has a foundation, whose designer and builder is God. He was looking to that day, that day which the Bible here calls that world to come. We find also Moses. What did he do? He left the riches of Egypt, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ, following Christ, suffering for Christ, greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt. Why? For he was looking to the reward. He was looking to the reward. Romans chapter 4. We find this same thing with Abraham. We know that when he went out, he was looking not to gain a plot of land, but he was looking to inherit the world. That's what he was doing. Why? Because of the things that the author of Hebrews is talking about us. There is a world to come for the believer to inherit all of these things. The reason why we can inherit salvation, as verse 14 says, the reason why we are so rich as Paul describes in Ephesians, is because we have been given everything. That's what Paul tells the Corinthians. Everything is yours. All these riches that are Christ's are yours. Everything is going to be subject to you, except you will be subject to Christ. He's the only one that will be over us. All things will be put in order. Eden lost will become Eden restored because of Jesus Christ. Now, there are doubters who could say, well, it doesn't seem like he's ruling. If all this is true, then why are things presently chaotic? It is because the world to come is not yet. Notice the time in which we live in. It's the present. But there's a day coming, a present time, a future world, a time when all of these things, this world will be recreated. Everything will become new. That's why John said, I saw the heavens and the new earth. All things will be restored. And there Jesus will be crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering and His death. In other words, you and I, we will have the same right because we are in Him. He is upholding right now all things by the Word of His power. But we don't see everything, all of His enemies under His feet. Death still reigns. People still die. You and I can still die. But there's coming a day when there will be no more of that. No more sickness. No more death. No more crying. For the former things have passed away. And so by faith, we look to this One who has suffered and died in our place, who was raised for us, who was raised that we might be redeemed, might be saved for our justification. We look unto Him. What a glorious thing this is. We see Him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely, Jesus. Notice the stress upon His humanity. He doesn't call Him Jesus Christ here, but He says Jesus. He uses His earthly name. And He says, crowned with glory and honor. Why? Because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. He was made lower, He suffered a death, but yet He was crowned with glory and honor. That's what Paul talks about in Philippians chapter 2. If you have your Bibles, go over to Philippians with me. Philippians chapter 2. Paul talks about how Jesus did this very thing. In verse 5, Or verse 6 of chapter 2 of Philippians, speaking of Christ, it says, "...of him who, though he was in the form of God..." That is, because he was God, "...he did not account equality with God, a thing to be grasped, to be held on to, but he emptied himself." by taking the form of a servant. That is, He came to serve, not to be served, but to serve. He came taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, taking upon human flesh. He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even the death on a cross. And therefore, God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, above every angel, above every evil spirit, above every person, so that the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth. And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. That's what He is telling us here. He was crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death. Now why would He do all of this? He already ruled and reigned. He already upheld the universe by His power as God. He was God. He created all things. He was already greater than the angels. Why would He do this? Why would He take upon human flesh? Well, the Bible tells us the answer to that. The middle of verse 9. So that by the grace of God, he might taste death for everyone. Now, when it says everyone, he's not speaking, he's speaking of a specific group of everyone. Verse 13. Behold, I and the children God has given me. He came to die for the elect. He came to die for those whom the Father had given to Him. He came to die a death for them. For every one of them. Every one of them who are scattered abroad in all the ages. He came and He did all of this. that by grace, by the grace of God, He might taste death for everyone. You and I did not deserve this. We did not deserve Christ coming down and dying for us. We deserve the hottest hell. We deserve the wrath of God for all eternity. That's what I deserve. That's what you deserve. The first time we sinned, God should have killed us. He should have sent us to hell. The first time we came out of the womb, because we were in Adam and we had inherited his guilt and corruption and condemnation, we should have been sent straight to hell, even as infants. But God is gracious. What is man that you are mindful of Him? And so God sent Christ into this world. For a little while, He was made lower than the angels. We know that He was made lower. No one looked upon Him, esteemed Him not, the Bible says. And He died a death for us by grace. And through that, God exalted Him, crowned Him with glory and honor. And everything was put in subjection under His feet. And though we don't see it now, one day it will be. And nothing will be left outside of His control, outside of His rule. And those who are in Christ will have all the rights and all the privileges that Christ has, except they will be subject to Him. Those who are in Christ will receive all of these riches. They will inherit, as the Bible calls it here in verse 3, this great salvation. Why would we neglect Christ? Why would we turn away from Him? Why would we go back to the riches of this world that are fleeting? Why would we go back and worry ourselves and bother ourselves with spending all of our time and effort for this world that is quickly fading away? This present world, it's going to be done away with. Why would we do that? There is a world to come. And it's so much greater than this world that Adam has corrupted. It's so much greater than this world of sin. One day God is going to bring it about, and it's going to come. And for all of those who are in Christ, all of those who have repented of their sins and trusted in Him, they will receive these riches. They will be crowned with glory and honor. Remember Paul talking about using this language about the crown? He runs the race that he might receive this crown. You see how glorious all this is? When David contemplated the majesty of God in Psalm 8, and the greatness of God's work in the heavens, and then he compared himself to the heavens, he was left with a question. What is a man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you care for him? You made him for a little while lower than the angels. And that is true, isn't it? At the present time, we are lower than the angels. I don't have the power that an angel has. I don't have the strength that they have. But yet, in the world to come, He is going to raise us up. And 1 Corinthians 5 says we will even judge the angels. And we will be raised up. Yet, in this sin-sick world, even though David knew that we were under a curse, he could say, using even the past tense, as though it had already happened, You crowned Him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under His feet. Why could he say that so confidently, David? He could say that because of Christ, because of what He was coming to do. And why did David say, O Lord, O Lord, how majestic is Your name? Because He is. Because of this great salvation. It's not only the work of His hands that makes Him majestic and above all, because of this great salvation that He accomplished in Jesus Christ. O Lord, O Lord, how majestic is Your name. that you would look down upon us and send Christ to us. I like the way A.W. Pink put it, like the psalmist, when you go out at night and you view the wondrous heavens, and then think of your own utter insignificance, when you meditate upon the glory of God's majesty and holiness, and then you think of your own exceeding sinfulness, and are bowed down into the dust, Remember that up there is a man in the glory, and that man is the measure of God's thoughts concerning you. Remember that by the wondrous and sovereign grace, you have been not only predestined to be conformed to His image, but that you, as a joint heir with Him, share His inheritance. That's what the psalmist is saying. That is what he is saying. These things are found to be true in Christ Jesus. In other words, because of Christ, God could be mindful of you. Because of Christ, You and your sinfulness could one day be crowned with glory and honor. Because of Christ, you as a mere man will one day inherit all things. And by faith, we know these things to be fact. Though it doesn't look like they'll ever happen, by faith, we look forward because of the past realities of what Christ has done in coming into this world to save sinners. Now think about this by way of application in your life. And I close with these three things. First, Notice that the hope we have is only for those who are in Christ. Those who have repented of their sins and now live unto Christ. They have trusted in Christ alone for salvation. Though this world is messed up, and it appears that things are not going to get better, though we may suffer as a Christian, though we may lose everything like the Hebrews were, Though it looks like the wicked are prospering, we can be confident, just like Abraham, who wandered around and lived in tents, and Moses, who left the wealth of Egypt, and the prophets who were martyred, that even though things look bleak, there is a world to come, a kingdom that is ours that cannot be shaken, as the author of Hebrews says, whose builder and maker is God. And therefore, Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witness, as the Hebrew author says, let us lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely to us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. If this is your hope, then tell me this, what trial, what troubles in this life are able to bring you down and cause you just a relentless wake of sadness? What trial or trouble should shake us or move us to utter despair? There's no trouble, there's no trial that should weaken our faith. If only we will, by God's grace, look away from the present things and to the future by faith. Look to Christ in the past, but look at the hope that we have in Him in the future. If we will do that, there is nothing, there is no persecution, no amount of persecution that could shaken our faith. There's no reason to go back. What a hope, what a word of exhortation to spur us on in the Christian life. And then second, if you are in Christ, know that all things are yours. The dominion you lost in Adam has now been restored, in a greater measure, in the true and better Adam, namely Christ. And so, my question for you is this, do you live this way? Do you live this way? Is your hope in this world? Are you trying to accumulate all that the world has? Or are you seeking first the Kingdom of God? Not worrying about what you have or you don't have, but you're seeking first the Kingdom of God because you know all these things will be added unto you. Stop living for this world, believer. Stop living for this world, but live for Christ and His Kingdom. And then last, if you're here today, And you have never repented of your sins. You are still in Adam. If you have never turned to Christ alone to save you, you are still in Adam. Adam is your representative. And everything that comes by way of his sin is upon you. The curse that has been brought. And so you're still living in your sin. And you're still living for yourself. And in this present time, all things are chaotic. You are part of this world. My encouragement for you is to look to Christ, because you won't be crowned with glory and honor, and all things won't be yours in the age to come, because you are not a child of God. You have yet to trust in Christ. And so, listen, if you trust in Christ to save you, if you will trust in Him, if He isn't your Savior, and you trust Him, and you turn from your rebellion, then God will give you all the benefits of salvation. He will save you from the wrath to come. He will give you the righteousness you need to stand faultless before His throne. And not only that, but He will deliver you from the slavery and the bondage of sin. And He will lift you up out of that miry clay that you might live unto Christ. You will no longer be under that curse. if you are in Christ. And so if you are in Adam, if you have never repented, then do not neglect this great salvation. Do not neglect it, but run to Him for forgiveness of sins. He is the one who has come and tasted death for you, so that you don't have to die eternally, but you can live. Trust in Christ alone. He is the only way of salvation. He is the eternal life. There is no other way of salvation. Do not set your hope only in this world. It is passing away. Set your hope upon Him and the world to come. The One who can forgive and atone for your sins. The One who can save you. Who can give you this rich inheritance. Trust in Him. Run to Him today. Do not neglect such a great salvation. Let's pray. Father, as we come to You, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for this passage of Scripture that is so rich. I feel like that I have just skimmed the surface, that I have just waded in just inches of water rather than the deep. Father, I pray that You would help us to understand these things. All that is ours in Christ, I pray that we would not live for this world, but we would live for the world to come, and that we would set our gaze and fix our gaze upon Christ, our only hope of salvation. I pray, Lord, that there will be none of us here with an evil, unbelieving heart that leads us to turn away from the living God, but that we will, with one voice and as one accord, that we will run hard after you. Help us to live for the world to come, for Christ Jesus, who is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the one who is going to make all his enemies his footstool. I pray that, Lord, there will be nobody here that is found outside of You. Lord, awaken those who are lost, lest they come to Christ, and not as a Savior, but as the one who is their enemy, who will put them and crush them under His feet. Lord, I pray that You will grant them repentance. Grant them salvation. Lord, we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.