He Came Down

true and solid wisdom consists of two parts, knowledge of God and man.

Wisdom is understanding who God is and who we are. And well, we don't try to understand who God is apart from who he has made us to be. And we don't try to understand who we are apart from God who designed us. When we understand wisdom and we understand what wisdom is in knowledge of God and man, it helps us to see how great he is and the greatness he bestowed upon us. It helps us understand his purpose in all of creation that is revealed and how we are a particular important part of that purpose. It helps us see how wonderful it is to depend upon God. It also helps us to see how what he designed with goodness, With order and perfection, we have marred with sin. This world, it's confusing because it's amazing how there is order, but there's also ruin and destruction. In our sin against God, we brought about a glorious ruin of God's good creation. And so wisdom helps us to know how to cry out to God for mercy. So as we're looking at Psalm 8, The simple summary statement, the wise man glorifies God who reveals his greatness and makes man great. The wise man glorifies God who reveals his greatness and makes man great. We'll first look at two points that reflect upon the Psalm 8 itself, and then the third, What we did last week, we'll look to the book of Hebrews to consider how the author of Hebrews interprets this in light of Jesus Christ. First point this morning as we consider Psalm 8. God has made his glory known in all creation. God has made his glory known in all of creation. Again, notice there the bookend. Verse one and nine are They control everything that's in the middle.

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.

And if you were with us last week, we see here again this kind of funny all-caps Lord next to just a capital L Lord. And if you remember from last week, the all-caps Lord, that is the way we write Yahweh. That is God's covenant name that he gave uniquely to Israel. That is how God gave his personal communication, and let Israel know who he was as the promise-making God, he is Yahweh. Oh, Yahweh, our Adonai. Adonai is more of a general word that other religions would have used, but it's also a reference to Yahweh. But here it's, oh, Yahweh, our master, our Lord, our sovereign. Notice how majestic is your name, Yahweh, in all the earth. How great is your name in all the earth. We see this as a worship song because it's telling us who God is and where he's revealed his glory and greatness and therefore we should know how to respond to glorify him in all the earth in every way. Worship consists of two parts and we've already done it here this morning. There's two very important parts of worship that we have to understand in their right process. The first is hearing from God who speaks. Hearing from God who tells us who he is. He's so good to even tell us how he saves us, how who he is and his glory and his greatness and how to worship him. God has prioritized his worship as he ought. And so he's good, he tells us how to worship him. So the first part of worship is hearing from him, and so that's why we begin with a call to worship. That's why we have scripture readings. The second part of worship is speaking to God. It's important we understand that speaking to God is always in right response to what he said. As God reveals our sin, we confess our sin. As God reveals his glory, We praise him. As God tells us all the good things that he's given to us, we thank him. All of life is meant to be worship of recognizing how good and great God is in all ways, always seeking to know how he's revealed himself so that we know how to properly respond in worship, thanksgiving, and praise. David is the author of this psalm. He's reflecting on who God is. How great he is. He is doing kind of what we did way back in Ecclesiastes. David knows Yahweh. David knows the books of Moses. David has heard from God. He's spoken to God. He's aware of God's special revelation. But there's a way in which he's also saying, I look to the heavens. I observe what God has made and I want to then make observations and think about who God is who's made such glorious things. An Aristotelian approach of wanting to observe things and trust the senses. But it's clear he also has God's revelation in mind because of what he says about how God made angels and how God made man. And the idea of having dominion over the beast of the field based upon the revelation we read earlier in Genesis 1. There are two books of God that we must affirm. There's God's, what we call special revelation, that is his words to us that are him telling us who he is. how he created, what he created, why he created, who he is, who we are, how to be saved, how to worship him, how to know him. The second book is his creation. And this creation, he created it with goodness and order. It does reflect him as the creator. It has the fingerprints of God, but now with sin because of us. So we do want to recognize there's a way in which we should be able to study his creation and recognize truth about who God is, there's also a limitation and a problem with studying general revelation or creation. Romans 1 20 tells us we suppress his truth. Even though he makes himself known in all that he created, we suppress what he makes known as truth. We refuse to give him honor and thanks. And general revelation is enough revelation from God in all that he created to leave us without excuse because of the way we've sinned against him. It is not enough to know him as our true God and Savior. Even though it's limited, Christian, we should long to look out to creation. and rightfully interpret it because of what he's told us about himself as a creator. Notice his name is majestic in all the earth. God has revealed himself. God has put his stamp on all of creation. Yes, it is now a glorious ruin because of our sin. And we have a difficult time recognizing how great his name is in all the earth. because of how much ruin there is. Destruction and death that we have caused because of our sin. If we look to verse two, or really one B in two, we're gonna look at those four lines together.

You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes. to still the enemy of the avenger.

Now, this is one of the more challenging passages, especially verse two. There's three lines. Hebrew parallelism usually has two lines that sound like they say the same thing, but they are doing different things in the way they repeat phrases. Here, there's three lines, so you pause, you slow down. The middle line is a control. You have established strength because of your foes. This hymn, this psalm of creation is about what God has done, what he has made, what he has established. You, Yahweh, have established strength because of your foes. Now what comes before it and what comes after it, I believe is supposed to be contrasting two different types of people. Out of the mouths of babies and infants, the most weak, helpless, and vulnerable, God is establishing his strength, not because of the mouths of babies and infants, but they're the ones who would proclaim it, and they're the ones who would recognize it. He establishes his strength, and the infants and the babies, they would proclaim it. And he also establishes his strength to silence his enemies and those who seek revenge. We see here in the midst of creation, there's enmity because of sin. We see there is a problem he's recognizing in that line itself because there's foes, there's an enemy, there's avengers. And we, we should think back to Genesis 3.15 here at the most basic level. I want us to go back, actually forward to Matthew 21. Matthew 21, that's on page 826. If you're turning in a pew Bible. And here, Jesus, as he is in the temple. He cites this passage beginning in verse 14. In the blind, I'll begin in verse 12.

And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple. And he overturned the tables and the money changers in seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, it is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers. And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did and the children crying out in the temple, Hosanna to the son of David, they were indignant. And they said to him, do you hear what these children are saying? And Jesus said to them, yes, have you never read? Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies, you have prepared praise. And leaving them, he went out of the city of Bethany and lost them.

Now what the children are saying in the temple in verse 15 is a praise of Jesus as Yahweh, as God's Messiah, the son of David, the one who has been promised to sit at the right hand of Yahweh. And the chief priests are upset. Do you not understand what they're saying? Jesus said, I understand what they're saying. And they will say it because the Lord has said they must say it. And then he cites our Psalm and you'll notice there the Psalm 8 does not say you have prepared praise, but recognize Psalm 8 is a Psalm of praise. He is citing the context of the psalm that out of mouths and babies and infants, his strength is established, his praise is established. Here, the author of all of scripture is telling us he is the one to be praised out of the mouths of infants. And there's two provocative things here when it comes to chief priests and scribes. The first is telling them, have you not read? They're supposed to be the authority on all things that have been written. Have you not read? The second thing is if they know the context, and I believe they would, they would recognize that he is claiming to be the one who's worthy to be praised. He is the one that the children are praising. But most importantly, they're the enemies. They're the foes that are silenced. because of God's greatness and power. As we look at this psalm and we see how great God is as the creator who is to be praised, the creator who is not threatened by any enemy or avenger, who is praised by all who he would call the mouths of babies and infants, he needs no one. Notice over and over again the language of creation. Verse three, the work of your fingers set this moon and the stars in their place. Verse five, you made man a little lower than even the heavenly beings. You crowned him, you gave him glory and honor. Verse six, you've given him dominion over the works of your hands, all the rest of earthly creation. God has given into the hands of man. But notice there, the focus is the works of your hands, the work of your fingers. You have made, you are the creator. David is looking around and reflecting on how God is a great creator and all that exists is from him. He's looking around and making sure we understand the God of scripture, Yahweh, He is the one who has created all things. This is important for us just to think about worldview issues. A couple observations about who God is based upon Psalm 8. One, God is not distant or disinterested or unconcerned with his creation. We reject deism and any notion of a watchmaker or someone who just isn't aware of what's going on. No, God is very near and paying attention and caring about his creation. So God is not distant. Secondly, he is not bound by nature to this world. He is not dependent in any way upon what he has created. This rejects any notion of pantheism or panentheism as if God needs this world. No, there's God and there's everything else that exists and he created all out of nothing. Everything else that exists depends fully on God. He is independent from creation. But as important we see properly, he is transcendent and eminent. He is high above and glorious and near. Any overemphasis that denies one of those is a misunderstanding of God. He is holy and glorious as a creator, but yet he's drawn near. And it's not because he depends upon us by nature. He draws near and cares because he's committed himself to his creation in love. God has bound himself to us out of his own free will in love by making promises and God cannot lie. He is bound by his own word to us. He cares about creation because he created it good. He created it orderly. And then after sin, there is a divine dilemma. Would he destroy it and just start over? That would imply some kind of wastefulness or failure on behalf of God. Would he just let the sin go on forever and let it run amok in destruction and devastation? That would also prove to be useless and wasteful. Now in the divine dilemma that he created all things good and orderly and we led this world that he put us in charge of into sin to make it a glorious ruin, He promised to redeem her. He promised to recreate this earth. David here is showing the God who has created all things, all things depend upon him, and he has shown care as the creator. Christian, the first and foremost understanding of who God is is the creator. This is the first notion and understanding we should have of God. It's frustrating that this is the one that it seems evangelicals have abandoned the most in recent decades. I'm not sure if that's out of fear of how old the earth is or trying to make sure you match up with the most recent narrative of what science interprets. But if you're a believer, you must begin with Genesis 1.1.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

If you can't begin there, you're not gonna end in Revelation 21.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And he who was seated on the throne said, behold, I am making all things new. Also, he said, write this down for these words are trustworthy and true.

You've got Genesis 1.1, you've got Revelation 21, and in the middle, you've got John 1.1.

In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.

And everything that was created was created by him and for him. We celebrate that word become flesh this season. We celebrate that the God who spoke everything into existence added to himself creation to redeem her. And we long for the day he will renew it completely and perfectly. Advent is all about rejoicing in the new creation Jesus has introduced in the incarnation and the resurrection and longing for the completion of it with the new heavens and the new earth. There is one God who created everything out of nothing. He alone is worthy of worship. A few observations as we consider the great God of who created all things from Psalm 8. First, we are completely dependent upon him for our existence.

In him we live and move and have our being.

Secondly, we are completely dependent on him to know him truly. We can understand certain truths about who God is from his creation, but we have his perfect word written for us to tell us exactly who he is and to interpret all things in creation rightly. Third, we are completely dependent on him to know ourselves rightly. Any attempt to understand who we are outside of God is going to mess up who we think we are, and to mess ourselves up in trying to fix whatever we think is the problem. This leads us to our second point and second observation of the psalm, and God cares for man and crowns him with glory. The first was God made his glory known in all of creation, and now we're getting more narrow. God cares for man. and crowns him with glory. Again, a wisdom psalm that tells us who God is and who we are and what he designed us for and what he's done for us and how much he cares about us. It's a kind of stewardship. Stewarding his good order. Renewing that original declaration that he has made us in his image so that we would exercise his dominion in his creation. Verses three to five are the real main thrust of the psalm. We have to really focus in because the greatness of God in his creation, the majestic name in all of creation, that's setting up the bookends, that's setting up the context. He's great at establishing his strength. Man now has strength to dominion over the beast, that's six to eight. But three to five, that's everything of the psalm. It's the main focus. Notice it's a question and answer.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you would be mindful of? 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.

Verse three is making clear God, with your finger you set the moon and the stars in place? Imagine the wonderful clear nights we have where you see the beauty and the glory of the cosmos, the heavens, the moon, and the stars. The finger of God set those in place. Then verse four is the logical question. With all the glory you have put up in the sky at night, why are you thinking of man? Why would you think of such a lowly, non-illuminating being? Why would you care so much for something of the dust that doesn't have such beauty and brilliance as the things you put up in the sky with your finger? There's a wonderful way of seeing the glory of God and the creation and a rightful recognition of how lowly we are here. And the real focus here, what are we that you're so mindful? Weren't there, remember has a covenant aspect to it. What is it about man that you remember him? What is it about the son of man that you would care for him? And verse five is the answer. You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings. You made him lower, but crowned him with glory and honor. You're beneath the objects of the heavens, but you've given man a unique glory. You've given man a unique honor. The Lord has set his glory above the heavens, but there's a glory God gives to every human being. You don't think about what glory is, it means you're made in God's image. It means you're created to receive a glory from him and to reflect his glory in your glory. Man is in no way the greatest in every way of all his creation, but he receives a unique glory. Now I wanna speak to our current culture and how it might be hard to appreciate this because a current culture of entitlement will not ever get to the question of verse four. If you constantly think God should be paying more attention to me, God really needs to be looking out for me, you're not really understanding your relationship to God and how much he does. We've lost the sense of the divine that cries out holy, holy, holy. We praise God, he's shown how merciful he is and how caring, how we should fear him and tremble because he is such a great and glorious and righteous God. We've lost the sense of holy, holy, holy, which really leads to this kind of pondering. If you are so great, how is it you care so much for me? In our current culture, it's too often No, God, you could be doing a better job, you know? Don't you see me? Don't you pay attention? God, could you not take better care of this creation of my life and what I need or what I want? We too often make demands of God rather than rejoice in what he gives us. God made man a little lower than the angels. All right, there's an order of creation, God, angels, Man. There's a unique way in which God crowns man, though. There's something man has that angels do not have. We're made in his image. It doesn't appear to be the case for angels. The pondering is that's why Satan attacked man, because that was the way to attack God, because Satan was not made in God's image, but we are. It was a way to attack God in the one he has crowned with such glory and dignity. Now Dave is a king and he has a certain kind of crown in Israel. But here he's recognizing every human being has this kind of crown. Male and female have the same glory and honor being made in God's image. It's a glory granted. It's a glory given. This is the main thrust of the psalm. how great God is in all the earth. How wonderful we can just look out and see how ordered it is, how wonderful it is that he puts the stars in place and he cares about us so much. What a wonderful way to understand ourselves and each other. There's a right recognition that we hold a special place in creation. Every human being is crowned with the same honor and glory, dignity and worth. We as Christians who have his word should be the ones who are making this message most clear. We should be making sure we understand as salt and light in this earth that God has made, and we must first do this ourselves, but this is how we should relate to each other. God has crowned us all with the same glory and honor. Verses six and eight actually continue this idea of what glory and honor look like.

You have given him dominion over the works of your hands. You've put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, all the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the path, the sea.

We see here, all that else that God created, we have an authority over. There's a way in which Genesis 1 builds up to the end being male and female humans being created last who now rule over everything else God has created on this earth. There's a good call to stewardship here in first recognizing who we are all as image bearers. A couple conclusions as we think about what this means for us. First, God loves all humans equally. Now, God loves his own children whom he saves uniquely, but there's a way in which God first cares for all humanity with a unique care that's greater than all the other animals and beasts of the field and birds of the air and fish of the sea. There's a way in which God does have a unique, special love and care for all humanity because every human is being made in his image. It's important. If you're not a Christian this morning, God is not distant. He sees you. He knows you. He hears you. Cry out to him. Pray to him. Ask him to reveal himself. Take that Bible in front of you. Please make that our gift to you. take and read to know God who created you and loves you and has declared a way in which you can be saved from sin? God has a care for all humanity. Secondly, God crowns man with a great glory and honor. God has made man great. Anybody remember why they built a tower in Genesis 11? They wanted to get to the heavens, but they also wanted to make their name great. Anybody remember any of those guys' names? No, maybe it wasn't one of them. Their attempt was to make their name great. Now, we know the name of the Tower of Babel because of the foolishness of it all, but nobody remembers their names. Their desire was to make their name great. And God brought about folly because of their foolishness. That's Genesis 11. Do you remember all the promises to Abraham in Genesis 12? God says to Abraham,

I will make your name great.

We all know Abraham's name. Greatness is a gift from God. We have very high achieving, highly ambitious people among us. God has made you with a greatness. God gives you a greatness. Whatever greatness you're pursuing, make sure it is in line with God, worshiping God, glorifying God, and make sure you understand the true greatness that cannot be taken away and will be great forever comes from Him. But the greatness here is what we all have. An ability to know God? Make him known? To be his image bearer? God grants greatness. And it might mean we need to redefine the what we think is great so that we truly appreciate the greatness of God. Thirdly, God gives man dominion over all things. Here there's a call to stewardship. God has put us in charge of this creation. There is a mandate to fill it, to have dominion over it, to take care of it. There is a call to consider what it means to conserve and care for this creation. We do not do so, though, with pessimism and fear. We do so with optimism, knowing that Christ is coming back and there will be a new heavens and a new earth. God cares about man. He gives us a unique dignity and glory. He gives us a great responsibility. God is our creator to worship. Again, this idea of who is man that you would be mindful of him, who is man that you would care for him. Let's just make sure we understand this is the basis for the second great commandment, love your neighbor as yourself. We're all equal. This is how you should see every human being first and foremost. All created in the same image, in the same likeness of God. For the church to be salt and light is to make sure we are promoting the dignity and value of all human beings. If you know the verse to meditate upon in this way, 1 Peter 2, 17,

honor everyone love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the emperor.

Those are four simple instructions for a well-ordered, wise life. The third point, God's son came down to restore us to glory. God has revealed his glory in this creation. God has given man a glory. We haven't lost the glory, but we've moored it. We've stained it. We've perverted it. God's Son came down to restore us to glory. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter 2. That's on page 1002 of your Pew Bible. Just as last week, we looked at Psalm 110. As I'm looking at Old Testament text and trying to decide how am I going to help us reflect upon Jesus and the gospel from this Old Testament text, it's wonderful whenever a whole chapter of the Bible is dedicated to that very text, so that all I gotta do is point you to the right source. First, let's go back to Hebrews 1. Early in the service, we read Colossians. He is the image, the firstborn of creation. He is the head of the church. That is a great, probably early Christian hymn to meditate upon at Christmas. Another one is Philippians 2. Here's another passage to meditate upon. Hebrews chapter one, just beginning in verse one. Hebrews is built on contrast. Listen to the contrast.

Long ago at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. But in these last days, he has spoken to us by his son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature. And he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high.

Psalm 110.1.

Having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Notice that first contrast is who's speaking. Not just prophets, but God's own son. He is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint. Notice the creation language. He is the heir of all things through whom all things were created. That puts him on the other side. He is the creator, not created. He upholds the universe. He's a sustainer of all that exists. And notice at the end, he's more superior to angels. This whole section here, chapters one through two, are making clear that God never said to an angel, you are my son. God never said to an angel, sit at my right hand. God never said to an angel these things. So he's beginning by making sure how special Jesus is as the son of God, that he's greater than angels. He's going to be greater than Moses, Joshua, Abraham, Levitical priest, He is a son of God who is great. Look first, though, we're gonna jump into chapter two, verse five. Again, the contrast.

For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere.

That's really encouraging. You ever forget where a Bible passage is? That's encouraging.

What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you care for him? You've 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 his control. At the present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. that we see him for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God, he might taste death for everyone."

Well, we do know where he's referring to, this is Psalm 8. He's making it clear that the angels never had this kind of subjection again. So, so, so angels do not even have the same kind of subjection as, uh, the, the, the, the lower than them under their feet as, as man does, because man had authority over creation, but, but here it's the son of man specifically. Yeah. After quoting Psalm 8, he makes it clear all things on the earth are, well, they're, they're under our feet as image bearers, but they're going to be under Jesus' feet uniquely as the one true man. The, the, the, Quotation here says he was little under, he was made lower than the angels for a little while. Now humans were created under the angels at all times. But, but here, Jesus, who is the creator of angels, he is God almighty, who is always more glorious than angels. His glory is in the heavens. Here, the interpretation of this from the psalmist is that he lowered himself below the angels. He lowered himself to take upon a nature lower than his glory as God Almighty the creator by taking on human flesh. And that little while was about 30 to 33 years. David is saying something different than what the author of Hebrews is saying. And I believe here we've got to step back and recognize a pattern in scripture. Adam is the first man who represents all men. Jesus is the true one man who represents all men. There are ways in which this passage is definitely true. Psalm 8, of all men at all times, male and female, all made the image of God, all cared for by God, all given the same glory and honor. But then there's a way in which it applies uniquely to Jesus, who's the God man, who's the true perfect man, who's sinless. He has come down to save us. And the author of Hebrews is saying from Psalm 8, he came down even lower than the angels. That's how much God cares for us. He descended to us in a unique way. Chapter 2, verse 9 of Hebrews explains why. He came down for a little while, made lower than the angels, namely, Jesus crowned with glory and honor because of his suffering. so that by the grace of God, he might taste death for everyone. Jesus fulfills this psalm by becoming like us, not to receive glory and honor like us, but to suffer and die to take away the wrath of God. He came to be like us, not because he needed the glory and honor, no, he came to take away sin, death, the wrath of God, so that we could be restored properly to honor. Jesus' glory and honor here is as the man, the true man who came to be like us, to die for us. Our psalmist continues to explain. It was verse 10.

For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist and bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified have all one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, I will tell you your name to my brothers in the midst of the congregation. I will sing your praise. And again, I will put my trust in you. And again, behold, I and the children God has given me.

Now, for whom and by whom and the one who brings sons to glory and the one source of the founder of salvation, that's God the Father. We understand Jesus is the founder of our salvation. Jesus is the one who is perfected through suffering. Verse 10, that's challenging. God the Father should make the founder of our salvation perfect through suffering. God the Son has existed forever in perfect holiness and glory. Here, he's made perfect by adding to himself a nature that's foreign to him, our humanity. He came to be like us in every way, He who formed us in His own image, already designed to be incarnated. He formed us in His image knowing He would come to be like us. He's perfected through suffering to be the great high priest, to be the one who can save us. He's not needing perfection in terms of sin needs to be removed. No, He needs to become like us and suffer for us so that He is the perfect high priest who can save us. And notice the following is what he says about us. Therefore, Jesus isn't ashamed to call us brothers. Oh, what a great declaration that is. To be called a child of God is greater than being called an image bearer of God. It's a renewed image bearing, but it's more intimate. It's more personal. We see here the design of the incarnation even further in chapter 14.

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood,

that's all us, he, Jesus himself, likewise partook of the same things. He added onto himself our own nature

so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.

Now, the devil has a power of death in the sense of he is the one who led us into temptation to die. But notice here, like we looked at last week, Christ came to partake of our human nature, to forgive us of sin, to give us life instead of death, and to free us of lifelong slavery. He's come to set us free from the power of sin, the guilt of sin, And one day we long for when he will free us from the very presence of sin. Another creation language, verse 17,

therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect.

He became like us

so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

There we see specifically the forgiveness that he came to provide. And the last way in which the author of Hebrews meditates upon Christ coming down to free us, to forgive us.

For because he himself has suffered when tempted,

that is Jesus Christ, because he was tempted,

he is able to help those who are being tempted.

The gospel is we are all created in God's image. We have forsaken him and the glory he has designed us for to know him and to make him known. He promised to save us. Jesus Christ came to be like us. without sin to die for us as our substitute so that we can cry out to him. He died on the cross to forgive us of our sin if we believe in him and rose again. Those are all things that have happened. Christian, notice verse 17. He helps you right now. We have to know how to look up to Christ who right now is at the right hand of the Father. And right now has all authority. And right now, in the midst of temptation, we'll save you from temptation. But you have to want to look to Him more than your sin. You have to want to trust Him more than your enjoyment of that sin. In the midst of temptation, you look up to Him who was able to forgive you, was able to free you from the power of Satan, who was able to become like you in every way, He's able to help you in the midst of your temptation. You are not alone. This is the God who cares for you. He created you, descended to be like you, died for you, rose for you, and is at God's right hand right now mediating for you as your sure hope. The wise life glorifies God. who reveals his greatness and makes us great. May we long to know God who is great and to receive all the greatness he gives us. Will you pray with me? Father, we thank you that you have shown yourself to be the one true glorious God who created us, who designed us. Thank you that you did not leave us alone to figure out who we are. But you tell us who we are. So that we can spread the truth that every human being is crowned with glory and honor. And we've also marred and destroyed much of that honor. And Christ has come to restore it. May we rejoice greatly in your son, who is our sure help. In his name we pray, amen.