Crowned with Glory: Rediscovering Your Worth in the Majesty of God (Psalm 8)

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Episode Title

Crowned with Glory: Rediscovering Your Worth in the Majesty of God (Psalm 8)

Episode Summary

Do you ever feel small, unseen, or unimportant?

Psalm 8 speaks directly into those moments of insecurity. In this episode of Counseling Through the Psalms, James Long, Jr. explores how David takes us from awe at God’s majesty to wonder at our worth. This psalm affirms that even though we are small in the grand scale of creation, we are not forgotten—we are crowned with glory and entrusted with purpose.

Whether you’re struggling with identity, battling shame, or trying to reclaim a sense of meaning in your life, Psalm 8 shows you where your true value is found: not in what you do, but in the One who made you.

Key Takeaways

• God’s majesty doesn’t diminish your worth; it defines it.
• Even in your weakness, God displays His strength through you.
• Your dignity is not earned by performance, but given by grace.
• The image of God in you reflects your design, your calling, and your purpose.
• Jesus fulfills Psalm 8, restoring the broken image of God in us and renewing our calling to reflect His glory.

Scripture Focus

• Psalm 8:1–9
• Genesis 1:26–28
• Hebrews 2:6–9
• 1 Corinthians 15:27
• Psalm 113:5–6
• Romans 8:19–21

Reflect and Respond

• When have you felt insignificant or overlooked? How does Psalm 8 speak to that?
• What does it mean to you that God is mindful of you?
• How does being crowned with glory and honor reshape your view of yourself?
• Where do you see the image of God in someone you struggle to love?
• How can you reflect God’s glory in your current season of life?
• What verse from Psalm 8 do you most need to meditate on this week?

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ABOUT JAMES AND LESSONS FOR LIFE

Are you longing to find answers to the deeper issues of life? Join Dr. James Long, Jr., a pastor, counselor, and university professor with over 30 years of experience. Hear James as he tackles some of life’s biggest questions and helps us find God’s solutions to life’s struggles. Learn the power of living by God’s grace and for His glory. Experience the joy of forgiveness and freedom found in Jesus Christ alone. If you are in search of freedom, you will love being part of this conversation. Subscribe, and enjoy the show!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello everyone.
It's James Long from Lessonsfor Life, and today would you
grab your Bible and your journal?
And we are going to be lookingat Psalm 8 today.
Now, psalm 8 confronts ourfeelings of insignificance and
offers a breathtaking view ofhuman worth rooted in God's
design and majesty.
The psalm invites those whofeel small, unseen or devalued

(00:23):
to find identity, purpose anddignity in the one who has made
them and remembers them.
So let's open our Bibles toPsalm 8 and grab your journal.
We'll be using that throughout.
Majesty that lifts the lowly.
There are moments in life whenwe feel crushed beneath the
weight of our own smallness.

(00:43):
Perhaps it comes while standingunder star-filled skies or in
the midst of personal failure,or after hearing words that make
us feel like we don't matter Ina world that often treats
people as expendable.
Psalm 8 is a song of healthydignity, so important, so
valuable.
David begins not with lament orcomplaint, but with awe.

(01:07):
He says this in verse 1, o Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your
name in all the earth.
You have set your glory abovethe heavens.
He lifts our eyes upward.
God's name, his nature, hisfame is stamped across the world
, from the heights of theheavens to the mouth of infants,
god's power and beauty aredisplayed.

(01:28):
But Psalm 8 doesn't leave usgazing from a distance.
It brings us nearer In astunning reversal.
This psalm not only magnifiesGod's greatness, it magnifies
the worth he has given to us.
The same God who made galaxiesalso made you and crowned you
with glory.
The dignity of the small andthe weak.

(01:50):
In verse 2, david declares outof the mouths of babies and
infants you have establishedstrength because of your foes.
This is one of the mostcounseling, rich truths in the
Psalms.
God silences the enemies notthrough the strong or powerful,
but through the weak andvoiceless.
He doesn't need thrones todemonstrate his power.

(02:10):
He uses crying babies.
He doesn't always use thearticulate to defend truth.
He uses children to proclaim it.
If you feel powerless, unheardor unqualified, you're not
excluded from God's purposes.
In fact, you may be his choseninstrument.
Jesus quoted this very verse inMatthew, chapter 21, verse 16,

(02:33):
when the children cried out inthe temple praising him as
Messiah.
When the religious leadersprotested, jesus affirmed them.
The message was clear.
The humble often see what theproud miss In a counseling
setting.
This verse confronts the liethat weakness disqualifies you
from being used by God.

(02:53):
It reframes our experience.
Perhaps the very thing that youthink makes you unusable is
what God will use to display hisglory when insignificance
creeps in, he says.
In verses three and four hesays these two lines when I look
at your heavens, the work ofyour fingers, and the moon and

(03:14):
the stars, and then a little bitlater on, it says what is man
that you're mindful of him?
Have you ever asked thatquestion?
David's honest wonder echoes theinsecurities in many hearts.
Do I really matter?
This is the crucial point foranyone struggling with
depression, low self-worth orfeeling forgotten.
Psalm 8 affirms that God ismindful of you.

(03:37):
He has not overlooked you.
His care is not general, it'spersonal.
The Son of man.
That you care for him is not anabstract theology, it's
embodied grace.
Even more astonishing, davidsays God doesn't merely think of
you, he honored us.
Wow.
Verse 5, you have made him alittle lower than the heavenly

(03:59):
beings and crowned him withglory and honor.
This is not humanism orself-exaltation, it's worship,
acknowledging that God has givenus both dignity and
responsibility.
Restored purpose through Christ.
Verses 6-8 reflect our calling.
You have given him dominion.
You have put all things underhis feet.

(04:21):
David is echoing Genesis 1, ourcreation in God's image and our
call to steward creation.
But in the fall that dominionhas been fractured, we misuse it
, we neglect it, we fall short.
That is why the New Testamentreopens Psalm 8 through the lens
of Jesus.
Hebrews chapter 2 tells us thatPsalm 8 ultimately points to

(04:44):
Christ, the one who was made fora little while lower than the
angels, who suffered death anddied, and who is now crowned
with glory and honor.
Hebrews 2, verses 6-9.
Where we have failed in ourcalling, christ fulfilled it.
Where we are stained by sin,christ remained spotless and now
through him, the broken imageof God in us is being restored.

(05:08):
This is good news for everyonewho feels that they've wasted
their lives, marred theirdignity or lost a sense of
purpose.
Jesus restores what sin hasruined.
In him, your worth isreestablished.
In him, your calling is renewed.
Awe that anchors identity.
The psalm ends where it began.

(05:30):
Oh Lord, our Lord, how majesticis your name in all the earth.
Verse 9.
It's a doxology, a finalreminder that everything about
us must be anchored ineverything about him.
We are not the center of theuniverse, but we are cherished
in it.
We are not divine, but we aredignified.
We are not forgotten, but weare crowned Now for the anxious.

(05:52):
Psalm 8 says you are seen Forthe ashamed.
It says you are remembered Forthe insecure.
You are crowned by your creatorand for the aimless.
You were made to reflect hisglory.
What are some of the doctrinalinsights that we find from Psalm
8?
Well, we first see Imago Dei.
Every human being bears theimage of God we see that in

(06:15):
Genesis 1, verses 26-27, andtherefore possess inherent worth
, dignity and responsibility.
We also see divinecondescension responsibility.
We also see divinecondescension God stoops to care
for humanity, not because ofour greatness, but because of
his grace.
Psalm, chapter 113, verses fivethrough six.

(06:36):
We see Christ's humiliation andexaltation.
Jesus fulfills Psalm eight asthe true son of man who restored
what Adam lost.
We saw that in Hebrews 2,verses 6-9, and you can also
find that in 1 Corinthians 15,verse 27.
And then we see the creationmandate.

(06:56):
Humanity is entrusted withstewardship over creation, a
role that finds its fullestexpression in Christ and is
restored through the gospelGenesis, chapter 1, verse 8, and
Romans, chapter 8, verse 19through 21.
Now let's take all thatdoctrine and let's make it
practical, practical theology.
Psalm 8 is deeply relevant forthose who are overlooked,

(07:20):
insecure and unsure of theirpurpose.
This psalm teaches us that ourworth is not something that we
have to earn or prove.
It is something that God gaveus when he made us in his image.
When you feel insignificant,remember that God is mindful of
you Verse 4,.
You are not forgotten in thevastness of creation.

(07:41):
He sees you and cares deeplyabout your life.
When shame tells you that youare worthless, remember that God
crowned you with glory andhonor Verse 5.
This is not based on yourperformance, but it is on his
purpose and his love for you.
When you feel purposeless andadrift, psalm 8 reminds you that

(08:01):
you were made to reflect God'sglory and to participate in His
work.
Your life has meaning.
Every act of kindness,faithfulness and stewardship
reflect the one who made you.
When your heart aches withcomparison or self-doubt, let
this psalm recenter you.
You were not made to competefor approval.

(08:22):
You were made to worship theGod who calls you his own.
And when you long to live alife that matters, remember that
living for the glory of God,whether in parenting, friendship
, work or worship, is whatbrings true fulfillment.
You don't have to be famous orflawless to matter in God's
kingdom, in your home, yourchurch, your school, your

(08:45):
workplace.
God wants to display his glorythrough you.
Your voice, your prayers, yourpresence matters more than you
know.
Okay, now let's reflect andrespond to this passage.
Six points I want you toconsider.
Number one when have you feltinsignificant or overlooked?
How does Psalm 8 speak to thosefeelings?

(09:07):
Number two what does it mean toyou personally that God is
mindful of you?
Number three how does knowingyou were crowned with glory and
honor reshape your view ofyourself?
Number four where do you seethe image of God in someone you
struggle to love?

(09:28):
Number five how can you embraceyour God-given calling to
steward creation and reflect hisglory?
Number six what part of Psalm 8do you most need to linger on
this week, and why?
Well, let's pray, majestic andmerciful God, when I feel small

(09:49):
or forgotten.
Lift my eyes to see your gloryand creation and your grace and
calling Thank you for beingmindful of me and for crowning
me with dignity that I did notearn and restoring what sin has
broken in me by your son, theLord.
Jesus Christ, help me walk inconfidence of being known, loved
and purposed by you.

(10:11):
Teach me to reflect your glory,not with pride but with praise,
and let my worship begin inwonder and end in surrender In
the name of your risen son, theLord Jesus Christ, the son of
man, the Lord of all, amen andamen.
Well, if you're struggling withself-worth or identity, psalm 8
reminds you that you are morethan your past or your pain.

(10:34):
You are remembered, valued andcrowned with glory by God.
Crowned with glory by God.
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(10:57):
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Sign up now for deeper coachingand content designed to help
you grow emotionally,relationally and spiritually
wise.
You are not forgotten.
You are crowned with glory.
Until next time, be blessedeveryone.
Take care.