Sunday Sermons
Man's Majesty
In a world where we so often hear about the terrible things that people do to each other, where people either teach that man is the chance product of mindless evolution and thus a little higher than the animals, or that man is inherently depraved, it is so easy to forget man’s true dignity and worth.
Psalm 8:3-8
Leupold entitles this psalm “God’s glory revealed in man’s dignity”. “From one point of view this psalm is one of the ‘nature psalms’ (Ps. 19, 29,65,109). In a striking way the psalm indicates how high an estimate revealed truth puts upon man. The true dignity of man is taught nowhere as effectively as in the Scriptures” (p. 100). “This psalm contains one of the best-known verses in all of the Bible: ‘What is man that You are mindful of him?’ Ringing down the generations, this haunting question pursues us. As our knowledge of the universe has grown, the query has become more pressing. Carl Sagan notes, ‘As long as there have been humans we have searched for our place in the cosmos. Where are we? Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people’. Is this the only answer modern science can give? If science, as science, is reduced to using the words ‘insignificant’, ‘humdrum’, and ‘forgotten’ when looking at our world, then we need another source to answer the question, ‘What is man…?’” (Williams p. 74).
8:3 “When I consider Your heavens, and work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained”: “Out of this whole array, from stars to sea-creatures, only man can look at this scene with the insight to ask such a question, even in doubt; therefore it already points to its answer. Further, man has been taught to say ‘Thy and ‘Thou’ in such a setting: not only to acknowledge a Creator, but to converse with Him. From His side, God shows in Isaiah 40:26ff., that the right inference from His ordered heavens is not His remoteness but His eye for detail; and adds in Isaiah 45:18ff; 51:16 that He planned no meaningless and empty universe” (Kidner p. 67). “David is the purported penman of this magnificent psalm. Being a shepherd lad in youth, he no doubt had surveyed the moonlit and starlit constellations on numerous nights as he cast his youthful and deeply reverent eyes from his sheep below to the heavens above. With prompt reverence he sensed in his soul that all he saw belonged to God. They are His heavens. They are not the precise handiwork of humans; they are not the collections of Chance” [1] Note the word “ordained”, which means “appointed or fixed”. Nothing in the universe is there by chance, not even the movements of the heavenly bodies.
I know that so many people are interested in exploring and finding out what is in space, but let us be reminded that the most important discoveries, the most important story in this entire universe, is how man lives on this earth! (Matthew 12:36; 2 Corinthians 5:10). The great mandate given us by God is one that all of us can perform, that is to go into the entire world and preach the gospel to all creation (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15).
8:4 “What is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him?”: “In relation to the vastness of space, the order, and the importance of the heavenly bodies, what is man? Why did God invest man with glory? Why does God uniquely care for man?” (Gaebelein p. 112). The phrase “take thought”, suggests God’s care, Who acts on behalf of man. In addition, instead of visiting the human race with judgment (which man deserves), God has so often visited him with mercy (Matthew 5:45). Jesus stressed the same truth when He reminded us that one soul is more important than the entire created universe (Matthew 16:26).
8:5 “Yet you have made him a little lower than God”: First of all, man is also the product of God’s fingers. God created man a “little lower than God”. Here the side reference for “God” is, “or the angels”, and this is the way this verse is quoted in Hebrews 2:7. The term “God” (Elohim) here is used in its rarer, generic sense, to mean supernatural beings (compare with 1 Samuel 28:13; Psalm 82:1,6). This makes sense, because man is far more than just a little below God Himself (Isaiah 55:8-9)! The word “little” can sometimes mean “for a little while” in both Hebrew and Greek. Compare this with Luke 20:36. Angels are spiritual beings, while man is a spiritual being in a temporary and physical body. It is ironic that man, in his attempt to glorify himself and find independence from God, has only succeeded in degrading himself. Just listen to the irony, the atheists and humanists argue “There is no God”, “We are gods”, “No God will save us, and we will save ourselves”. When we ask the question, “Who are we?” They respond, “We are the product of chance, we are evolved monkeys!”
8:5 “And You crown him with glory and majesty”: Man is still crowned with glory and honor. Even after the fall, we are still created in the image of God (James 3:9). In addition, we are continuing to manifest our divine right over creation (Genesis 1:28). Do we live like people who have been crowned with glory and honor? Do we complain about God’s high moral standards? Do we argue that the Bible presents an unrealistic standard, or do we feel honored that God would expect such of us? For a moment, forget about all the negative things that people say about the human race, and remember that we are “spirits”, inhabiting a physical body (James 2:26). We are spirits created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). Just look at what God knows that we can perform and accomplish (John 13:34; Galatians 5:22-23). Instead of chaffing under the expectations of Scripture, let us welcome and embrace them and accept them for what they are, a tremendous compliment, a liberating truth that we do have the potential to live, think, and act in such a noble manner. In fact, we could say that man is never more human when he is worshipping and serving His God (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). Thus to be truly acting like a human being is to love the beauty of God’s creation, to revel in the truths revealed in Scripture, to communicate with God in prayer, to mediate upon the spiritual realm, to serve others, and to worship God joyfully. I want to impress upon you that worshipping God and serving Him should is not unnatural. Remember, we are spirits, seeking God and delighting in spiritual concepts should not be foreign to us. Being a Christian is not some sort of experience or lifestyle that should cut across the grain, rather, it is truly the life we were originally designed to live. I like what someone noted, that the original instruction in the garden to exercise dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:28), now includes the task of spreading the gospel to every corner of the earth (Mark 16:15; Colossians 1:28; 2 Corinthians 10:5). Thus bowing before God and giving Him the glory is not demeaning, rather, it is being truly human(Matthew 22:37-39).
8:6 “You make him to rule over the works of Your hands”: Here is one of the ways in which man has been crowned with glory and honor. These two verses remind us of the dominion which was given to man in Genesis 1:28. “Man’s position over creation was granted before the Fall, but it was not taken away from him (Genesis 9:1-3,7). All creatures, domesticated and wild, are subject to man’s authority and may at his will be used for food” (Gaebelein p. 114).
Hebrews 2:6-8
In Hebrews 2:6-8, Psalm 8:4-6 is quoted and an application is made to Jesus. When the Son of God became flesh (John 1:14), He assumed a bodily condition that was a little lower than the angels (yet He was still God, Colossians 2:9; John 5:18ff; 14:9). In addition, while we do not presently see all things subjected to man (Hebrews 2:8) (especially man’s ability to control his own speech and himself, James 3:7-8), but we do see Jesus who has already won the victory for us (Hebrews 2:9). Whatever rule “man” lost at the Fall, Jesus has regained for us and presently rules over all. If we remain faithful, we will gain what Adam and Eve forfeited and far more. Once again, man will be in the very presence of God. In their fullness, the words of these verses are only true in Jesus Christ. In a sense, right now as a Christian, God has enabled us to regain something of this dominion. In Christ, we can regain control over ourselves (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Ephesians 4:22ff; Colossians 3:5ff). We can liberate ourselves from the devil and escape His domination (John 8:31-32,34). We can become what God wanted for man and man’s relationships (Ephesians 4:24; 5:22ff).
8:9 “O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth!” “Like a final chorus, verse 9 repeats verse 1 as we discover the purpose for which we were created, (Ephesians 2:10), we will participate in making God’s name excellent in all the earth”(Williams p. 79). “At its return, the refrain will be sung with fresh understanding. It also renews the primary emphasis, which is on God and His grace. For man’s dominion over nature, wonderful though it is, takes second place to his calling as servant and worshipper” (Kidner p. 68).
The Degrading Nature of Sin
In view of our dignity as men and women created in the image of God, we need to realize how sin and selfishness, is not liberating or enlightening, but enslaving and degrading.
Proverbs 30:18-19 “There are three things which are too wonderful for me, four which I do not understand: The way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship in the middle of the sea, and the way of a man with a maid”
“What is there about an eagle in the sky, a snake on a rock, a ship on the sea, and a man with a young woman that mystifies the author? What do these four have in common? “ (Garrett p. 241). Note the repetition of the word “way”, i.e., “the way of an eagle…the way of a serpent…the way of a ship…the way of a man with a maid”. “All four things are hidden from continued observation, for they are there in majestic form and then are gone, not leaving a trace..” (Gaebelein p. 1123). “None of the four is going over old territory. Rather, an eagle, a snake, or a ship all can go where there are no paths. Likewise in the last of the four, the man now is moving into untracked ‘virgin’ territory as he and his lover pursue their affection for one another” (Alden p. 210). The connection also might be the easy mastery, by the appropriate agent, of elements as difficult to negotiate as air, rock, sea—and a young woman. Please note that the “way of a man with a maid” is wholesome and legitimate love and not fornication. I really like the following comment on this verse: “The concept of the loving caresses of a man and a woman transcends the wonder of the flight of eagles, movement of snakes, and the sailing of ships” (The Majesty of Man, Ronald B. Allen, p. 141). Why is it then that we allow the world to corrupt, degrade, and destroy such a wonderful thing? As Allen notes, “Why should the Playboy philosophy destroy fun, dehumanize women, and cheapen God’s gift?” (p. 142).
May I suggest to you that yielding to temptation, loving the things of the world, and conforming to the immoral standards of this world is destroying the fun, the adventure, the dignity and the majesty of being human. If you don’t like yourself or your life, the cause for that is not because of what God originally made, but rather the cause is yielding to the temptations of this world. The good news is that you can start over (Ephesians 4:22-24).
