Sunday Sermons
What is Man?
What is Man?
Ask the humanist and he will tell you "Man is measure of all things". Ask an extreme environmentalist and his answer will be along the lines of "Man is a problem — a cancer this planet would be better off without". Carl Sagan's answer? "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’. To which one wise man has responded, ‘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…?’” (Psalms, Williams p. 74).
The Majesty of God: 8:1
In order to arrive at the right conclusion to the question “What is man?” one needs to learn something about man’s Creator. Certainly we will never find out who we are until we understand who God is, for we came from Him (Ecclesiastes 12:7). This familiar question is both asked by King David and answered by inspiration in the eighth Psalm with a world full of evidence so support its truth. God’s “name” (nature, character) is majestic, and His power and wisdom is displayed in every corner of creation. His power is clearly seen in the skies above us (8:1; Psalm 19:1).
God’s Majesty and Children: 8:2
God’s glory is not restricted to all that we see in the heavens or on the earth. Yes, God’s wisdom is seen in the order and complexity of the universe, from the complexity of the smallest atom, yet it is also clearly pronounced by young children. Jesus saw this demonstrated in the children with which He interacted. (Matthew 11:25). Children often have no agenda or axe to grind. Neither are children trying to make excuses or do something evil. They start out innocent, genuine and honest. In the face of human excuses and unbelief, children will sometimes ask basic yet wise questions like, “But why don’t you go to church?” Good question. Such an amazing Creator is certainly due our heartfelt worship. “With all the earth and heaven proclaiming God in verse 1, the rising discord of foes…enemy...avenger presents a challenge which God meets with ‘what is weak in the world’…the free confession of love and trust is a devastating answer to the accuser and his arsenal of doubts and slanders” (Kidner pp. 66-67).
What Man Can See: 8:3
Only man can “consider” and only man looks up and contemplates the starry skies. Being a shepherd, David had many opportunities to survey the moonlit and starlit constellations. They belong neither to us, nor time nor chance nor nature. They are the specific work of His hands. The heavens belong to God. Some try to muddy the water, arguing that since animals can, on some level, communicate and are therefore "not that different from man", that upon such basis, man really isn’t all that extraordinary after all.
Why Is Man So Special? 8:4
David is simply amazed that God plays attention to mankind. What is it about man that God not only "considers" him, but beyond that cares so deeply for mankind (especially in light of how puny we are in size compared to the rest of the universe)? Certainly it was no news to David that the universe is huge and that the earth, in comparison, is a mere speck. There must be a good reason why God created man in the first place, and why He loves us like sons.
Man Is…
- Not An Accident: 8:5
Man is not the product of time and chance, (appropriately dubbed the "two golden calves of Evolutionary Theory".) David specifically says, “Yet Thou hast made him”. Man has a purposeful Maker, not an accidental one. David did not view man has an accident, as one writer said, “I never believed in evolution a single day of my life. I had no reason to accept it for I did not wish to erase God from His world” (What is Man? Robert Taylor Jr., p. 30).
- A Little Lower Than Angels: 8:6
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)! Furthermore, the word “little” can sometimes mean “for a little while” in both Hebrew and Greek. Compare this with Luke 20:36, where Jesus says that in the resurrection we will be like angels. While angels are spiritual beings, man is a spiritual being in a physical body, and are in this way one step lower than them.
Wow! This of the implications of such an marvelous truth: If I am created a little lower than the angels, then what is my potential in this life? Am I living up to being a little lower than the angels? Why do we believe the critics who tell us we cannot attain the standard of holiness our Creator has chosen for us? If I am a little lower than the angels, if that is my true nature, and it most certainly is, then I can without doubt do everything God wants me to do.
- Crowned with Glory and Majesty: 8:6
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? Or 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?
- Given Dominion: 8:6-7
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 (Genesis 1:28), 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).
- Man is a Steward: 8:6
What we rule over—belongs to God, it is the work of His hands. Therefore, we are not the “owners”, but rather the renters and stewards of this planet. There is wonderful balance here. We do not abuse the planet, but neither do we leave it completely alone. We wisely, carefully and gratefully use the resources here. We are not the problem, rather we are the stewards, in fact, these verses infer that such stewardship is needed for the planet to be healthy. Nature needs to be responsibly managed for it has no mind of its own.
The Paths of the Sea
“It would seem that birds of the air and fish of the sea, places of habitation well beyond man’s natural habitat, would be able either to fly or swim away from man’s dominion. Not so!! His dominion extends to the air above and into the mighty deep as well…Psalm 8:8 mentions ‘whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas’. This is of intriguing and quickening interest. Matthew Fontaine Maury lived from 1806-1873. While ill on one occasion he had his son read the Bible to him. The son read Psalm 8. Verse 8 caught the ill man’s rapt attention. He declared that if the Bible spoke of the paths of the sea, he would, upon getting well, discover them. He later found and charted these systems of sea travel involving an interaction between wind and water. He authored an informative book on oceanography. More than half a century ago C.L. Lewis wrote a book which he entitled, ‘Matthew Fontaine Maury, Pathfinder of the Seas’. The U.S. Naval Institute published it in 1927” (Taylor p. 24).
Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/mdunagan@frontier.com
