What Is Man?

"What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?" - Psalm 8:4

David's eighth Psalm is one of my favorites. Psalm chapter eight reminds me of the glorious God of both heaven and earth. From his glory above the heavens (8:2), to the moon and stars testifying of His handiwork (8:3). I can imagine David looking at the expanse of the sky, seeing the beauty and glory of the moon and stars all shining throughout ancient Jerusalem. He sees these wondrous works of almighty God and in an honest, contemplative, and humble question, he asks: "What is man...(8:4)?" Man is created in the image and glory of God; the crowning jewel of God's creation.

Man is also weak, powerless, pitiable, blind, naked, sinful, wretched, do I need to go on? Yet, in Christ, man is strong (2 Corinthians 12:10). Through Christ, the serpent's head is crushed, and our power to overcome this present age comes from Him (John 16:33) . Jesus clothes pitiable and naked man, in which man is covered in His righteousness, that the shame of our nakedness which Adam and Eve felt in the Garden, would no longer remain in us (Revelation 3:18). The sins we once carried, Christ carried for man on the cross (1 Peter 2:24), that we may be forgiven.

It's astonishing. In verses 6-8, David praises the Lord for giving man dominion over the "works of your hands"; the creatures of the earth. It's astonishing to me brothers, because in the glorious truth of us being created in the image and glory of God, having dominion over the works of God's hands (truly ponder that), seeing what we are in Christ, we often can be prone to forget such glorious realities such as those. Brother Paul Washer said something very wise in a sermon he preached.

He says: “Here stands God on the day of creation. He looks at stars and He says “all you stars move yourself to this place and start in this order and move in a circle and move exactly as I tell you, until I give you another word. Planets-pick yourself up and whirl, make this formation at my command, until I give you another word. He looks at mountains and says “be lifted up” and they obey him. He tells valleys “be cast down” and they obey him. He looks at the sea and says “you will come this far”, and the sea obeys. Then, he looks at you and says “come” and you go “no! Does that bother anyone? Ever wonder how the people of God could walk into the temple of God, could offer sacrifices to God could praise God, and then turn right around and find the biggest tree on the highest hill and worship any number of idols, and not be able to tell the difference, and not be able to recognize the wrong, in a multiplicity of gods? Well, I want you to know that is the church in America today. And because the greatest sin among the men of God today is the fear of men which is a snare, and the fear losing economic security and reputation in the denomination.”

Men, we are created in His glory and image. "Crowned...with glory and honor (8:5)". Let us be men that stand firm and act like men. Men who exhibit such truths in our families, our occupations, our church gatherings, in everything we do and everywhere we go. Brothers, like David, let us be encouraged to ponder that glorious question. Like David, may we be encouraged to also ponder the glory of our Father; and with that, ponder what being a man means in relation to the reality of the death and resurrection of the great God-Man, Jesus Christ. May we be men who follow His example. Men who have sincere faith in the living God. May we be men who continue to endure until the end.

Soli Deo Gloria.