What is Man?

A Devotional on Psalm 8:3-6

Scripture

“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 are mindful of him, 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. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,” Psalm 8:3-6

Reflection

Like many things, to better understand the “what” we must know something of the “why”. The preceding statements gives us an idea of the awe the psalmist experienced that gave

birth to the exclamation, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,…” (Psalm 8:3)  

It is considering the vastness, beauty, and force of the heavens and its contents and attributes them to the work of God’s fingers; which strikes me as indicating the finest details that God has taken in placing each star or each detail that the psalmist could behold with the unaided eye (which now we behold even more detail and vastness).

“what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8:4) This perspective leads to the feeling of insignificance and wondering why God, Who placed and upholds such vast and powerful objects (think of the sun) would bother at all with humanity or much less the weak dependent offspring of humanity.  

 “Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.” (Psalm 8:5) Here is the turn, and I find it beautifully reassuring. Humanity’s value isn’t found in his strength compared to the rest of the created order. It’s found in the designated value given him/her by his/her Creator. Inspite of the valid feelings of comparable insignificance, the Psalmist finds his worth in His Creator. God has taken beings who don’t even have the capacity to approach the sun, who require very specific living conditions with the inability to survive in climates that other parts of creation can not only tolerate, but thrive in; God has crowned this humanity with the weightiness and the brilliance of stewarding this order, “You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,” (Psalm 8:6)

As I meditate on this passage, I am humbly encouraged that we are made in God’s image, and the resulting dominion He grants us to exercise over His creation. It is truly a weighty thing and tremendously honoring – yet some days I barely consider it due to the other “responsibilities” that press upon me.  In this, I am convicted. 

Prayer

Lord God—

When I look at Your heavens, I’m overwhelmed by Your majesty.

Who am I, that You would think of me?

Yet You’ve crowned me with glory and honor,

And entrusted me with the work of Your hands.

Forgive me for forgetting this sacred calling.

Help me to live with wonder, humility, and faithfulness.

Teach me to steward what You’ve given,

And to worship You in all I do.

Amen.

Going Deeper

- In what ways have you viewed “dominion” as control rather than stewardship?

- How might your daily responsibilities—work, parenting, care for others—be re-framed as sacred trust from God?