What Is Wretched Man Essay

Anyone who has taken the time to contemplate the immensity of the universe cannot help but feel very small and totally dwarfed by its greatness. Given God’s greatness including what is being revealed by modern science, the Psalmist in wonder declares, “What is man that thou are mindful of him”.

Here the psalmist is expressing his awareness that as a creature in the world under God, we humans are so small and the universe is so big, yet there are three ways in which us human are created special by our heavenly creator. As Childs states in his article “the creation of man does form a special act of self-reflection on the part of God which distinguished it from the creation of the rest of the world”(Childs 22).

This leads us to my first point that the bible tells us over and over again that God is mindful of us and cares for us. We see this even more so in Matthew 6: 25-30 where Jesus made this even clearer for us, and more so in the fact that he was willing to die for us.

Secondly, as the passage stated We are made only a little lower than the heavenly beings. Though we are so much more less than God,we are made in his image. As a result of this, we are crowned with glory and honor which signifies that we are crowned kings and queens. We have been given the powers of thinking, making and discovering that no animal have. Further, because we are made in God’s image, we can hear God’s word and speak to him in prayer. What does it mean to be made in the image of God? Charles Ryrie states that “man was created in a natural and moral likeness to God. When he sinned he lost the moral likeness which was his sinlessness, but at the same time he retained the natural likeness of intellect, emotions, and will”(Falwell, Hindson, Kroll ).

Thirdly, God has made us rulers over the works of his hands, that is, over everything else he has created. God has given us responsibility to care for his creation. The authors of The Cambridge Bible Commentary writes “God has graciously blessed him and appointed him master of the earth”(Rogerson, McKay).

In this Psalm David first observes the great work of creation as the work of God’s fingers and in awe he bursts forth with an amazing and inspiring praise and worship for the greatness of God and the wonderful works of his hands. He then continues on in amazement that finite human would be given full and complete control over God’s vast and wonderful creation.

In reality, it is as though David was saying, what is wretched, miserable man; man in his fallen state, full of ignorance, pride and sin? The question in verse four seems to signify that man is nothing but an insignificant creature in the universe yet God cares for him immensely.

It amazes David that the Lord God of this great expanse would even think about man even more so to give him control over the works of his hands. Man was created as God’s representative on earth, over the creation but lower than the heavenly beings giving him a place of honor and prominence. This fact causes David to be moved to the highest act of praise and adoration, because when he steps back and reflects on man’s position as God’s representative in his creation, its only then that he recognizes that it is only by pure grace and favor that we are still in a place of divine favor.

The psalmist sees that though we might not look like anything special, particularly when we compare ourselves to the universe as a whole, we are nevertheless placed in a unique position by the almighty; for mankind has been created to rule over creation as God’s vice regents.

After God made Adam and Eve, he commanded them to have dominion over all the earth, that is, all living creatures were to be under their rulership. This was demonstrated in Adam’s cultivation of the garden and his naming of the animals. He was in essence given the responsibility of management, administration, and orderly development of the creation given to him by the almighty. But because of sin,

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