Psalms 8:3-4 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? I have often puzzled about this very question. What is man that thou (GOD) art mindful of him? The Psalmist begins by looking at the majesty of the universe. I envision David out from the cities and towns, Ph . alone with his sheep. It it night time and the sheep are sleepy and tired from their day of foraging. They are comforted for their shepherd is right there with them. Before the electric light, when it got dark, it was tremdiously dark.
In the darkness, David, the shepherd, lay down looking up at the sky, seeing the wonder of it all, knowing God created it all. In a moment of awe, his thoughts turned to how tiny man was when compared with all the universe. Man is a mere speck of cosmic dust in comparison with all of Gods creation.
Davids thoughts prompted him to reflect on mans place in the universe. He also thought of God’s plan for mankind. This thoughts continued past his insignificant nature and thought of what God had ordained man to do.
Psalms 8:5-9 “For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”
Dominion? God gave man dominion over all the other created beings? Dominion is an interesting word. It means: the power to rule or control, or a territory ruled by a single authority.
God gave man control over all of His creation. He instructed Adam, the first man, in Genesis 1:28 “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
Again, the question, Why? The answer is simple if you believe scripture. Man was Gods final creation and Eve was the crowning accomplishment. All of the days of creation were so that man might be able to live on earth. Day 1: God creates light and time. Day 2: God creates the sky and separates the waters. Day 3: God creates dry land, seas, and plants. Day 4: God creates the sun, moon, stars, and planets. Day 5: God creates fish and birds. Day 6: God creates land animals and humans. Day 7: God rests from his work, which is known as the Sabbath.
Notice that none of the things that happened on Day 6 could have survived in days 1-5. GOD Almighty, ordered the world after a logical pattern. First light, then air, then dry land, plants, etc. He continued with fish and birds, because now with light, air and dry land they had a place to rest and something to eat. Man followed the creation of all the land animals and he got to name them. I bet it was great fun for him to see each animal and give it a name.
Genesis 2:19-20 “And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.”
Lets go back to David’s question.. .Why art thou mindful of him?
Psalms 139:14-16 “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.”
We are all ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’. God created us all. He ga us a body and a mind like no other animal. We were assigned to have dominion over the earth, the oceans and the animals. We have the potential even today to lift ourselves up from whatever problems, trials or sorrows we face. We do not have to face any of these things alone. If we belong to Him, God will be with us every step of the way through this life.
My question for you is simple, Do you know Jesus Christ as Savior? Please, please, please, ask to be forgiven. Please, please, please ask Him to save you, cleanse you, and give you eternal life. That was God untimate goal for mankind. We were made ‘a little lower than the angels’ for a reason. Don’t lose the chance to be someone special and do something special with your life. Ask Him into your life. You’ll never regret it.
