Psalm 144:3, 4 LORD, what is man, that you take knowledge of him! or the son of man, that you make account of him!… The occasion of the introduction of these sentiments here is not quite clear. It may be the humility of the warrior who ascribes all success to God instead of to human prowess; or it may be a reflection uttered over the corpses of comrades; or, perhaps, a blending of the two. I. THE VANITY OF MAN CREATES SURPRISE AT GOD'S CARE. "Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him?" This is an exclamation of surprise, which is repeated by every devout soul when the frailty of man is brought impressively before him. It is not merely the brevity of life that is in view, nor its uncertainty; it is the smallness of all human doings and aims. Relative to the size of the globe, the highest mountain is but a slight and scarcely perceptible ridge. Relative to the mountain, a single man is scarcely as big as a pin's head. And what can man accomplish? His mightiest achievements are but as the triumphs of the ants whose work he despises; and he is seldom permitted folly to achieve anything, for he is usually cut off before the thing he intended can be completed. Man is a smaller being than some of the animals, and it is hard to conceive of his doing anything that is really worthy of Divine notice. And yet God does care for man as he cares for nothing else that he has made. We can only wonder over the fact, glory in it, and let it bring home to our hearts the mystery - "God is love." II. THE VANITY OF MAN SHOULD LEAD HIM TO PUT HIMSELF INTO GOD'S CARE. For it is not enough that God should care for us. The joy of that care is not realized until we care that God should thus care. It may be a fact, but it is no helpful, comforting fact until we respond to the fact, accept the care, and voluntarily put ourselves entirely into it. The psalmist here speaks as one who had mastered the depressing influence of his own sense of frailty, by assuring his heart of God's personal care. That brings to man a sense of dignity which more than matches the sense of frailty. Man may be "crushed before the moth;" but it is also true, he is only "a little lower than the angels," for God - yes, the great, eternal God - is mindful of him. - R.T. Parallel Verses KJV: LORD, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him!WEB: Yahweh, what is man, that you care for him? Or the son of man, that you think of him? |
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