Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1903-10-23
WHAT IS MAN? :?

"oIh VI tuy HnSerS, tHe moon ana Cne
stars, which thou hast ordained; what
is man, that thou art mindful of him?
and the son Of man, that thou visit
est him ?-Psalms, viii, 3, 4.
We are in constant danger of
indulging in wrong thoughts of man.
We are too apt to regard man as
weak, ephemeral creature, of the ut
most insigniflcance when compared
with star, moon, a sun-with the
material universe. AS we direct our
attention to the glorious page Of heav
en- unfolded overhead, alive with clus-
tering consultations whose bright des-
TIMES move at an infinite altitude
above the petty waves Of time, and
whose passioniess purity and eternal
peace seem to mock the soul, the spon-
taneous utterance of our hearts finds
expression in the Psalmist's words:
when l 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 visit
est him?'
AS David looked upon the resplend-
ent orbs of heaven he was filled with
profound humility and cried out in
awful astonishment: What is man."
Modern astronomy has given us a
faint conception Of the magnitude of
space and the physical universe. We
cannot help feeling that such magni-
tude and vastness are worthy of GOD.
We cannot help acknowledging our
lttleness and weakness in comparison.
That such God, so vast in concep-
ton, so mighty in operation, so won
derful in wisdom, so august in exc
cution, should have special thought
for every one Of the millions Of in
finitesimal men crowding the world
faith staggers at such thought The
divine greatness becomes appalling.
We cry out: what is man, that thou
art mindful of him?"
But David did not stop with this
exclamation. Upon second thought he
wisely concluded man could not be
inferior to the heavens, for God has
not made him but little lower than the
angels; or, as 1 read in my Hebrew
text, little lower than "Elohim"--
God. So far from being insignificant
in comparison with the heavens, man
is of infinitely more value than they.
The worth of man in these days needs
constantly to be emphasized, for a
striking tendency of modern thought
is to think less of man in proportion
as larger views are taken Of the uni
verse in which man dwells. Man is
the greatest and noblest work Of God.
The old Roman conception Of man rs
the lord of creation approaches the
truth. Gods glory unfolds as we rise
in the upward scale of creation, cul-
minating in that being who, made but
little lower than the angels, bearing
the image and superscrlption Of God,
crowns the highest pinnacle of crea-
ton.
On earth there is nothing great but man;
In man there is nothing great but mind.
True greatness consists not In
weight, bulk or extension, but in in
tellectual power and moral worth.
Man is created in the image of God.
God is spirit. The soul of man is
spirit. Man as a spiritual being is, in
peculiar sense Gods offspring and
partaker Of Gods nature. Man there
fore is self-determining as God Is; ne
is free as God is free. He Is a per-
son as God is person. This mate
rial image of God man never loses. So
long as he continues he continues
person. Man is immortal. He is more
than a plant, more than mere ami
mal-he Is a man. Man is man not
because he Is strong. ingenious, af-
fectionate, but because he is Gods in
breathing. Gods image, Gods son. So,
though lost he may be recovered,
though a wanderer ne may return and
feast, forgiven, at his Fathers table,
because though prodigal he is still
son.
In view Of these transcendent truths
what should be our proper attitude
toward man? We should respect and
love him. But, you say, 1t Is difficult
to respect some men, for they daily
violate the most sacred laws, betray
the highest trusts, abuse our conf
dence and prove recreant to the most
binding Of human obligations. Such
cases, however, are the exception and
not the rule. The great majority of
men are honest and true; they stand
uncorrupted, unimpeached and incor-
ruptlble. A man may sink into vice
and degradation, yet he cannot COM
pletely efface the image Of God which