Psalm 8:9

Copyright Ó 2011 J. Neely

Psalm 8:9

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

9 O LORD [Yahovah] our Lord, ['adown] how excellent ['addiyr] is thy name [shem] in all the earth ['erets]! KJV-Interlinear

9 O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is Thy name in all the earth! NASB

Man is on this earth not of his own design or invention, and not even by accident, but by the grace of God.

Man is made out of dust, a life source inserted into something that has no value.

Man has been made lower than the angels, with limited attributes, but master over his environment.

And even with this authority, man cannot gain mastery or control over life of the simplest of the animal kingdoms.

What man is left with is his own soul and with his volition, the potential of commanding his own soul.  But there too, man has difficulty in commanding his own thoughts.

With all of these defects and limitations, God still has given man (you) the opportunity to live with Him in heaven, forever, and to inherit the next universe and have an eternal life that is beyond imagination.

What is man?  Why give man the time of day let alone an eternal inheritance?

Man has failed miserably throughout history, and certainly throughout each of our individual lives.  And yet God, by His grace, has set aside a future that is beyond description.

The psalm opens with the excellence of God, and ends with the excellence of God.  It is God first and last and always.  Without God man is nothing.  Without God man cannot have an existence, let alone a position of authority of any kind.

And that is your life.  Without God in it, you are nothing.  Your very existence depends on God.  He gave you life at the very moment of your birth, and that was a time when you knew nothing and could do nothing.  You were helpless in someone else's arms and totally dependent on others to raise you up.

So too, you are dependent on being raised up by means of doctrine, which is the substance of your life, the means of your completion.  Without it, you are nothing but historical filler, and that is not a compliment, nor anything to boast about.

E-Books, E-Book Reader

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/dailybiblestudy-store.html

Your Comments

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/biblestudy/contents_comments_online_studies.html

Daily Bible Study Quick Links

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/quick-links.html

Subscription Options

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/donation.html

Unsubscribe

(applies only to mailing list recipients)

%unsubscribe%

Psalm 8:7

Copyright Ó 2011 J. Neely

Psalm 8:7

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

7 All sheep [tsone'] and oxen, ['eleph] yea, and the beasts [bahemah] of the field; [sadeh]KJV-Interlinear

7 All sheep and oxen, And also the beasts of the field, NASB

Humanity was given authority over the domestic animal population as well as the wild animal population.

The sheep and oxen refer to the domesticated and subservient animals.

The beasts of the field, refers to those animals that roam freely in the open ranges.

And as for the authority given to mankind, notice that God did not give us authority over higher beings, but of lower creatures only.  Those who have little mental capability and are driven mostly by instincts.

So when boasting, humanity can state that he is considered by God to be capable of leading animals, but not much more.

And given the history of humanity, that would seem to be the case.

Animals have a practical use for work, for clothing, and for food, but they also have an additional use, and that is to teach the principles of salvation through the sacrifice of the Savior and the sustenance provided through grace thereafter.

These principles all come through the sacrificial offerings explained in Leviticus.

So, not only does man have authority over and lower life, but he himself is taught about life, the spiritual life, and eternal life by means of those same lower creatures.

E-Books, E-Book Reader

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/dailybiblestudy-store.html

Your Comments

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/biblestudy/contents_comments_online_studies.html

Daily Bible Study Quick Links

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/quick-links.html

Subscription Options

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/donation.html

Unsubscribe

(applies only to mailing list recipients)

%unsubscribe%

Psalm 8:6

Copyright Ó 2011 J. Neely

Psalm 8:6

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

6 Thou madest him to have dominion [mashal] over the works [ma`aseh] of thy hands; [yad] thou hast put [shiyth] all things under his feet: [regel] KJV-Interlinear

6 Thou dost make him to rule over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet, NASB

The works of His hands are defined in the next few verses, but suffice to say, God has given humanity dominion over the content of planet earth and all that functions within it.

This will include all that we have discovered in science such as radio waves and such technological advances that have been discovered in medicine, science, manufacturing and so forth.

The things under our feet also defines the extent of mans dominion.

Now note one thing here.  We will have space travel, but we will never rule the stars as we do this planet.

The stars are so far distant, that it would take us generations of travel just to get to the nearest star, and then populating any planets that might be habitable or useful would take generations more.

So the practicality of normal travel to and from the stars or anywhere out in space, is not likely to occur as it does here on earth between the continents.  Time is not on humanity’s side as we seem to be nearing the end of our own current Church Age. 

Even if we had another couple of centuries of history, space travel is still not likely on any kind of grand scale.

Of all of the life on this planet, man was given the soul and man was given the dominion to rule over all else.

And when you consider the entire universe, this planet is less than insignificant in the larger picture.  And look how much trouble man has caused on this planet throughout history.  Consider how much greater trouble could be caused if we had even more territory to rule.

Nevertheless, humanity is an insignificant pile of dust, on an insignificant planet, and yet given the honor and privilege to rule, when we can neither earn nor deserve that honor.

It was never mans self made destiny to rule.  That was Gods gift.

No matter what your genetic makeup, no matter what your abilities might be, no matter what your talents amount to, no matter what your circumstances, great or small, it is all by the grace of God, and of no other reason.

You are not self made, you are not superior.  Look at a pile of dust and look at yourself and then place an equals sign between the two and that is what you are. 

Therefore, you have no place to boast or elevate yourself above anyone else.

All that you are, and all that you have, comes courtesy of the grace of God.

E-Books, E-Book Reader

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/dailybiblestudy-store.html

Your Comments

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/biblestudy/contents_comments_online_studies.html

Daily Bible Study Quick Links

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/quick-links.html

Subscription Options

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/donation.html

Unsubscribe

(applies only to mailing list recipients)

%unsubscribe%

Psalm 8:5

Copyright Ó 2011 J. Neely

Psalm 8:5

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

5 For thou hast made him a little [ma`at] lower [chacer] than the angels, ['elohiym] and hast crowned [`atar] him with glory [kabowd] and honour. [hadar] KJV-Interlinear

5 Yet Thou hast made him a little lower than God, And dost crown him with glory and majesty!  NASB

Although the word for angels, ‘elohiym,’ is a word for the plural of gods, this does not have the specific reference to the God, but to authorities.  And has been used in describing angels and even man in several passages, Ps 82:1; 97:7; 138:1; Ex 21:6; 22:8-9.

And so man being nothing more than dust and, and certainly far beneath the level of God, is also made with limitations lower than the capabilities of angels.  But this is a temporary state of humanity.  For at the resurrection, man will be elevated to a level much higher than the angels.

Our level is said to be a ‘little’ lower than the angels, so whatever the differences are between us, in the grand scheme of things, they are slight in nature.

We might think that our differences are great since none of us can disappear from being seen, none of us can travel to and from heaven, none of us can see those who have passed away (deceased people), and angels seem to possess great strength and abilities, and so forth.

But whatever the characteristic differences are between man and angel, they are stated here as being little differences.

And you might think that this places us in a higher state than mere dust, but in reality that brings angels down to more near our level as far as creation goes.

However, man is made with physical limitations like the animals of the world, but unlike the animals, man has a soul and therefore has an everlasting life.  So, though tied to the earth for now (for a little while), man is a little lower in physical limitation, than the angels, but are more near the angels as far as everlasting life is concerned.

Nevertheless, God has given us dominion over the earth, and has crowned us with glory and honor.

Even though only dust, man has been given dominion over the earth.  That comes with the glory (beauty, splendor, brilliance, talent) and honor (respect, reputation, principle) of the elevated promotion over all that is on the earth or in this world. 

Whether it be the command over the animal life on the planet, or the ability to discover the secrets of science and technology contained within and developed from the earth, all are included in the honor given to man to seek out and discover and invent to his hearts content.

And while there are some who would place even more limitations on themselves (do not wear colors, do not use electricity, do not use doctors, do not fly because you did not get wings, etc.), these attitudes only demonstrate a further ignorance of Gods will and purpose and permission for mans elevated position.

Mans only problem is that though given great honors, man generally uses them for bad purposes, and thus the many boundaries and constraints (life span, establishment principles, etc.) placed on humanity are there for our own protection, lest we destroy ourselves sooner than history intends.

E-Books, E-Book Reader

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/dailybiblestudy-store.html

Your Comments

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/biblestudy/contents_comments_online_studies.html

Daily Bible Study Quick Links

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/quick-links.html

Subscription Options

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/donation.html

Unsubscribe

(applies only to mailing list recipients)

%unsubscribe%