A little lower than the angels

“You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honour.” Psalm 8:5
Psalm 8 is a reminder to us of where man fits into God’s creation. Compared to the majesty of the universe, man seems rather pathetic. “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him, the son of man that You care for him?” (Ps. 8:3-4). There have been times when I have stood outside and looked up at the night sky and wondered why God cares about me – one little human sitting on one little planet orbiting around one little star, while at the same time He has the whole universe to take care of. But the fact of the matter is, He does – and He doesn’t just know that we exist; He doesn’t just know facts about us (like how many hairs are on our head); He knows us completely, inside and out, and He is intimately involved with our lives. In verse 5 of Psalm 8 we read that He made man a little lower than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honour. When Adam was created, he was given dominion over the earth (Gen. 1:28). We read about the ‘anthropic principle’, the observation that every physical parameter about the earth and even the universe, is optimised for man to live on planet Earth. Indeed, man is the pinnacle of God’s creation.
In Heb. 2:6-9, the author to the Hebrews quotes this passage, relating it to Jesus. Although He was God, He was made a little lower than the angels when He became a man. What a demotion that was! But at the same time, this act shows the depth of God’s love for us – that He would send His only Son to rescue us.