How many different types of animals are there in the world? A walk through a zoo would just begin to show how many there are. It would just begin to show the tip of the iceberg of all the many varieties of animals. Then add all the multiple types of fish and sea creatures, and the multiple hundreds of types of birds. As we look around creation, consider the wide variety of plant life there is, all the different types of flowers, of trees, even the many different types of grass there are. As we look up into the sky at night, we see countless stars, the planets, even comets, asteroids, and meteors. In all of this creation, what makes man so special? Why should God consider us? That is a question that David also asked, leading him to write our psalm for today.
Just out of curiosity I looked up, and there are about 10,000 different species of birds. There are more than 30,000 different species of fish in our oceans, lakes, and rivers, not counting the other types of marine life there are. And there are more than 5,400 different species of mammals on earth. Those numbers are nothing compared to how many different types of insects there are. Add to that the different types of plant life. And when we look into the universe, did you know that it is estimated that there are 10 octillion stars out in space. That is the number 10 with 27 zeros following! With all of the wondrously beautiful creation, why would God bother with man? Why would He even bother to think about you or me?
Out of all of His creation, God made man, human beings, in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). As beautiful as many of the other plant, bird, and animal life that God created, none of them were made in His image. Not even the angelic beings, of which there are several different types as well, are made in God’s image. Only mankind is. Because of His great love for us, God has crowned us with this glory and honor.
We are not an accident. Many people believe that all of creation, all the different plants and animals, came about by happenstance, a series of different chemical and biological changes and events over millions of years. If that were the case, why should God bother to care about man? Certainly there are more beautiful or loving creatures. Man has been mocking and rejecting God and His love from the start. However, we are not just a chance combination of molecules and atoms that crawled out of slimy algae. As David said, we are the work of God’s fingers (vs. 3). God took great care when He made all of creation, and mankind is His crowning achievement.
In spite of the vastness of all creation, God knows about and loves each of us individually. Perhaps someone told you that you are an accident or a mistake, but God does not look at you that way. God loves and cares for each one of us individually. He loves us all so much that He became a man and went to Calvary in order to redeem fallen humanity. The price that was paid for that redemption proclaims to us the worth of man, God’s highest creation.
As nice as dogs and cats are, God’s Word does not say that they are made in His image, nor did He become one of them in order to redeem them. Nor did He become a lion, an elephant, owl, or bear and die for them. Only humans were made in His image, and He loved each one of us so much that He came to earth to live among us and to die to pay the price of our sins.
Little children can see and recognize this, and they give pure and honest praise to God, as David recounts (vs. 2). It is only as we get older that we start listening and believing the lies of Satan, which hardens our hearts and turns them against God. Let’s give Him the praise and glory that is due His excellent Name for all of His creation, and for choosing to love each one of us.
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