Publication date
2/15/12
Volume
33
Number
4
The WatchTower
"What Is Man?"
The Watchtower Magazines
../literature/watchtower/1912/4/1912-4-1.html
 
 
(55-59) 
THE 
WATCH 
TOWER 
BROOKLYN, 
N. 
Y. 
If, 
partially, 
the 
consequence 
be 
an 
encroachment 
upon 
your 
time, 
I 
know 
you 
will 
forg>;'), 
as 
our 
dcar, 
gracious 
Heavenly 
FatRer 
doE's 
when 
we 
rna 
1:" 
mistakes. 
On 
your 
return 
from 
abroad 
we 
cannot 
greet 
you 
as 
some 
others 
who 
love 
you, 
hut 
let 
this 
letter 
convey 
to 
you 
our 
glad, 
loving 
"\Velcome 
home!" 
And 
now, 
a 
few 
words 
relative 
to 
a 
little 
matter 
upon 
which 
I 
shall 
much 
appreciate 
having 
your 
opinion. 
Twice, 
recently, 
I 
have 
met 
friends 
who 
are 
studying 
the 
Truth 
and 
show 
every 
evidpnce 
of 
love 
for 
it. 
The 
qm'stion 
of 
Spiritism 
arose, 
and 
in 
each 
case 
the 
friend 
was 
not 
acquainted 
with 
the 
truth 
on 
this 
important 
Bible 
subject. 
I 
inquired, 
Would 
you 
not 
like 
the 
truth 
about 
this 
matter? 
R('(·piving 
an 
affirmative 
reply, 
I 
told 
the 
one­ 
a 
brothpr~of 
the 
httle 
hook 
on 
Sl'IRlTIS:\[ 
an(l 
he 
promised 
to 
rearl 
it, 
saying 
his 
thought 
had 
been 
to 
have 
absolutely 
nothing 
to 
do 
with 
the 
snhjf'd. 
To 
the 
nth('f-a 
sistpr~T 
loanl'd 
mv 
own 
book 
with 
the 
same 
worrb, 
that 
in 
thi~ 
"nil 
rlay" 
it 
is 
onr 
husinpss 
to 
fol- 
low 
what 
the 
dear 
Lord 
indicates 
is 
necessary 
to 
our 
salva­ 
tion, 
namely, 
the 
putting 
on 
of 
the 
"whole 
armor 
that 
we 
may 
be 
able 
to 
stand" 
in 
this 
particularly 
evil 
period. 
When 
next 
I 
met 
her 
she 
exclaimed, 
"0, 
i::iister 
Erb, 
1 
could 
not 
read 
that 
awful 
book! 
I 
am 
sure 
that 
our 
Lord 
will 
never 
allow 
his 
children 
to 
come 
in 
contact 
in 
any 
way 
with 
anything 
so 
unholy 
as 
the 
demons." 
She 
quoted, 
"He 
will 
keep 
them, 
that 
that 
wicked 
one 
touch 
them 
not." 
I 
have 
thought 
that 
possibly 
others 
arc 
in 
doubt 
upon 
this 
subject 
so 
pregnant 
with 
awful 
possibilities-some, 
perhaps, 
who 
have 
recently 
embraced 
the 
true 
faith-and 
that 
a 
word 
of 
emphasis 
from 
yourself 
with 
respect 
to 
giving 
attention 
to 
the 
truth 
regarding 
Spiritism 
would 
be 
a 
help 
to 
them. 
\\'ith 
one 
more 
prayer 
now, 
added 
to 
the 
many 
I 
have 
offered 
at 
the 
throne 
of 
heavenly 
grl1ce 
on 
your 
behalf, 
I 
will 
close, 
hoping 
before 
very 
long 
to 
meet 
and 
greet 
you 
face 
to 
faN'. 
Your 
sister. 
hy 
the 
gracp 
af 
our 
dear 
heavenly 
Father 
and 
through 
our 
dear' 
Rpdeemef, 
MRS. 
JONATHAN 
R. 
ERB.-Pa. 
YOLo 
XXXIII 
BROOKLYN, 
N. 
Y., 
FEBRUARY 
15, 
1912 
No.4 
"WHAT 
IS 
MAN?" 
"When 
I 
consider 
thy 
heavens, 
the 
work 
of 
thy 
fingers, 
the 
moon 
and 
the 
stars, 
which 
thou 
hast 
ordained, 
what 
is 
rna"", 
that 
thou 
art 
mindf1ll 
of 
him, 
and 
the 
sOn 
of 
num, 
toot 
thou 
visitest 
him? 
for 
thou 
hast 
fiUlde 
him 
n 
litt/r 
lower 
than 
the 
angels, 
and 
hast 
crowned 
him 
with 
glory 
and 
honor 
j 
thon 
madest 
him 
to 
have 
dominion 
over 
the 
work 
of 
thy 
hands; 
thou 
hast 
put 
all 
things 
u-nder 
his 
feet 
j 
all 
sheep 
and 
oxen, 
yea. 
and 
the 
beasts 
of 
the 
field, 
the 
fowl 
of 
the 
air, 
and 
the 
fish 
of 
the 
sea, 
and 
whatsoever 
passeth 
through 
the 
paths 
of 
the 
seas)' 
0 
Lord, 
01W 
Lord, 
how 
excellent 
is 
thy 
name 
in 
all 
the 
earth!"-Psalm 
8:3-9. 
The 
suggestion 
of 
the 
prophet 
respecting 
man 
is 
one 
which 
UTI 
rIel' 
his 
feet." 
What 
a 
wonderful 
ereature 
man 
is, 
then, 
from 
we 
believe 
has 
occurred 
to 
every 
intelligent 
being. 
As 
one 
upon 
this 
standpoint! 
While 
he 
is 
a 
little 
lower 
than 
the 
angpls, 
the 
deep 
looks 
out 
upon 
the 
vast 
expanse 
of 
water 
and 
the 
so 
far 
as 
his 
nature 
in 
connection 
with 
the 
earth 
is 
concerneil, 
riding 
of 
the 
vessel 
upon 
it, 
he 
thinks, 
How 
little 
is 
man! 
and 
whereas 
as 
angels 
are 
more 
excellent 
so 
far 
as 
their 
na­ 
How 
small 
a 
speck 
in 
the 
universe! 
When 
we 
look 
up 
into 
tures 
are 
concerneil, 
this 
Psalm 
speaks 
of 
man 
as 
being 
su­ 
the 
hpavens 
and 
realize 
that 
they 
reprpsent 
RO 
much 
more 
of 
perior 
in 
that 
he 
has 
a 
dominion. 
The 
angels 
do 
not 
have 
do­ 
divine 
power, 
we 
are 
still 
more 
Rurprised. 
When 
we 
consider 
minion 
over 
other 
angels, 
but 
all 
are 
subject 
to 
the 
great 
the 
heavens, 
and 
realize 
that 
all 
these 
stars, 
except 
the 
planets 
Creator, 
God. 
which 
belong 
to 
our 
own 
system, 
are 
really 
suns, 
and 
that 
But 
man, 
in 
the 
likeness 
of 
his 
Creator, 
has 
been 
given 
arounil 
each 
of 
these 
RunB 
revolve 
planets, 
as 
our 
earth 
revolves 
a 
dominion 
over 
the 
lower 
erpatures, 
and 
in 
this 
respect 
it 
is 
a 
around 
our 
sun, 
anil 
when 
we 
think 
of 
the 
Dumber 
of 
these 
wonderful 
honor 
with 
which 
he 
has 
been 
crowne<l-"Thou 
suns 
and 
their 
planets, 
we 
are 
amazed, 
and 
we 
feel 
our 
own 
crownedst 
him 
with 
the 
glory 
and 
honor, 
and 
hast 
set 
him 
littleness 
all 
the 
more! 
ovpr 
the 
works 
of 
thy 
hands." 
We 
ask 
astronomers 
as 
to 
the 
number 
of 
these 
suns, 
anJ 
they 
It 
might 
be 
asked 
with 
great 
propriety, 
If 
Goil 
is 
thus 
will 
tell 
you 
that 
there 
are 
a 
hundred 
millions 
of 
them 
in 
careful 
of 
humanity 
and 
has 
so 
highly 
honored 
his 
human 
sight. 
And 
if 
we 
would 
average 
the 
planets 
around 
these 
creatures, 
why 
should 
he 
not 
have 
made 
a 
still 
better 
prep 
a­ 
hunilred 
million 
sum 
at 
ten, 
it 
wou]il 
be 
ten 
hundred 
millions 
ration 
for 
them 
in 
the 
world 
~ 
Why 
is 
it 
that 
they 
are 
subject 
of 
planets. 
And 
then 
they 
tell 
UR, 
further, 
that 
if 
we 
could 
to 
the 
unfavorable 
conilitions 
under 
which 
they 
now 
exisU 
take 
our 
stand 
upon 
the 
very 
farthermost 
one 
of 
these 
we 
Wby 
are 
there 
sorrow, 
pain, 
sighing, 
crying 
and 
dying' 
Why 
woulil 
still 
see 
before 
us 
many 
more, 
and 
as 
many 
more. 
are 
these 
temppsts, 
storms, 
cyclones 
ana 
torna(loes, 
faminp. 
Our 
minds 
are 
appalled 
as 
we 
begin 
to 
think 
of 
the 
heavens, 
drought 
and 
pestilence-why 
all 
these 
things 
if 
God 
is 
so 
careful 
the 
work 
of 
Goa's 
fingers, 
and 
then 
consider 
man, 
how 
small 
a 
of 
us 
as 
his 
creatures' 
work 
in 
God's 
sight! 
We 
have 
an 
appreciation 
then 
of 
what 
We 
would 
have 
no 
answer 
for 
all 
these 
questions 
were 
it 
the 
Scripturps 
say 
man 
is 
like 
in 
God's 
sight-as 
"the 
dust 
in 
not 
proviiled 
in 
the 
Bible. 
In 
this 
wonilerful 
book 
of 
all 
books, 
the 
balance," 
that 
is 
not 
worthy 
to 
be 
taken 
into 
account. 
We 
we 
have 
the 
key 
to 
the 
matter, 
the 
explanation, 
and 
that 
is: 
have 
all 
b('('n 
in 
the 
grocer's 
shop 
and 
notice 
that 
he 
pays 
no 
God 
provided 
originally 
that 
man 
should 
be 
subject 
to 
none 
of 
attention 
to 
the 
dust 
in 
the 
scoop 
of 
his 
scale. 
So 
man 
is 
so 
these 
difficulties 
and 
disasters. 
Man 
was 
made 
perfect 
and 
small 
in 
the 
sight 
of 
the 
grpat 
Creator 
that 
we 
wonder 
that 
God 
placed 
in 
favorable 
and 
perfect 
surroundings, 
in 
a 
perfect 
should 
have 
any 
interest 
at 
all 
in 
humanity. 
garden, 
eastward 
in 
Eden, 
with 
everything 
necessary 
for 
his 
"THOU 
MADEST 
HIM 
TO 
HAVE 
DOMINION" 
welfare-no 
storms, 
no 
sickness, 
no 
tempests, 
no 
difficulties-- 
Except 
for 
the 
Bible 
we 
should 
have 
no 
knowledge 
of 
and 
. 
h~ 
might. 
have 
lived 
forever. 
Such 
was 
the 
wonderful 
God's 
interest 
in 
us 
and 
we 
might 
think 
that 
God 
is 
so 
great 
dommIOn 
of 
thIS 
human 
son 
of 
God. 
that 
he 
would 
pay 
~o 
heed 
to 
us. 
But, 
when 
God 
reveals 
him- 
Why, 
then, 
the 
change' 
This 
wo.nderful 
book 
answers 
that 
~df 
to 
us 
in 
the 
Biblp. 
\\e 
hpgin 
to 
spp 
that 
therp 
is 
not 
only 
the 
change 
came 
about 
because 
of 
sm. 
And 
so 
We 
read: 
"By 
divine 
power 
exercised 
anil 
manifested 
in 
the 
creation 
of 
all 
one 
man's 
disobedience 
sin 
entered 
into 
the 
world 
(there 
was 
these 
worlils 
but 
we 
see 
also 
this 
divine 
power 
manifested 
in 
no 
sin 
in 
the 
world 
before), 
and 
death 
as 
a 
result 
of 
sin." 
Goil's 
ilealings 
with 
us, 
and 
also 
the 
l?ve 
of 
God, 
which 
the 
(Rom. 
5:12.) 
There 
was 
no 
~ying 
on 
the 
part 
.of 
man 
u~ti1 
Scriptures 
state 
"pas 
seth 
all 
understandmg." 
What 
wonder~ul 
sm 
came: 
So 
all 
the 
aches, 
:pams 
l 
sorrows 
and 
SIckness 
whl.ch 
('onilpseen~ion 
on 
the 
part 
of 
thp 
Creator 
that 
he 
should 
gIVe 
we 
expenence 
are 
parts 
of 
thIS 
dymg 
process. 
And 
so 
the 
dlf- 
heed 
to 
us! 
ficulty 
with 
us 
all 
is 
that 
by 
nature 
we 
are 
"children 
of 
wrath." 
But 
our 
text 
goes 
on 
to 
give 
us 
further 
information 
on 
this 
Is 
divine 
wrath 
eternal 
torture' 
No, 
indeed! 
That 
teach- 
subject: 
"What 
is 
man 
that 
thou 
art 
mindful 
of 
him, 
and 
the 
ing 
was 
handed 
down 
to 
us, 
perhaps, 
by 
our 
well-meaning 
fore­ 
son 
of 
man 
that 
thou 
visiteth 
him? 
for 
thou 
hast 
made 
him 
a 
fathers. 
The 
wrath 
of 
God, 
we 
see 
on 
every 
hand; 
as 
the 
little 
low('r 
than 
the 
angels." 
Only 
a 
little 
lower 
is 
the 
Apostle 
Paul 
declares, 
"The 
wrath 
of 
God 
is 
revealed"-in 
thought! 
Of 
the 
holy 
angels 
the 
Scriptures 
give 
us 
to 
under- 
our 
own 
bodies, 
our 
aches 
and 
pains, 
mental 
imperfections, 
stand 
there 
are 
various 
ranks, 
some 
higher 
and 
some 
lower, 
physical 
imperfections 
and 
moral 
imperfections-these 
are 
all 
but 
all 
perfect. 
Then 
in 
the 
world 
we 
have 
various 
orders 
of 
parts 
of 
this 
great 
penalty 
for 
sin. 
We 
read 
that 
when 
man 
animal 
life-the 
beast 
of 
the 
field, 
the 
fish 
of 
the 
sea, 
the 
fowl 
became 
a 
transgressor 
God 
sent 
a 
holy 
angel 
to 
drive 
our 
first 
of 
the 
air-and 
man, 
as 
the 
highest 
of 
these 
earthly 
beings; 
parents 
ont 
from 
the 
Garden 
of 
Eden, 
away 
from 
the 
trees 
of 
and 
he 
stands 
related 
to 
all 
these 
lower 
creatures 
as 
God 
does 
life 
that 
were 
to 
sustain 
them 
in 
perfection, 
out 
into 
the 
un­ 
to 
the 
entire 
universe, 
and 
this 
is 
the 
honor 
with 
which 
our 
finiRhed 
earth. 
gr('at 
Creator 
endowed 
his 
human 
creatures! 
While 
the 
whole 
earth 
coulJ 
just 
as 
easily 
have 
been 
made 
Se 
we 
are 
tolil 
in 
this 
Psalm, 
"Thou 
madest 
him 
to 
have 
perfect, 
God 
left 
it 
unfinished, 
unprepared 
for 
man, 
and 
dominion 
over 
the 
works 
of 
thy 
hands; 
thou 
hast 
put 
all 
things 
merely 
"prepared 
a 
garden 
eastward 
in 
Eden" 
for 
the 
trial 
of 
[4972] 
(55-59) If, partially, the consequence be an encroachment upon your time, I know you will forgive, as our dear, gracious Heavenly Father does when we ma!:. mistakes. On your return from abroad we cannot greet you as some others who love you, but let this letter convey to you our glad, loving “Welcome home!” And now, a few words relative to a little matter upon which I shall much appreciate having your opinion, Twice, recently, I have met friends who are studying the Truth and show every evidence of love for it. The question of Spiritism arose, and in each case the friend was not acquainted with the truth on this important Bible subject. I inquired, Would you not like the truth about this matter? Receiving an affirmative reply, I told the one— a brother—of the lhttle hook on SprriTisM and he promised to read it, saving his thought had been to have absolutely nothing to do with the subject, To the other—a sister—I loaned my own book with the same words, that in this “evil day” it is our husiness to fol THE WATCH TOWER Brooxiyn, N. Y. low what the dear Lord indicates is necessary to our salvation, namely, the putting on of the “whole armor that we may be able to stand” in this particularly evil period. When next I met her she exclaimed, “O, Sister Erb, T could not read that awful book! I am sure that our Lord will never allow his children to come in contact in any way with anything so unholy as the demons.” She quoted, “He will keep them, that that wicked one touch them not.” I have thought that possibly others are in doubt upon this subject so pregnant with awful possibilities—-some, perhaps, who have recently embraced the true faith—and that a word of emphasis from yourself with respect to giving attention to the truth regarding Spiritism would be a help to them. With one more prayer now, added to the many I have offered at the throne of heavenly grace on your behalf, I will close, hoping before very long to meet and greet you face to face. Your sister, by the grace of our dear heavenly Father and through our dear Redeemer, MRS. JONATHAN R. ERB.-—Pa. Vou, XXNITI BROOKLYN, N. Y., FEBRUARY 15, 1912 No. 4 “WHAT IS MAN?” “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thow hast ordained, what is man, that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man, that thow visitest him? for thow hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor; thou madest him to have dominion over the work of thy hands; thou hast put all things wnder his feet ; all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field, the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas; O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”—Psalm 8:3-9. The suggestion of the prophet respecting man is one which we believe has occurred to every intelligent being. As one upon the deep looks out upon the vast expanse of water and the riding of the vessel upon it, he thinks, How little is man! How small a speck in the universe! When we look up into the heavens and realize that they represent so much more of divine power, we are still more surprised. When we consider the heavens, and realize that all these stars, except the planets which belong to our own system, are really suns, and that around each of these suns revolve planets, as our earth revolves around our sun, and when we think of the number of these suns and their planets, we are amazed, and we feel our own littleness all the more! We ask astronomers as to the number of these suns, and they will tell you that there are a hundred millions of them in sight. And if we would average the planets around these hundred million suns at ten, it would be ten hundred millions of planets. And then they tell us, further, that if we could take our stand upon the very farthermost one of these we would still see before us many more, and as many more. Our minds are appalled as we begin to think of the heavens, the work of God’s fingers, and then consider man, how small a work in God’s sight! We have an appreciation then of what the Scriptures say man is like in God’s sight—as “the dust in the balance,” that is not worthy to be taken into account. We have all been in the grocer’s shop and notice that he pays no attention to the dust in the scoop of his scale. So man is so smal] in the sight of the great Creator that we wonder that God should have any interest at all in humanity. “THOU MADEST HIM TO HAVE DOMINION’’ Except for the Bible we should have no knowledge of God’s interest in us, and we might think that God is so great that he would pay no heed to us. But, when God reveals himself to us in the Bible, we hegin to see that there is not only divine power exercised and manifested in the creation of all these worlds, but we see also this divine power manifested in God’s dealings with us, and also the love of God, which the Seriptures state “passeth all understanding.” What wonderful condescension on the part of the Creator that he should give heed to us! But our text goes on to give us further information on this subject: “What is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou visiteth him? for thou hast made him a little lower than the angels.” Only a little lower is the thought! Of the holy angels the Seriptures give us to understand there are various ranks, some higher and some lower, but all perfect. Then in the world we have various orders of animal life—the beast of the field, the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air—and man, as the highest of these earthly beings; and he stands related to all these lower creatures as God does to the entire universe, and this is the honor with which our great Creator endowed his human creatures! Se we are told in this Psalm, “Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his fect.” What a wonderful creature man is, then, from this standpoint! While he is a little lower than the angels, so far as his nature in connection with the earth is concerned. and whereas as angels are more excellent so far as their natures are concerned, this Psalm speaks of man as being superior in that he has a dominion. The angels do not have dominion over other angels, but all are subject to the great Creator, God. But man, in the likeness of his Creator, has been given a dominion over the lower creatures, and in this respect it is a wonderful honor with which he has heen erowned—“Thou crownedst him with the glory and honor, and hast set him over the works of thy hands,” It might be asked with great propriety, If God is thus careful of humanity and has so highly honored his human creatures, why should he not have made a still better preparation for them in the world? Why is it that they are subject to the unfavorable conditions under which they now exist? Why are there sorrow, pain, sighing, crying and dying? Why are these tempests, storms, cyclones and tornadoes, famine, drought and pestilence—why all these things if God is so careful of us as his creatures? We would have no answer for all these questions were it not provided in the Bible. In this wonderful book of all books, we have the key to the matter, the explanation, and that is: God provided originally that man should be subjeet to none of these difficulties and disasters. Man was made perfect and placed in favorable and perfect surroundings, in a perfect garden, eastward in Eden, with everything necessary for his welfare—no storms, no sickness, no tempests, no difficulties—and he might have lived forever. Such was the wonderful dominion of this human son of God. Why, then, the change? This wonderful book answers that the change came about because of sin. And so we read: “By one man’s disobedience sin entered into the world (there was no sin in the world before), and death as a result of sin.” (Rom. 5:12.) There was no dying on the part of man until sin came. So all the aches, pains, sorrows and sickness which we experience are parts of this dying process. And so the difficulty with us all is that by nature we are “children of wrath.” Is divine wrath eternal torture? No, indeed! That teaching was handed down to us, perhaps, by our well-meaning forefathers. The wrath of God, we see on every hand; as the Apostle Paul declares, “The wrath of God is revealed”—in our own bodies, our aches and pains, mental imperfections, physical imperfections and moral imperfections—these are all parts of this great penalty for sin. We read that when man became a transgressor God sent a holy angel to drive our first parents ont from the Garden of Eden, away from the trees of life that were to sustain them in perfection, out into the unfinished earth. While the whole earth could just as easily have been made perfect, God left it unfinished, unprepared for man, and merely “prepared a garden eastward in Eden” for the trial of 4972}

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