Human Nature in it’s First Estate

What is Man?

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Psychology

Genre: Lecture

Track: 05

Dictation Name: RR131C5

Location/Venue: ________

Year: 1960’s-1970’s.

Our scripture is Psalm 8. ‘What is Man?’

“8 O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.

2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:

7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;

8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”

The eighth Psalm is a Messianic Psalm that can only be understood in terms of the resurrection of our Lord. We have the word of the New Testament for that. Our Lord cited this psalm the second verse during holy week and that on Palm Sunday. When he entered into Jerusalem the children cried out in the temple when he entered “Hosanna to the Son of David!”. This incurred the displeasure of the priests and scribes who demanded that the children be rebuked. And according to Matthew 21:16 our Lord said unto them, “Hearest thou what these say?” And Jesus saith unto them, “Yea; have ye never read out of the mouths of babes and sucklings, thou hast perfected praise.” Thus our Lord made clear that the Psalm was being fulfilled in their presence.

Then verse six of the Psalm was cited by Saint Paul in first Corinthians 15:25-27 when he discusses the meaning of the resurrection. In verse twenty-four it says that Christ will put down all rule and all authority and power. Then he goes on to declare for he must reign till he hast put all enemies under his feet, and the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him it is manifested that he is accepted which did all things under him.

Again we have the same Psalm cited in Ephesians 1:19-23, when Saint Paul prays that the believers might truly know the riches of God towards them, and what his exceeding greatness of his power to us who would believe according to the workings of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places. Far above all principality and might and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, and hath put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the church which is his body the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Very clearly according to Saint Paul in these two passages, the resurrection fulfills Psalm 8 and opens up a glorious inheritance for man. In Hebrews 2:5-9 even more plainly this is set forth. For we read “For unto the angels hath he not put into subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. For one in a certain place testified saying what is man that thou be mindful of him, or the son of man that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels, thou crownest him with glory and honor and did set him over the works of thy hands. Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him he left nothing that is not put under him.

But now we see not yet all things put under him, but we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angel for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

Very clearly then, Psalm 2 and Psalm 8 speaks about the resurrection of our Lord and it’s meaning for all of us. In the writing of this psalm however, as David looked at the greatness of God’s name “how excellent is thy name in all the earth” and as he looked at the glory of the creations which saith “Thy Glory above the heavens” he marveled at the majesty and the law and the order, the obedience of all creation to it’s Creator God. Thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained.

Then David turned and looked at man. And the contrast was marked. What is man that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man that thou visitest him? MAN the sinner, man the rebel against God, man full of all kinds of cruelty and horror, man who destroys himself and his fellow man day after day. The contrast was appalling. What is man that thou art mindful of him?

David inspired of God saw man in all his sin and depravity. Because he also wrote prophetically of the cross, and of our Lord’s suffering and death, he saw also what that meant.

There were three of us this last Thursday who were here present who were privileged to hear Doctor Truman Davis, an ophthalmologist and surgeon, speak on the crucifiction of our Lord from a medical perspective. It’s my hope that next year about this time the Chalcedon guild can have him here and make him available for all of you to hear him, because what he had to say was very important and very telling.

Briefly, to summarize a few of his points, because it is relevant to this psalm. The crucifixion as it was practiced in the time of our Lord was a highly developed and a refined form of torture and execution perhaps without equal in all history. It was practiced by the Romans for about five centuries. It was practiced with a thorough knowledge of physiology because, Doctor Davis pointed out, while Romans had very little knowledge of any sound medicine, they were superb surgeons. Because the Roman legions were accompanied by Roman surgeons, they learned on the field basic surgery and became superb at on the field surgical operations. As a result they knew precisely how to execute a man with a maximum of punishment.

The cross at this time was an upright post, permanently stationed at a point. The cross was T shaped. However because there was an inscription set above on a post, giving the grounds on which the man was convicted his offence, it did have something of the traditional cross appearance. The condemned man carried the cross piece which was notched and set down on top of the permanent piece and usually weighed 90 to 100 lbs. Normally, a strong man could last more than a day and there are records of men lasting three days on the cross. A lingering, agonizing death. Our Lord in a sense however suffered a double execution and therefore was obviously of tremendous physical strength and for this reason did not last the day.

The traditional method of executing a legionnaire who was guilty of a capital offense was to beat him to death with a flagella; this was a short whip with a handle about so long, just enough for the fist of a big legionnaire to grasp it, a number of leather strips about so long, all tipped with metal. The first lash across the back opened up the flesh and drew blood. Then the condemned man was systematically beaten until the bones were exposed and the man died. In the case of someone like Our Lord who was being subjected to a double sentence, before the point of death the military surgeon in attendance stopped the beating and the man was revived to be spared for the cross. Thus our Lord was first beaten to the point of death, then revived, but that was not the end of his torment that night.

Then a robe was thrown over him, to make a mockery of him which robe of course -very quickly cemented itself to his bloody back so that when it was stripped from him later it increased the agony, and a crown of thorns pressed upon his head and he was beaten across the front with rocks. Having had no rest and having been brought to the point of death with the whipping it is no wonder that carrying a 90 to 100 lb cross he collapsed on the way and someone else had to be pressed into the service to carry it. But it does witness to his strength that he was able after being brought to the point of death to carry it that far! And to go the rest of the way on his own power. The large spikes were placed though the hand here, on the wrist. The arms were like this, not stretched out, and the feet bent and one single spike placed through them. The immediate effect was that this nerve and the agony would lead to a paralysis since the whole body hung on these wrists which would extend to the lungs, to the chest, so that very quickly a person would lapse into unconsciousness because of the paralysis of the chest muscles.

Then the carbon that side would fill the lungs which would bring about unconsciousness and then there would be a convulsive move and a push upward from the nail that went through the feet. This would force out the carbon dioxide and air would push out and there would be a revived consciousness. And it would be a continual back and forth between consciousness for the length of the crucifiction.

Thus every time our Lord spoke the seven words or sentences from the cross, it was necessary for himself consciously to push against the spike in his feet, lift himself up, to force out the air and to be able to speak. The two thieves had not been subjected to the beating and so they did not die before sundown as our Lord did and therefore it was necessary, it was the routine manner, to break the bones in their legs -the scripture records- so that they could no longer when they lapsed into unconsciousness involuntarily push themselves upward and they died therefore asphyxiation.

The agony therefore of the cross was intense. But as Doctor Davis remarked, even greater was the agony of being the sin bearer for his people. THIS is what David has in mind. The depths of man’s depravity that he could crucify the Lord of glory, the depths of man’s depravity which are revealed every day in history, when comparing the glory of creation he turns to man and says “What is man? That thou art mindful of him? And the son of man that thou hast now visited him?”

The meaning of the Psalm therefore as it looks at the glory of God’s creation and the sin of man, is that it looks also to his restoration in Jesus Christ! Thou hast put all things under his feet. By Christ’s death and resurrection, by his victory, man has been crowned with glory and with honor. Man who was created to be Lord over creation, to exercise dominion over the earth and to subdue it, sinned and fell. But Jesus Christ by his death and resurrection, the first fruits of the new creation, ushered in a new world a new creation of which we are members in Jesus Christ. Thus the lordship, the high dignity lost be the fall are restored by the Adam Jesus Christ. And all the world, all the angels, all the principalities and powers are subjected to Jesus Christ and to us in him.

Thus as Hebrews says “Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.” Thus we are therefore in a period of conquest when all things are in process of being put under Christ, under his feet, and under our feet, until then finally the last enemy, death itself, shall be destroyed and all things indeed shall be subjected to him. But the meaning is that Christ as the representative, man, was raised from the dead. Raised far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, every name that is named not only in this world but also in that which is to come, and all things hath been put under his feet. That which is Christ’s is ours.

So that as a great saint of the church once said, “The second Adam hast more than recovered all that the first Adam lost.” And we as his people are called. Called to conquer. The scripture tells us the saints of God, that when they go forth in his confidence where their feet step, that is their ground in the Lord. And so the people of God are summoned to go forth and to plant their feet in one area of the world after another, one sphere of life and activity, one science, one profession after another... Because the promise of the Psalm is “Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands. Thou hast put all things under his feet.

Man having been reestablished in the image of God is progressively led into dominion, in to righteousness, holiness, and knowledge. Into lordship in this world and in the world to come, all things are put under man’s feet in Jesus Christ and are subject to his power in Christ. Even as all things are withdrawn progressively from those who are among the unGodly, the things that are- Saint Paul went on to say- are being shaken! so that only those things which are unshakable shall remain. History therefore is a great earthquake, and even as earthquakes bring down the buildings which are not solid, so history shall bring down progressively all those things which are now built upon the foundation Jesus Christ. So that only that which is unshakable shall remain.

All things shall remain, all things are put under His feet. And under our feet in Him. Out of the mouths of babes and even infants, hast thou established a stronghold because of thy enemies to still every enemy and revengeful person. Every enemy. Every revengeful person. The scope is total. EVERY mouth shall be silenced, and every knee shall bow to him. This is the destiny of the people of God in time and in eternity. Thus it is that this resurrection Psalm end with a glorious declaration: “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth.”

And the beauty of this Psalm in the first sentence and the last is that it speaks of God with the resurrection in mind. It begins and ends with this salutation to God: “O Lord, our Lord, He who made heaven and earth is through the victory of Jesus Christ in the resurrection our Lord, and hast put all things under our feet.” “O Lord, Lord how excellent is thy name in all the earth.”

Let us pray.

Almighty God our heavenly Father, who in Jesus Christ has put all things under our feet; make us ever mindful that we are more than conquerors in Him that loved us... that Thou having died for us in Jesus Christ, will do yet more and care for us. Keep us from fearfulness of heart, keep us from sadness, and from despair, and make us ever joyful in Thee. Ever mindful that this is the victory which overcometh the world. Even OUR faith. Our God, we thank thee. In Jesus name, Amen.

Are there any questions now first of all with respect to our lesson?

[audience member speaks] [audience member is unintelligible]

A very good question! Normally the son of man is a term that refers to Christ. Throughout the gospels, it always refers to Christ and it was our Lord’s name for himself. But, here, it refers to men in general and the sons of men. Our Lord taking it and applying it to himself declared that he was very man of very man, as well as very God of very God. In Daniel it is very definitely a Messianic term used for Christ, but here is has reference to us.

[audience member speaks] [audience member is unintelligible]

Yes. That’s partially the reason. Yes?

[audience member speaks] [audience member is unintelligible]

Yes. The last and seventh word of our Lord on the cross was from Psalm 31, the first Psalm. “Into thy hand O Lord, do I commit my spirit.” Now, this Psalm is a very beautiful one, and our Lord in quoting this Psalm in terms of the Aramaic and not in terms of the King James or the Hebrew. Verse five: “Into Thy hands I commit my spirit, Thou hast redeemed me O Lord, God of truth.” This psalm is especially important and do you remember, the gospels tell us when he breathed out this last word, everyone as they left and went back into the city was terrified!

Up until then they had been ridiculing Christ and mocking him. And no doubt, shaken also by the earthquake that ensued. Now why did this last word from the cross shatter them so? The reason is that this Psalm was the evening prayer of Israel. Every child learned it at his mother’s knee, and when his father or mother tucked him in at night and whatever else he prayed he would recite this Psalm, a very beautiful Psalm of trust. “Thou hast set my feet in a large room and hast not shut me out into the hands of the enemies.”

It’s a Psalm that speaks of victory in the face of troubles, and for every person in Israel in those days, reciting this Psalm brought back memories of peace and quiet, the security of home, of kneeling by their bedside with their mother’s and father’s attention as they said their evening prayers. It was therefore not a word of defeat, it was a word of total and perfect peace in victory. In Thine hand I commit my spirit. It had a shattering effect because in spite of the agony of the cross he was dieing not a victim but a victor, and was manifesting his victor in a world of peace.

Yes?

[audience member speaks] [audience member is unintelligible]

Mhm. A very good question. As a matter of fact, for a long time, the passover was celebrated by Christians, it was called the Christian Passover. I’ve a section on this in the study of biblical law, in appendix I deal with this. And the word Passover as pascal, remained in the vocabulary in Spanish to this day -they don’t say Easter which is a pagan term- but pascal. And this I believe is also the term in french and spanish. It’s the pascal season, the pascal day. Referring to the passover land. And we ought to return to a more biblical word for the day rather than ‘easter’ which comes from a pagan goddess.

On top of that, for a long long time annually a passover lamb was used and then that was the time of the communion service! It then concluded in a communion service. This was routine for centuries. And it was the papacy that condemned it, they called it a Jewish practice but it was practiced for a long time in the Scotch church lingered in the practice of it in the 7’th and 8’th centuries, and one pope after another kept condemning the Scot’s for practicing the passovers.

And it was with difficulty that they rooted it out and changed the service, but it used to be that Easter was celebrated in terms of the fourteen moon. So whatever day it fell on, the day of the passover, the pascal day, was then. It was only later that it was regularized to the nearest Sunday thereafter. So, you are right, it is the Passover it is the Christian passover, it is the fulfillment of everything that the old testament celebrated and it was for centuries celebrated that way. The name pascal still endures in many languages.

Yes?

[audience member speaks] [audience member is unintelligible]

Good question, the question is: what is the relationship between the prayer in the garden and let this cup pass from me and to thee and the agony in the garden.

There is some difference of opinion here, but I believe with Doctor Skilder and others who have been the great scholars in this area, that our Lord knew what the horror of the cross was. And we are told he set his face towards Jerusalem and pressed towards it. In other words, he was in a haste to get there because this was to be his victory, and he spoke of his -the word in English is translated deceased in Luke but in the Greek it is literally, as we saw a few months ago- exodus. His exodus, his victory, his great transition from one realm to another which was to be accomplished there. The problem I think was not that, as much as the total isolation that it meant. He was to be totally isolated from men! Could ye not watch with me this one hour? You see, as he prayed he went back to look at the disciples. He was isolated completely from his people and he was to be isolated completely from god as the sin bearer who would accept the total judgment of God upon himself for our sins. So it was that total isolation from God and man as the sin bearer which was the real and the great suffering on the cross.

Yes?

[audience member speaks] [audience member is unintelligible]

Yes, a good question. Now we’ll be dealing with this at some length later on when we finish our studies in biblical psychology and go on to the doctrine of redemption but it’s important to deal with that now. Very definitely in terms of biblical law the law of restitution we must each of us pay for our own sins. This is inescapable. In the justice of God every man must pay for his own sins. But, because men are inescapably interrelated and interconnected in their lives in that no man can live unto himself, others pay for our sins as well. This is inescapable. So that the consequences of sin linger very very definitely and others suffer for them.

For example, if a child in a family as so many many cases all of us could cite illustrates, becomes a hippy and becomes involved in narcotics and becomes manurially diseased, you name it, virtually all of us have encountered very tragic situations like that. That child suffers... but think of the suffering of the parents, and the brothers and sisters. It’s a real agony. So that the penalty of sin affects others than the one person who sins! Consider for example, our history, and how we have suffered for the sins of our fathers.

George Mason of Virginia had more to do with the writing of the Constitution in 1787 than any other single man. Portion after portion is his handiwork, and yet in the last days of the convention he left and went home sick at heart and refused to sign it. He fought against it together with Patrick Henry. It mean disagreeing with one of his closest friends George Washington, who wanted him in spite of the problem to come out and support it. But he couldn’t. Why? In the last days there was a swap between the North and the South. There was several points, but two chief points. First Mason, although he was a slave owner wanted slavery to be abolished. Gradually. It could be done very simply in a number of ways, but after such and such a year all children who were born of slaves would become free. This wouldn’t dislocate the economy or cause harm to anyone. He wanted that, and felt it was very necessary.

Then he felt that the federal government should have nothing to do with interstate commerce. To give it any power to regulate interstate commerce would be to make it not a federal union but ultimately a totalitarian state. But the Northern state said, if you will allow the regulation of interstate commerce, we will allow slavery to continue. And that’s what was consummated in the last days of the constitutional convention. And all the powers of the federal government have grown out of that!

Both the way slavery was abolished through the fourteenth amendment and the interstate commerce clause. Mason was right. He felt it would produce a fearful harvest for the country, that the country had so glorious a future and he felt it was sin, a very real sin, to make that kind of compromise. Now you see we’ve paid for it haven’t we? The problems that the country has had from 1860 to the present day are all products of that sin there.

So, they didn’t pay for their sins just by themselves, we’re paying for it and God alone knows how long we’ll go on paying for the sin that was committed there! So sin does have more than personal effects. If a man starts a fire in a building, in an apartment house, consider the effect it has on more than himself. Sin therefore has far reaching consequences. And in Adam’s sin we were all involved.

So we paid for our sins, but other pay for them also. Does that help?

We’ll be going into this as I say into great detail -many, many weeks- the implications of this later. We have time perhaps for one more quick question if there is another... yes?

[audience member speaks] [audience member is unintelligible]

No I don’t. I’ve never thought about that. Mhm. That would be an interesting subject for someone to investigate. Yes, one more quick one.

[audience member speaks] [audience member is unintelligible]

Yes, there is a tendency for them to happen at those hours. The one quick note in case you didn’t see it in yesterdays {?} examiner, the geological report that in the north end of the valley, during the quake the ground lifted seven and a half feet and moved three to five feet the other way. It was a violent one. Yes, one more quick question...

[audience member speaks] [audience member is unintelligible]

Yes, very definitely. When you realize that there was that much movement of earth in that part of the valley it’s an amazing thing that the damage was not greater. Well, let’s bow our heads now for the benediction.

Now go in peace, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, bless you and keep you, guide and protect you. This day and always, Amen.