Psalms 138:6: “Though the LORD [be] high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.”
Someone sent me an email asking how I ended up driving a bus for the disabled and working as a caregiver. I suppose the real reason no longer exist but the reason why a published author and former college instructor with a PhD is driving a bus for the disabled can be answered simply by saying, I feel closer to God when I am moving wheel chairs, cleaning up after people have an “accident” on my bus or are so sick they spill their cookies on the seats and floor.
To be honest I am the type of guy who loves to be noticed, to be the one on the platform, to be the behind the lectern. Even when I go to a funeral I am jealous of the guy in the coffin. C.S. Lewis said that a proud man cannot know God because a proud man is always looking down on others and how can he see what is above when he is looking down. God seems to only make His presence known to me when I am looking up. I am not saying everyone has to work as a caregiver to feel God’s presence, it is just a me thing, something that I have had to work out by myself and is my way of dealing with this character defect.
However, when I was asked why I continue in my caregiving role, I had to think through this once more which leads me to Psalms 138:6. Some people think the words “All men are created equal” is in the Bible. It is not, it is in the United States Constitution. We are the only nation in the history of civilization to have written these words as the very foundation of our society. We have spent the last 200 years struggling to understand what it means that all men are created equal. What makes it difficult is that God did not create all men to be equal. I know a woman who can sing and play the piano. I can sing and play the piano but for whatever reason God did not create us to be equal in our ability to sing and play the piano. And no, no amount of practice will make me equal to this person. Every day I drive people on my bus who are not my equal. There are those who cannot see, but I can see, there are those who cannot walk, but I can walk. They are not equal to me.
Our Constitution lays out that even though there may be differences in appearance, color, skills, intelligence, we are all equal in the sense that no one is above the law. We must all respect the laws of this land and we all have an equal right of protection under these laws. Gay rights, abortion rights, a real hot button among Christians boils down to one thing, is everyone being treated as equal and that may sound noble on paper but in the real world it becomes very hard to define.
Are we all equal in God’s eyes? Some Christians feel God loves them more than non-believers. Some believe God loves the Jews more than the Muslims and vice versa (Latin for the other way around). I believe in my studies of the Hebrew and Aramaic words for love that God loves everyone equally, no matter how good or bad we are. The only difference is on our part as to whether we return that love or how we treat that love.
Yet, we may all be equal in the sense that we are God’s creation, He loves us all the same, and our lives are in His hands. But we are not equal to God Himself. We are not little gods or even demigods. God is high according to Psalms 138:6. The word high in Hebrew is rum which means to be high or exalted. It comes from an Old Persian word for breeding worms. I know, Mighty God creating man is like us breeding worms, sounds creepy. Actually around 1400BC they were breeding silkworms in India to produce Tussah silk. The art of making silk was really developed by the Chinese but it was known in the ancient world and only royalty was allowed to wear silk because it was so rare. The worms are really caterpillars that would spin a cocoon. The poor caterpillar would be boiled or steamed to death in the name of producing silk. This cocoon formed the basis for the threads to be used in the silk clothing.
So even though we are created in the image of God, we are still not of the same silk. We are just sheep’s wool where God is pure silk. He is royalty, He is better than us. But for us humans, no matter what our station in life, our talents, our skills, our wealth, we are all just sinners in need of the grace of God, we are created equal in that sense and we owe each other that respect. But God doesn’t have to show us that respect, he is above us, He is silk to our sheep’s wool.
Yet, this verse is telling us that He has respect for the lowly. That word respect is ra’ah which is the word for seeing, perceiving to gaze at, to examine by looking closely. It is like a mentalist doing a cold read on someone. A person can tell a mentalist his whole life story without saying a word. The mentalist just observes the slightest reaction when he asks a question. A turned up eyebrow, the movement of the lips indicate a no, the pupils of the eye dilating indicates something positive. God watches us that closely, that is ra’ah. He ra’ah’s the lowly. The word lowly is shaphal which is so low that you do not even notice it. It is something that will be so subtle that unless you are paying close attention like a mentalist doing his act, you will miss it.
Thus, God may be this mighty master of the universe but to us who are so low that we could go unnoticed, He notices us, not only notices us but notices things that even our best friends, spouses, parents would not even notice. He concentrates all His attention upon us picking up the slight movement of an eyebrow. He is the best Friend that you will ever have, because he will pay closer attention to you than your closest friend.
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