Chad Hutson
Puritan Board Freshman
“But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by mankind and despised by the people.”[1]
In a recent conversation, I made the comment that I am but a worm, unworthy of God’s favor. The couple that I was speaking with took great umbrage with that statement, which I feel gives insight into the current state of illiteracy within the so-called Christian community. They couldn’t understand how I could continue to feel unworthy if I was in Christ. Should not a Christian glory in their salvation? Are we not blessed beyond measure? Should we not show forth the favor of God? My reply was to simply say that the servant is not greater than the master. Christ became a worm for our sake, scorned and despised.
Calvin’s comments on Psalm 22:6 proved helpful to me: “he had been abased beneath all men, and, as it were, cut off from the number of living beings. The fact that the Son of God suffered himself to be reduced to such ignominy, yea, descended even to hell, is so far from obscuring, in any respect, his celestial glory, that it is rather a bright mirror from which is reflected his unparalleled grace towards us.”[2]
By his humiliation his exaltation is even more glorious. We have not yet arrived, there remains much labor, toil, and temptation. To paraphrase Paul, we must still press on while striving to know Christ better. What we do know is hardly enough to be arrogant about. In fact, the more I learn about Christ, the more I realize I don’t know enough. How can I glory in such incomplete knowledge? Instead, I am humbled.
The ploy of Satan is to get us to look at ourselves. He can accomplish this if he can get us to be satisfied with the state of salvation rather than being satisfied with the Savior. William Gouge wrote “When I look upon myself, I see nothing but emptiness and weakness. But when I look upon Christ, I see nothing but fullness and sufficiency.” This is the idea that I wish to convey when I state that I am but a worm. Apart from Christ I am nothing. In Christ, he is everything.
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 22:6.
[2] John Calvin and James Anderson, Commentary on the Book of Psalms, vol. 1 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 366.
scorned by mankind and despised by the people.”[1]
In a recent conversation, I made the comment that I am but a worm, unworthy of God’s favor. The couple that I was speaking with took great umbrage with that statement, which I feel gives insight into the current state of illiteracy within the so-called Christian community. They couldn’t understand how I could continue to feel unworthy if I was in Christ. Should not a Christian glory in their salvation? Are we not blessed beyond measure? Should we not show forth the favor of God? My reply was to simply say that the servant is not greater than the master. Christ became a worm for our sake, scorned and despised.
Calvin’s comments on Psalm 22:6 proved helpful to me: “he had been abased beneath all men, and, as it were, cut off from the number of living beings. The fact that the Son of God suffered himself to be reduced to such ignominy, yea, descended even to hell, is so far from obscuring, in any respect, his celestial glory, that it is rather a bright mirror from which is reflected his unparalleled grace towards us.”[2]
By his humiliation his exaltation is even more glorious. We have not yet arrived, there remains much labor, toil, and temptation. To paraphrase Paul, we must still press on while striving to know Christ better. What we do know is hardly enough to be arrogant about. In fact, the more I learn about Christ, the more I realize I don’t know enough. How can I glory in such incomplete knowledge? Instead, I am humbled.
The ploy of Satan is to get us to look at ourselves. He can accomplish this if he can get us to be satisfied with the state of salvation rather than being satisfied with the Savior. William Gouge wrote “When I look upon myself, I see nothing but emptiness and weakness. But when I look upon Christ, I see nothing but fullness and sufficiency.” This is the idea that I wish to convey when I state that I am but a worm. Apart from Christ I am nothing. In Christ, he is everything.
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 22:6.
[2] John Calvin and James Anderson, Commentary on the Book of Psalms, vol. 1 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 366.
