MAN. Man is the crowning work of God's creation, honored above all earthly creatures. "Thou crown'edst him with glory and honor, and didst set him over the works of thy hands.' He stands upon a much higher plane than the beasts which perish. In the constitution of his being God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. . . . So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.' Man is a moral as well as a physical being. By his physical nature he stands associated with the things of earth, while in his moral and spiritual nature he is associated with the environments of the spiritual and eternal world. His present life is laden with eternal responsibilities. He is a being accountable to God, the Creator of all things in heaven and in earth. When David began to melitate on these things he said, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Yet when he considered the great I AM, how he measures the heavens with a span, and weighs the mountains in scales, and the nations to him are but dust, he cried, "What is man?" This is a question which should occupy our minds, and which should be considered with much prayer and careful study. Is it not reasonable, that if man is privileged to acquire a perfect knowledge of other things and creatures God has made, he should know himself? It is not our object in this work to undertake to solve this problem from a scientific standpoint, but I shall treat it purely from a Bible standpoint. The Word of God is very plain in its teaching, and gives us a clearer solution of what man is, and what his eternal destiny will be, than all the learning of the ages. Being a divine revelation, its teachings can be relied on and are safe to accept. HIS PRESENT STATE. Natural life is the greatest of earthly blessings. As to its value, we read, "All that a man hath will he give for his life." "Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" God has placed us in this world, and surrounded us with blessings innumerable. He made the sun to shine upon us and give us light by day, and the moon by night. He made the stars to twinkle in the sky, and the clouds to send us the refreshing showers. He sends us the sparkling dewdrops, and |