Concordia Sermons

Following the Fall, God renders a harsh judgment on Adam: "Dust you are and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19). This is meant to remind Adam - and everyone - that we are made from dust and, upon our deaths, we will return to dust. Yet, even though we are made from humble dust, the Psalmist exclaims that we are highly exalted! He sings, "You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned with glory and honor" (verse 5). How is it that we, made from humble dust, can be celebrated as the crown of God's creation? The preacher of Hebrews finally applies this Psalm to Jesus (cf. Hebrews 2:5-9). It is Christ who exalts us and restores our value by His cross. God, rather than dusting us away in death like we do with the dust on our furniture, blesses us, keeps us, saves us, and will raise us on the Last Day.