Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) was an Italian poet and philosopher who wrote the Divine Comedy, which many believe to be one of the most important works of the Middle Ages. In one part of that work, he issued a challenge to mankind's tendency toward arrogance and self-exaltation, saying that a truer self-evaluation is to regard ourselves as "insects." He asked, "Why doth your mind take such exalted pose? Perceive ye not that we are worms?" I like the comment by Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) on this: "We are all worms, but I believe that I am a glow-worm." Yes, there are times in life when, for various reasons, we may feel rather worm-like; little more than a creeping insect. David certainly had such a moment. "But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads" (Psalm 22:6-7). David felt helpless and worthless; he felt loathed, not loved. Bildad said to Job, "How can one born of woman be pure?" (Job 25:4), for man "is but a maggot, ... only a worm" (vs. 6). Yet, God has not abandoned the "worms" of this world; He is still there for us! To Jacob/Israel the Lord declared, "Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I Myself will help you!" (Isaiah 41:14).

I find it rather interesting that Psalm 22, which was written by David during a time of personal distress, is nevertheless one of the more powerful and memorable Messianic passion psalms. In fact, while on the cross, Jesus made reference to the opening words of this psalm of David. "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' -- that is, 'My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?'" (Mark 15:34; cf. Matthew 27:46). This entire psalm is filled with prophetic statements pertaining to the future passion of the Anointed One of God. David speaks of the sneering and mocking of men (vs. 7). He writes, "They pierced my hands and my feet" (vs. 16). "They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots" (vs. 18). For an in-depth treatment of this psalm, and what Jesus may have meant by His use of its opening words, read my article titled "The Passion Psalm: Pondering the Purpose of Psalm 22:1 which was Spoken by Christ on the Cross" (Reflections #150). Some scholars have even suggested that the "worm" reference in this Davidic psalm may also be applied to the suffering Savior as He hung upon the cross. As One being despised and rejected by men, he was less than a worm in their sight. When suffering and feeling rejected, it is not uncommon for men (and the Word did become flesh - John 1:14) to feel "less than a man; a mere worm." What an insight into what our Lord suffered for our sake!!

I love the thoughts of Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892), the English Baptist pastor and author, on this text (Psalm 22:6) as it applied to Jesus. He wrote, "This verse is a miracle in language. How could the Lord of glory be brought to such abasement as to be not only lower than the angels, but even lower than men. What a contrast between 'I am' and 'I am a worm'! ... Jesus felt Himself to be comparable to a helpless, powerless, down-trodden worm, passive while crushed, and unnoticed and despised by those who trod upon Him. He selects the weakest of creatures, which is all flesh; and becomes, when trodden upon, writhing, quivering flesh, utterly devoid of any might except strength to suffer. This was a true likeness of Himself when His body and soul had become a mass of misery - the very essence of agony - in the dying pangs of crucifixion. Man by nature is but a worm; but our Lord puts Himself even beneath man, on account of the scorn which was heaped upon Him and the weakness which He felt, and therefore He says, 'I am a worm, and not a man'" [Treasury of David, e-Sword]. Another English Baptist pastor and author, John Gill (1697-1771), wrote, "Christ calls Himself a worm ... on account of the opinion that men of the world had of Him. The Jews esteemed Christ as a worm, and treated Him as such; He was loathsome to them and hated by them; everyone trampled upon Him and trod Him under foot as men do worms; such a phrase is used of Him in Hebrews 10:29 - those 'who hath trodden under foot the Son of God'" [Exposition of the Old Testament, e-Sword].

"Christ may be said to have been a worm with respect to the mean and poor condition in which He lived; but especially to that kind of death to which He suffered; for He was stripped of His clothes, and fixed upon the cross, naked as a worm of the earth" [Dr. Joseph Benson, Commentary of the Old and New Testaments, e-Sword]. The ancient Greek poet Homer (born c. 8th century B.C.) spoke of "a man of inferior consequence" as being "a worm" [The Iliad]. Like Homer, "biblical authors used the worm as a symbol of something humble, worthless, and useless" [Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, p. 1389]. It was an "expression of deprecation," for "the Hebrews seem to have viewed the worm as the lowest form of created life," with humanity being the highest [The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. 4, p. 1117]. First Maccabees 2:62 states, "Do not fear the words of a sinner, for his splendor will turn into dung and worms." Worms writhing in excrement! It's hard to get much lower than that! Yet, this is how many viewed Jesus; it was also how some viewed David, and was even how David had come to view himself. "The first step in a downward spiral is to sink in the estimation of others; the next and more fatal one is to sink in our own estimation. Pungent and continued suffering depresses the mind, and fills it with gloomy and but half-comprehended thoughts, and the sufferer is tempted to depreciate himself and all his doings;" regarding his existence as nothingness [The Preacher's Homiletic Commentary, e-Sword].

Therefore, David penned the following from the depths of his personal despair, "Look at me now; I am like a woeful worm, crushed, and I'm bleeding crimson. I don't even look like a man anymore. I've been abused, despised, and scorned by everyone!" (Psalm 22:6, The Passion Translation). David "expresses his feeling of being less than human. The sense of human dignity is lost when it seems that God is absent and that people reject him. ... The psalmist is the object of scorn and reviling. Unwanted, alone, and full of anguish, he cannot enjoy the presence of his fellowmen, who do not understand his situation. Out of sheer disregard for his feelings, they apply their 'theological' measuring sticks to his situation and conclude that if he truly were to trust God, he would not suffer. They mock him, shaking their heads out of shock and misunderstanding" [The Expositor's Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 202]. Jesus, being the Son of God, perceived the ultimate purpose, and thus appreciated the significance, of His suffering; David, however, did not have that advantage, and neither do most of us when we're feeling more worm-like than human. Indeed, at times we feel that perhaps God has forsaken us; that maybe we are not worthy of His love and care.

One of our beloved hymns in the church expresses this very thought. It is the hymn: "Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed" (sometimes known as "At the Cross" - the original title was: "Godly Sorrow Arising from the Sufferings of Christ"). It was written in 1707 by Isaac Watts (1674-1748), who was a most interesting character, as well as a somewhat controversial one. I think you will find my article on him enlightening: "The Dissident Hymnist: Reflective Analysis of the Life and Work of Dr. Isaac Watts" (Reflections #347). Later, during our own Revolutionary War, copies of this man's hymns would actually play a significant role in one of the battles fought with the British. For that fascinating account, see my article on "The Black Robe Regiment: The Pastor-Patriots of the Revolution" (Reflections #547), where the battle cry of the Minutemen in the Battle of Springfield became, "Give 'em Watts, boys! Give 'em Watts!"

Returning to the above-mentioned hymn, however, notice the first stanza:

Isaac Watts, to the discomfort of many, has stated the obvious: when compared with the majesty and holiness of our Sovereign God, we are by comparison far lesser creatures - little more than worms, figuratively speaking. The harsh reality is, we "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). The apostle Paul, during a time of intense self-examination, could only conclude: "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" (Romans 7:24). He could just as easily have stated it in the wording of David - "What a worm I am!" What hope is there for those in such a state of moral and spiritual worthlessness? Who, in their right mind, would risk their own life to save an earthworm? The answer is: JESUS! In the words of another old hymn of the church: "There was One who was willing to die in my stead, That a soul so unworthy might live" ["Nailed to the Cross," written by Carrie Ellis Breck in 1899]. Like Paul, and also like each of us (if we are honest with ourselves), Isaac Watts recognized his unworthiness to stand in the presence of a holy God, and his utter inability to redeem himself from that wretched state of being.

Yet, none of us relish the idea of being a lowly worm. It is a blow to our self-esteem, and our human nature rebels against the thought. I can still remember, as a young child, hearing my dad's response to Isaac Watts' hymn every time it was sung in an assembly. He would refuse to sing that hymn, declaring, "I am NOT a WORM!!" And, in fact, he was not alone in that sentiment. In several later versions of that hymn, the wording has been changed in our hymnals to "for sinners such as I" and "for such a one as I." Nevertheless, in the wording of one of the stanzas of Watts' hymn, "When Christ, the mighty Maker died, for man the creature's sin" - our Lord did indeed shed His precious blood for the unworthy worms of this world!

The love of our God and of His Son is amazing; it is a love, mercy, and grace hard to fathom. Watts put that truth into several stirring stanzas, and that hymn has touched countless "worms" for centuries. Notice one such individual whose life was transformed by this hymn: "In the Fall of 1850, at the age of thirty, Fanny J. Crosby went to the altar at the Thirtieth Street Methodist Church in New York City. She had been to the altar twice before, but she had not received the peace she sought. While at the altar on this occasion, the congregation was singing the hymn, 'Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed,' according to her own testimony, and in her own words she says, '...it seemed to me that the light must indeed come then or never; and so I arose and went to the altar alone. After a prayer was offered, they began to sing the grand old consecration hymn, "Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed, And Did My Sov'reign Die?" And when they reached the third line of the fourth stanza, "Here Lord, I give myself away," my very soul was flooded with a celestial light. I sprang to my feet, shouting "Hallelujah," and then for the first time I realized that I had been trying to hold the world in one hand and the Lord in the other'" [C. W. Kerns, The Story Behind the Song - Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed, an article appearing on Church Choir Music]. Kerns ended the article, as will I, with this insight and challenge: "The only appropriate response to the realization that such selfless sacrifice on the part of a perfect God was for the sake of the imperfect, selfish creatures we know ourselves to be is total surrender. We know we can never repay our debt of gratitude, so we sing:"

From a Reader in Oklahoma:

Al, I finally got around to studying the materials on your special thumb drive that I ordered from you: "Law to Liberty: Reflecting on our Journey away from Legalism and into Freedom in Christ." The handouts you included with the audio recordings of your class I found to be very educational. I also listened to the first of the two sermons (along with their PowerPoint slides) that you included on your thumb drive: the sermon on the dangers of a narrow fellowship. WOW!! Sooo inspirational!!! I had believed those things, and had quit condemning the "denominations" to Hell, a long time ago, but your sermon was so good at making it real. It greatly impressed me! Brother Al, you have given me some very valuable exhortation! I must think, study, and pray about this.

From a Minister in Texas:

Al, I enjoyed your response to my questioning (the first question/response in the Readers' Section of your last issue), just as I enjoy all your Reflections essays. It's good for me to read your reasoning through these subjects. And with this subject, I have taken some minor heat for backing off from my more legalistic moments, but I will survive. Thanks for providing me direction in my personal reflecting, and for confronting my views that needed tweaking. I had heard it said that "I don't want to be guilty of just regurgitating the consensus conclusions of my predecessors." Thus, I will continue to study. I have good friends in the ministry from both sides of the piano, and I enjoy the back-and-forth, but I do not enjoy division! I hope to have a little of the heart of Carl Ketcherside and Leroy Garrett, as well as others of that fashion. Al, your kindness in considering and replying to my emails has gone far beyond my expectations! Grace and Peace to you and yours!

From a Reader in Unknown:

Bro. Maxey, thank you for all you do and the way you do it! I have two questions that are Restoration Movement related. One, has the church been restored yet? Two, at what point is the church to be restored to, since the church has evolved from the get-go. These two questions have cropped up in my mind occasionally throughout the years. Is the movement to restore the church dead? Or does it even really matter, as long as we are trying to understand and simply worship the best we know how? I have visited several churches, both denominational and non-denominational, over the years, and the worship service seems pretty much the same (songs, prayers, sermons, etc.). My knowledge is pretty basic, so I'm sorry if these questions are basic as well. Take care and God bless.

• Those who have followed my teachings over the decades know that I have long been a vocal critic of the whole notion of "restoring" the first century church (particularly with regard to what some call its "pattern of worship"). My third Reflections article dealt with that: "Restoring the 1st Century Church?" (Reflections #3). This article had actually appeared several months earlier that year (2002) in Grace Centered Magazine, for which I was one of the writers (I would not begin my Reflections writing ministry until December of 2002). My article in GCM created quite a stir among the ultra-conservatives and legalistic patternists, and a response to it appeared on the front page of the May 2002 issue of their publication Seek the Old Paths. That response can still be read online (Click Here). Nine years later, in 2011, I did a couple of articles in which I went into more depth on this topic: "The Great Restoration Fallacy: Moving Forward toward the Distant Past" (Reflections #479) and "The Iron Duke of Restorationism: Reflecting on the Life of Jacob Creath, Jr." (Reflections #480). I would also urge the reader to listen to my Sunday Morning Adult Bible Class on "The New Covenant Church," a 14-week study I taught in 2015 during which I also dealt at some length with these questions, as well as a good many others, and which is available for order on a special thumb drive. -- Al Maxey

From a Minister in Montana:

Brother Al, your new article titled "Research and Reflective Reasoning: Methodology for Acquiring Greater Understanding" (Reflections #878) is a good reminder to us all, and also a call for more thinking to be performed! Thanks for sharing these thoughts with us this week!

From a Minister in New Zealand:

Al, I am reading your latest article ("Research and Reflective Reasoning"). This is great!! Thank you so much! And thank you for your tireless work. It won't go unrewarded.

From a Reader in Barbados:

Thank you so much, Al, for sharing with us your thoughts on doing research and using reflective reasoning. Let me also wish you the very best for 2024 for your family and your ministry.

From a Minister in Texas:

Al, Thanks for your article "Research and Reflective Reasoning." Like yourself, I have taught and preached for over half a century. I am now 82, and am somewhat retired. I only preached ten fulltime years and then went bi-vocational the remainder of those years, mainly preaching for smaller congregations that could not afford a fulltime minister. It has been a great experience, and it allowed me to preach God's Truth as best as I saw it. The last church I preached for fired me after seven years. I guess I got too close to the Truth. Four years later that church closed its doors. With Love, - Your Brother in the Faith.

From a Reader in Texas:

Thank you, Brother Al. "Research and Reflective Reasoning" is a great article! I deeply appreciate your scholarship and your godly courage to share what you learn in your studies. You are a bright spot in the Churches of Christ.

From a Reader in North Carolina:

Al, just when I was ready to unsubscribe from your Reflections after the ridiculous previous article on spilled semen (LOL - Issue #877), here you come and deliver a gold mine in your article on research and reasoning!! Thank you, brother, for renewing my confidence in you as a teacher (LOL). We were discussing the topic of Hell in our Men's Group last night; specifically, whether non-Christians would go there, and we had a very good hour of "reasoning together." We sometimes become so complacent and rigid in our thinking, as immovable as the Lorax (Dr. Seuss), that we fail to realize the Spirit may be trying to teach us something! I recommended Edward Fudge's excellent work "The Fire that Consumes" to our group. I believe so many of the folks my age (61) and older have been scarred and scared into faith, for fear of going to Hell and suffering forever in burning torment. I appreciate you so much for recommending Bro. Fudge's book to me years ago. It changed my life ... for good! Much love to you, brother!

From a Missionary in Tanzania:

Al, a friend once asked my father what he saw as the greatest benefit of his Master's Degree. My father replied that since his MA degree was not in Bible or Ministry or some other such field, he could make his living at something other than preaching. Thus, in his preaching, he did not have to censor himself to meet someone else's opinions. I believe he had certain individuals in mind, those who would have preferred that he keep silent on certain issues.

From a Reader in Washington:

Al, one thing that my husband and I (we are both in our 90's) admire most about you is that you have not fallen into the trap that many pastors have. Instead, you are a humble man and speak the Truth in love to people, even when it may not be what they wanted to hear! I believe God has used you to help open the eyes and hearts of a great many people, myself included. Thank you!

From an Elder in New Mexico:

Al, as a militant heretic, digressive and liberal, I have been silenced numerous times. It is not fun to experience. I recently got acquainted with a professional preacher over dinner. We were discussing the blatant eschatological inconsistencies in Church of Christ doctrine since about 1930, and I found out that we agreed on this. He said that our shared viewpoint would make for a "moving" sermon! In other words, had he ever once preached it, he would have had to relocate!

From a Retired Army Chaplain in Indiana:

Al, I just read "Research and Reflective Reasoning." Well-said, brother! Often, for me, inquiry leads to change, which the gate-keepers note with suspicion. Yet, open-minded searching is absolutely necessary. I have seen time and time again the difficulty preachers face when backed into a corner with their family's financial security on the line because of the agendas of the church gate-keepers. I have seen many preachers try to hold on to their conscience while carefully dancing around a difficult "brotherhood" issue. Lord have mercy!!

From a Minister in Florida:

Al, I, also, have observed this more times than I would like to count. And I have occasionally witnessed some who have voiced their new understandings of Truth, knowing that they were going to pay a very high price for such disclosure!

From a Reader in Alabama:

Al, I'm convinced that one of the greatest sins of the Church of Christ group is in believing "we" have so arrived at all truth that there's nothing else of significance to learn, and thus no commensurate changes are needed. However, the adventure of faith is constantly correcting and challenging cherished limitations. Even the wisest and most knowledgeable among us will be learning something new and making changes until earthly life is ended. Thankfully, perfection in knowledge and understanding is not the determining factor of salvation. We may be wrong about a lot of things, but we are saved by a Person (not by a practice or perception). If we're right about our Savior, our human limitations won't cause us to be lost. Thanks be to God's Son who covers us in spite of our imperfections!

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