DO WE
LOOK AT OUR LIVES ON EARTH THE WAY WE SHOULD?
Psalm 39:1-3
1 I said, “I
will guard my ways,
that I may not sin
with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth
with a muzzle,
so long as the wicked are
in my presence.”
2 I was mute and
silent;
I held my peace to no
avail,
and my distress grew
worse.
3 My heart
became hot within me.
As I mused, the fire
burned;
then I spoke with my
tongue:
As David dealt with the distresses
in his life, he had determined not to sin by his speech. His silence protected him
from rebelling against God, as well as from damaging his testimony before the
wicked.
As the agony of his difficulty
mounted within him, he could not keep his silence any longer:
Psalm 39:4-6
4 “O Lord, make
me know my end
and what is the measure of
my days;
let me know how fleeting I
am!
5 Behold, you have
made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as
nothing before you.
Surely all mankind
stands as a mere breath! Selah
6 Surely a
man goes about as a shadow!
Surely for
nothing they are in turmoil;
man heaps up wealth
and does not know who will gather!
David does not sin, he
does not rebel or speak against God, he just asks his Lord to help him remember
the frailty and shortness of human life.
Are we committed not to speak against God and not to become a bad testimony to the unsaved? This psalm should be a
warning about how we react to our own difficulties. When we
complain, or become angry or bitter, we are rebelling against God.
Our testimony of faith in Christ
can be tainted by the way we deal with life’s situations. Are we shining
witnesses to our spouse and children? Do those people who live in close contact
with us know us as complainers? David had committed not to speak against his
God, no matter what his circumstances were.
David’s reflection caused
him to also look at his life with an awareness of its frailty and brevity. Are
our reactions and attitudes so earthly that we forget how momentary our life
is?
God’s intention is always
to drive us to Him, to promote dependence upon Him. Our trials are a gift of
God, as they put our priorities in perspective and expose our frailty.
Psalm 39:7-11
“And now, O Lord, for what
do I wait?
My hope is in you.
8 Deliver me from all
my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn
of the fool!
9 I am mute; I do not
open my mouth,
for it is you who have
done it.
10 Remove your stroke
from me;
I am spent by the
hostility of your hand.
11 When you
discipline a man
with rebukes for sin,
you consume like
a moth what is dear to him;
surely all mankind is a
mere breath! Selah
David’s reactions are a
good example for us. Totally dependent on God, he recognizes that all is under
the control of His sovereign Lord, and repents, asking God to deliver him.
Do we continue to place our hope in God? Are these our reactions to
the difficulties of life? Do we
examine ourselves before we judge others? Do we guard our hearts and minds, as
we recognize the sovereignty of God in all our situations?
I am afraid that often we
are driven by pride and think that we deserve better than the lot we have been
given. We look at others as the cause of our misery. We spin our wheels, in our
desire to escape our circumstances.
Psalm 39:12-13
“Hear my prayer,
O Lord,
and give ear to my cry;
hold not your peace at my
tears!
For I am a sojourner
with you,
a guest, like all my
fathers.
13 Look away from me,
that I may smile again,
before I depart
and am no more!”
David does not desist from
asking God for reprieve. But he realizes that he is just a pilgrim on earth.
Do we look at our lives on
earth the way we should? We are temporary sojourners, pilgrims, progressing
through life not as victims, but as witnesses of God’s power and glory.
1 Peter 2:11-12
Beloved, I urge
you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the
flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the
Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify
God on the day of visitation.
Life is hard! We certainly
can ask God for reprieve, knowing that He is in control. We should commit to
keep our tongue from sinning. And remembering the brevity of our lives, we
should make sure that they invite others to recognize the presence and power of
our God, Who deserves all glory.
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