MEASURE OUR DAYS
Psalm 39:4-7
INTRODUCTION:
A. What are you planning on doing tomorrow?
1. How about next week?
2. Got plans for next month or even next year?
3. I ask these questions because we are prone to think that life is both predictable and controllable.
a. I doubt there is a teenager in this room that has given much thought to the end of life – they figure they have plenty of time: 50, 60, maybe even 70 years to go.
b. Not many 20 and 30 something’s have given it much thought, either: they are too busy with college, career, raising a family and earning a living, besides, they believe they still have plenty of time
c. Those who are approaching 50 and 60 have probably given it some thought, but, hey, what will be will be, and I still have plans for ….
d. I have not reached the 80’s, 90’s or 100 so I don’t know what they are thinking but I would imagine their thoughts turn to the end, a little more often and they probably wish they had done some things different.
4. Whether we want to think about it or not we need to understand the length of our lives is not guaranteed, at least not in this world.
5. James states, …ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James 4:14
6. And the writer of Proverbs 27 gives us this admonishes us, Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. Pro 27:1
B. How true. If you have been listening to the news lately you know there have been quite a few earthquakes.
1. While it is still to early in the year to see if we will go above average numbers, it seems we are hearing of quakes of greater magnitude
a. Jan 12, Haiti - 7.0 with approx. 230,000 dead (this is the second highest yearly death total in 40 years and we are just getting started)
b. Feb 27, Chili – 8.8 with 279 dead
c. Mar 8, Turkey – 6.0 with 51 dead, so far
2. I doubt any of the 230,330 who have died this year in quakes alone, went to bed thinking their time for living was over
3 My point is, life is unpredictable and death is not within our realm of control.
4. If we will do anything which has merit, it must be now.
5. I believe it was this realization that David was coming to grips with as he writes this 39th psalm.
C. It is to this end that I would like to look at just a few of his words found here, Psalm 39:4-7. Our outline will be as follows:
1. A contextual look at the Psalm
2. A personal look at the Psalm
3. May God open our eyes to the necessity of living for Him now while we still have the opportunity.
PRAY
We begin by taking
I. A CONTEXTUAL LOOK AT PSALM 39, I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me. I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred. My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue, LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them. And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee. Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish. I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it. Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand. When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah. Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more. WOW! Here was a man in a terrible way!
A. Many commentators believe Psalm 39 is a continuation of Psalm 38.
1. It is easy to see why, in Psalm 38:
a. We find that David is being chastised of God for sin
b. He finds himself alienated from God and friends
c. His sorrow, conviction of sin, ways heavy upon him
d. His enemies have taken advantage of the moment to pour buckets of coals upon his head: vexing him and treating him in a multitude of evil ways.
e. He cries out to God.
2. In psalm 39 he picks up where he left off
a. With conviction heavy upon him he decides not to let his mouth get the best of him – thus adding to his sin
- Maybe he thought of the words his son would write years later In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise. Prov 10:19
b. And he surely did not want to sound as if he was accusing God of anything, in front of the wicked (v. 1)
c. But he can only keep silent so long, until the words want to escape like a exploding volcano, so he goes to the one that already knew his heart - GOD! (vv.2-3)
d. Maybe Michael Wilcock in his commentary on Psalms 1-72, said it quite simply, concerning these first three verses: “loyalty” to God “says be quiet” while “perplexity” of soul “says Speak.”
3. Though we cannot say with certainty the two psalms are connected we can say that He was in a terrible fix, and did not understand his entire situation.
B. Thus we are brought to his words, a prayer if you would, found in Psalm 39:4-13
1. And it centers around verse 4 & 5, LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.
a. Some would say that David was asking God how many more days he would have to live in this state, wishing death would take him out of it.
b. But I believe the last verse of the Psalm, where it says O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more (Psalm 39:13), makes this an inadequate answer.
2. In light of the rest of the text I believe David was saying – “Life is so short, why put so much time into the things that will perish, they are vanity. I’m just a traveler passing through this world. Grant me time to get things back on course – that I might live for you with all my heart, soul and strength with all the time I have left.”
Having taken A Contextual Look at the Psalm we now need to take
II. A PERSONAL LOOK AT PSALM 39, Psalm 39:4-8 LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them. And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee. Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish.
A. As we said earlier, the main thrust behind these verses is the brevity of life and in order to live a life without regrets we need to learn a couple of things from this passage
1. Maybe the most important is to truly understand life is short.
a. David prayed, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is, that I might know how frail I am.
b. Do you know what the average life span of a human beings is?
- World wide – 67 years
- In the U.S. 77 years (M – 74, F – 80)
c. We are a frail lot when we start to think about life and death
- We have an appointed number of years from the Lord and death will come.
- Whether you are 6, 16, 26 or 96 life is short and it will end.
d. It is extremely short when you look at it in the context of eternity – this is what David saw and why he wrote, Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee. Selah. (think on that)
2. The second thing we need to know is how we are going to live this short life. Psa 39:5-7… Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them. And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.
a. Remember David is a king: he is rich, has servants, big houses, fancy chariots, , women, power, position, all the amusements one could want - you get the picture
1) But listen: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity.
2) Years later his son Solomon who had much more would come to the same conclusion: vanity, all is vanity.
3) What are you living for, the stuff of this world will sadly disappoint you, especially at the end of life – it will be meaningless!
4) I would encourage you to take inventory of your life:
a) Where do you spend your time, your money, your efforts?
b) Where are you pointing your children through the activities they are engaged in, the time spent in worldly things and pursuits?
b. Note the answer to his own question: And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.
1) Again, his son who had much more came to basically the same conclusion: Eccles. 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
2) Our hope, joy, meaning of life is to be found in God – ultimately in Christ!
3) We know this from our passage because David writes, Deliver me from all my transgressions:… Psalm 39:8
4) Please, do not leave here this morning believing your happiness is bound to your position in society, accumulation of wealth or abilities in activities
5) It cannot provide you with what you seek – only Christ can.
B. Jesus has said, he wants you to have both peace and joy – he gives them both, but you must come to Him
1. First knowing that you are a sinner, for all have sinned…– all of us have broken His commandments. Rom 3:23
2. And that death is coming because the wages of sin is death… Rom 6:23
3. But hope is found in Christ, for God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
4. If you believe that Jesus died for your sins, was buried and rose again from the dead you can be saved from sin, death and hell
5. If you will repent (that is turn from your sin) and ask Christ to save you, He will, for we have these words of assurance found in Romans 10:9 & 13 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved…For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
CONCLUSION:
A. In the last verse of this psalm David writes, Psalm 39:13 O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.
1. Folks, God wants to spare us from so much, if we will come to Him.
2. Please, don’t waste your lives in frivolous pursuits which have no eternal value
3. Don’t set your children on a path of worldly pursuits that they might not over come in their short lives
4. Jesus spoke these words found in Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
B. Folks, life is short: expend it on that which will not only give you peace and joy, but eternal life in the presence of our great God and king – Jesus Christ!
