Eternal Lord and Fleeting Life

God, we long to meet with you,

to hear your voice,

and to speak to you,

adore you,

bring our requests to you,

confess our sins to you.

And we want to intercede on behalf of our church

and behalf of our city.

We pray that you will lead us,

speak to us first from your word

so that our prayers are winged by the truth of your word,

informed by them,

shaped by them,

so that we may pray according to your will

and be confident that our prayers will be answered by you.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

We're in Psalm 39.

This is to the choir master,

to Jeduthun,

a Psalm of David.

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 the presence.

I was mute and silent.

I held my peace to no avail

and my distress grew worse.

My heart became hot within me

as I mused.

The fire burned.

Then I spoke with my tongue.

O Lord, make me know my end

and what is the measure of my days.

Let me know how fleeting I am.

Behold, you have made my days a few hand breaths

and my lifetime is as nothing before you.

Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath.

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.

And now, O Lord,

for what do I wait?

My hope is in you.

Deliver me from all my transgressions.

Do not make me the scorn of the fool.

I am mute.

I do not open my mouth

for it is you who have done it.

Remove your stroke from me.

I am spent by the hostility of your hand.

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.

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.

Look away from me

that I may smile again

before I depart

and am no more.

In the book that C.S. Lewis wrote

entitled A Grief Overb,

in a tongue-in-cheek manner,

he asks this question.

He says,

what do people mean when they say,

I am not afraid of God

because I know he is good?

Have they never even been to a dentist?

Because he's saying,

basically, when we visit a dentist,

two factors help us to endure

the painful drilling of our cavities.

One is knowing that

it's only going to last a little while.

Two, it's knowing that

contrary to our instinct to flee pain,

the dentist knows better than we do

and that it's going to end up

being good for us,

the drilling that he is doing.

And these two simple observations

translate to our spiritual life as well

and help us endure

far deeper troubles and afflictions

when we remember that,

one, it's going to only last

a little while,

and two, that God's behind

and sovereignly

and he is good.

And in Psalm 39,

we find David in some kind of distress

and he goes from reflecting

on his distress

in verses 1 to 3

to a realization

in verses 4 to 6

and finally to a request

to God

in verses 7 to 13.

Reflection, realization,

and a request.

And the summary of the Psalm

is that we are to hope

in the eternal Lord

and not in this fleeting life.

And so first,

he goes into his reflection

in verses 1 to 3.

He writes that

due to the presence

of the wicked around him,

he has resolved

not to sin

with his tongue.

So he's experiencing

some kind of affliction

and we don't know

exactly what it is.

Probably all the better

because then it's

universally applicable

what he's going through.

And he really wants

to cry out to God

bitterly

and complain to him.

But he is concerned

that in doing so

he might speak rashly

and presumptuously

and sin against God.

And he's particularly wary

of blaming God

in the presence

of the wicked

lest he fuel

their unbelief in God

and their disdain

for God's people.

So David notes

in verses 2 to 3,

I was mute and silent.

I held my peace

to no avail

and my distress

grew worse.

My heart became hot

within me

as I mused

the fire burned.

So the expression

my heart became hot

within me

is similar to

an expression

that's used

by Prophet Jeremiah

in Jeremiah 29

where he says

if I say

I will not mention him

or speak any more

in his name

there is in my heart

as it were

a burning fire

shut up in my bones

and I am weary

with holding it in

and I cannot.

So it's describing

that kind of

burning passion

a zeal

an irresistible urge

to say something.

And so after

reflecting

on his

distress

in verses 1 to 3

of Psalm 39

he goes to

he comes to

a realization

in verses 4 to 6

and

in verse 4

of chapter 39

it says

O Lord

make me know

my end

and what is

the measure

of my days

let me know

how fleeting

I am.

So in other words

he's saying

O Lord

when is this

all going to end?

show me

that this

will all be over soon

that my life

is short.

And at the end

of his reflection

David realizes

he already knows

the answer

to the question

and so he starts

to say

in verses 5 to 6

Behold

you have made

my days

a few hand breaths

and my lifetime

is as nothing

before you

surely all mankind

stands as a mere breath

say love

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

hand breath

is a measurement

of four fingers

basically

it's one of the

smallest measures

units of measures

in the Hebrew

measurement system

and so when he

compares his life

to a hand breath

he's saying

that our life

is fleeting

it's a mere breath

it's here today

and it's gone tomorrow

it's like a shadow

he says

like that shifts

and disappears

with the slightest

movement

of the sun

so then he concludes

in vain

do the wicked

prosper

in vain

do people fret

and grumble

in this life

in vain

do people invest

countless energy

and hours

to heap up wealth

that they will

leave behind shortly

and so it's

not unlike

the way he describes it

not unlike a little

child in the beach

at the beach

who is

you know

with meticulous care

building a sandcastle

not knowing that

in just a few moments

a wave is about to come

and to wash it all away

right

just these people

who are heaping up wealth

and investing in this life

and so with that

he comes to that realization

that we should hope

in the eternal Lord

and not in this

fleeting life

this is a really

helpful perspective

when we're in the middle

of distressing times

and circumstances

I heard the story

in 1852

the English poet

Edward Fitzgerald

wrote this

or retold rather

this babel

that's been around

for a long time

it's called

the Solomon's Seal

he says that

there's a sultan

who asks King Solomon

you know

like so if

because he had heard

of his wisdom

asks him

hey he's there

a saying

that you know

that will hold true

no matter what situation

in life

that will guide me

that can help me

in life

and apparently

Solomon responded

this is probably

a made up story

but he says

this too shall pass

right

you guys probably

have heard that

I've heard my neighbors

use it

and so that's helpful

to remember

right

that means

our difficult

neighbors will pass

right

yes

and our

our

your illness

will pass

right

it's the

your life

will pass

right

David

applies this

particularly

to distressing times

but it's equally

applicable in times

of joy and celebration

right

so when

whatever we are enjoying

if it's

if it's related to our

temporal life here on earth

it will pass

right

the delicious food

we enjoy

will pass

first Corinthians 6 13

says food is meant

for the stomach

and the stomach for food

and God will destroy

both one and the other

right

uh

sexual intercourse

is one of the strongest

pleasures of earth

but that too will pass

right

as Jesus says

right

there's no marriage

in heaven

Mark 12 25

so the earthly pleasures

will be superseded

by far superior

eternal pleasures

so that phrase

this too shall pass

helps in both

distressing times

and

uh

and in good times

to help keep proper

perspective

on our attachment

to earth

um

and then so after

his reflection

on his suffering

and his realization

of the fleeting

nature of life

he comes to his

final request

to God

in verses 7 to 13

he says

and now oh Lord

for what do I wait

and then he answers

my hope

is in you

so

he's saying

concluding

that we are to hope

in the eternal Lord

and not in this fleeting life

and because God

is the only worthy

object of our hope

right

and when our

attention turns

from this fleeting life

to the eternal Lord

uh

that's

when for David

the pressing issue

no longer is his circumstances

his suffering

his distress

but his own sin

so he prays

in verse 8

deliver me

from all my

transgressions

right

so as

so he

and then

as he realizes

that it's

God's disciplining him

afflicting him

for his sins

he retreats

once again

into silence

and uh

uh

and so this

this is a really helpful

uh

truth

to remember

that even

the distress

and the affliction

uh

come from God's

sovereign hand

right

not only is our

suffering short-lived

it also comes

from a sovereign

God

out of his providence

so David prays

in verses 10 to 11

remove your stroke

from me

I am spent

by the hostility

of your hand

and 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

so David's

affirming that God's

disciplining him

uh

as his father

as Hebrews 12

6 says

the Lord disciplines

the one he loves

uh

and uh

and God disciplined

David in this case

like a moth

that consumes

what is dear to him

right

this is kind of hard

for us to relate to

because we rarely

deal with uh

moth infestations

in our city's

context

but

but moths

are pretty

destructive

right

I mean they

you know lay larvae

and uh

and they consume

all kinds of

natural materials

right

it's like wool

like hair

leather

you know anything

natural

they eat it

and it's destroyed

and uh

and so

God's

it's

he says

God consumes

like a moth

what is dear

to him

and why

does God

consume

what is dear

to us

right

in what he's

disciplining us

afflicting us

and I think

it's he

loosens

our desperate

grip on this

world

when he consumes

what is dear

to us

right

things of this

world

that are dear

to us

when he consumes

it

he loosens

our grip

on earth

and draws

us near to him

makes us cling

to him

instead of

clinging

to this world

and uh

and so

because of that

David's teachings

we are to hope

in the eternal

Lord and not

in this

fleeting life

and and with

that he comes

to this conclusion

verse 13

oh Lord

I am a sojourner

with you

a guest

like all

my fathers

he says

all his fathers

of faith

all the people

that preceded

him

were sojourners

and this

is in spite

of the fact

that he's

already in

the promised

land

right

David

is the one

that conquers

Jerusalem

he's in

the promised

land

yet he says

he is a

sojourner

because I

think he

realizes that

all of us

our ultimate

home is with

the Lord

in heaven

and therefore

all the people

of God

who are on

earth

are still

sojourners

and a lot

of the New

Testament

authors

grab hold

of this

idea

and use

it

and as

he hopes

in the

Lord

he asks

God to

pardon

his sins

because he

realizes that's

what's keeping

him from his

full enjoyment

of the presence

of God

verse 13

look away

from me

that I may

smile again

before I

depart

and am

no more

obviously

David's

not asking

God to

go away

and not

deal with

him

but he's

asking God

to look

away from

him in

judgment

from

condemnation

and

this is

true for

all of us

right

if God

were to

count

and mark

all our

iniquities

none of us

can stand

right

yet

because no

one can

escape

God's

all-seeing

eyes

and that's

why

right

as

Christians

who have

experienced

the ultimate

redemption

of God

in Christ

we have

a better

hope

than even

David

knew

I mean

he knew

prophetically

of what

God would

do

but he

can't

really

in good

conscience

ask God

to look

away from

him

because

God's

a just

judge

but God

can look

away from

him

God

can forgive

him

God

can pardon

him

because

he looks

ahead to

Jesus

his son

who lives

a perfect

life

and dies

for our

sins

and rises

again

so that

his

righteousness

is imputed

to us

and so

that

as it

says in

Isaiah

and other

parts

God

does not

remember

his sins

against

us

and I

mean

God's

not forgetful

he doesn't

it's not that he

forgets our

sins

but he

chooses not

to remember

our sins

against us

meaning he

doesn't count

it against

us

and so

David's

prayer

becomes a

reality

for us

God

looks away

from us

from

judgment

and comes

to us

looks to

us in

grace

and love

only

and

for that

reason

we have

even more

hope than

David to

place our

hope in

him

more reason

than David

to place

our hope

in him

and not

in this

pleading

life