As I write this, it is mid-November, and I realize that the year is winding down. There are only a handful of weeks left till this year is over. Most of the trees have dropped their leaves, and they are dried and being blown up and down the street. The grass on people’s lawns are drying up and losing their bright green color, typical of the northern climate I live in. It is like the plants go to sleep for the winter months. The old year is passing, and a new one comes, only for it to quickly pass, as well. People, like the plants, grow older, get frailer, and pass. It is a never ending cycle. This is the subject of our psalm for this week, a subject that shouldn’t be a depressing one, but rather an incentive to make our brief time here to be of value for the Lord.
There are several psalms in the Scriptures that are favorites of mine, and Psalm 90 is one of them. This psalm was written by Moses, and is the only psalm that he wrote. It is the oldest psalm in the Book of Psalms, and one of the oldest passages written in the Bible. The psalm is written as a prayer to God, with Moses talking to the Lord, speaking aloud his thoughts, particularly about the eternalness of God and the frailty and briefness of man on earth. As he opens the psalm, Moses acknowledges to God that He is eternal, having been in existence since before His creation of the world. God has no beginning and no end, and He is our sanctuary for protection, for sustenance and stability (vs. 1-2).
God is infinite. He has existed from all time past, and will forever. He is not bound by the same constraints of time that limit us. Moses made the comparison of time in relation to God and to man. For God, a thousand years are like one day or a watch in the night (vs. 4). The watch length for guards on duty at night in Biblical days was between 3 - 4 hours. That is what a thousand years for God is like, like a snap of one’s fingers. For us, though, a thousand years is quite a long time. Think of what the world was like in the 11th century. It’s a long time, yet for God, it is as nothing. Man’s life is like a blade of grass, Moses says. Here one day and gone the next (vs. 5-6).
Because God is eternal, we can depend upon Him. He knows the future, and He loves us. We may think that God is delaying in answering our prayers, or delaying in events we wish to happen, particularly for His return, but we need to remember that God sees time from an eternal perspective, and He is always on time.
Moses continues in his psalm by reminding us that not only is God eternal, but He is also omniscient. He knows everything, including all of our sins and those actions of ours that we like to hide from others (vs. 8). Moses reminds us that it is futile to try and cover up our sins or hide them from God. He knows all of our sins as if they were spread out before Him. If our friends and acquaintances knew everything about us, particularly our sins, we might not have too many friends left. However, while God knows everything about us, He still loves us and wants us to come to Him for forgiveness and salvation.
As we see through this psalm, life passes in the blink of an eye. God sends us opportunities to serve Him all of the time. Do we make excuses and spend our time on frivolous activities that won’t matter in eternity, or are we busy spending our brief time here serving Him? We should use what little time we have more wisely, and for eternal good (vs. 12). Joy and gladness should fill our days, to be an example to the world of God’s goodness and mercy (vs. 14).
We are only here for a brief time. We should ask God to help us wisely make use of each day. Don’t live just for this moment. Live with our eternal home in mind. Because of the brevity of life, we should make what we do here count for God. Time is ticking. We need to get busy for God, and make the most of the time He gives us.
No comments:
Post a Comment