“Hear my prayer, LORD, and listen to my cry; come to my aid when I weep. Like all my ancestors I am only your guest for a little while.” (Psalms 39:12)
David wrote this psalm to be sung by Jeduthun, the chief musician. In this psalm, David mourns his sins which have caused him grief and the punishment of the Lord. In our verse above, He cries out for the Lord to hear him.
In those days, God punished immediately. Jesus hadn’t taken the punishment for sin yet. David asks the Lord three things: to stop punishing him because he cannot bear it any more, to save him from his sins and to not allow fools to ridicule him for his downfall. (Psalms 39:8,9) In all his lament, yet he hopes in the Lord. (Psalms 39:7)
Then at the end David pleads for the Lord to see him for what he is, just a wanderer, a traveler in this world like his ancestors. The time on this world is only for a short time compared to eternity. That is the realization we all must come to grips with. Our life here is temporary and fleeting. And we need to discern that our lives must count for the short time we have here, that we need to make the most of that time and that what time we have should be spent on things that will count for eternity. “You know, O LORD, that we pass through life like exiles and strangers, as our ancestors did. Our days are like a passing shadow, and we cannot escape death.” (1Chronicles 29:15) It’s believed that Ezra wrote the book of Chronicles, but that is not a certainty. We need to realize that although our ancestors were not nomads like the Israelites, we all are just passing through this earth.
Paul had a good understanding of what life is all about here on earth. “While we live in this earthly tent, we groan with a feeling of oppression; it is not that we want to get rid of our earthly body, but that we want to have the heavenly one put on over us, so that what is mortal will be transformed by life. God is the one who has prepared us for this change, and He gave us His Spirit as the guarantee of all that He has in store for us. So we are always full of courage. We know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord's home.” (2Corinthians 5:4-6)
I think we all feel that there’s more to our lives than what we have here on earth, especially if you’re of working age. It seems that we get up early, go to work, get home, do a little before dropping in our beds and waking up to repeat day in and day out the same thing. Our purpose in life is summed up in work and if blessed, in family. If we don’t have the Lord, our pleasure is in what we see, feel, want, sense and accomplish in this world. Peter admonishes us: “I appeal to you, my friends, as strangers and refugees in this world! Do not give in to bodily passions, which are always at war against the soul.” (1Peter 2:11) And what is that worth when trouble comes. And it will come in this world. “I have told you this so that you will have peace by being united to Me. The world will make you suffer. But be brave! I have defeated the world!" (John 16:33)
What is this life here on earth all about? “The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life—life in all its fullness.” (John 10:10) Jesus came to give us an abundant life here on earth. His gift of grace is not only for the eternal, but for living here on earth. It is peace, joy, light, wisdom, knowledge, understanding and victory over the works of darkness that come against us. It is living in the Spirit. If that term is unfamiliar to you, it means living above the natural of this world because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. He teaches us, guides us, helps us and reveals things to us. “However, as the scripture says, "What no one ever saw or heard, what no one ever thought could happen, is the very thing God prepared for those who love Him." But it was to us that God made known His secret by means of His Spirit. The Spirit searches everything, even the hidden depths of God's purposes.” (1Corinthians 2:9-10)
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