A Meditation

Psalm 90:10

" The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away."

Moses speaks here in this ninetieth Psalm in great anticipation of the nearness of entering the promise land. I look at this Psalm and I see a unprecedented relevance to today. Moses speaks of suffering and affliction that the people endured in the wilderness, but Moses knows the glory that will be bestowed on their children and that they will see in that the beauty of the Lord in fulfilling his promises to them.

Even today we live to be seventy and to reach eighty is a struggle. The Grace of God through medicine often can brings us beyond eighty, but there is still labour and sorrow. So the wisdom of God is verse 12, "Teach us to number our day, that we may apply our hearts unto wisom." To apply our hearts unto wisdom is to apply our heart unto God. The first nine chapters of Proverbs makes this clear, we can choose to partake in the righteousness of wisdom or the prostitute of folly; it is God or the darkness of this world, what will it be? The manifold wisdom in learning to number our days is that we do not satisfy ourselves with the world because it lasts as long as the dew in the morning sun. POOF! and it is gone. Baseball games, cars, sex, and work is all secondary to the everlasting fountain of living water that is God. He needs to be that which we invest in, he alone can satisfy our time, energy, and desires with infinite glory. The Christian has the hope of the future grace of God by which we can live in and BE presently by learning to number our days. We will then keep things in perspective. But verse 12 is not my main thrust for today, it is actually verse 10. Why?

It is because at this point in my life, I am witnessing the heartbreak of the labour and suffering of age upon my grandparents as they near their eighties and nineties. I have already conducted my first funeral--for my Grandfather. Then when the Lord has taken all of my grandparents, then my parents will be next. My wife, unfortunately, has already started this cycle. Her father died months ago and her mother is sick with cancer. What is God's message through Moses for my grandparents and my mother-in-law? "Life is soon cut off, and you will fly away." Beautiful!, but is that comforting?

I will argue that it is comforting in context. Consider this: Moses is looking forward to the fulfillment of the promises of God in the same way that we can. What has God promised his people--the Christ followers? A resurrected body that enjoys the glories of eternal fellowship with Jesus himself, this is that eternal future grace of God; you see, if you follow after Jesus with faith, then you will not only presently enjoy God's grace in this life, but it will overflow into eternal life. What does the hope of a resurrected body mean for my mother-in-law? It means that her present body that is corrupted and plagued with sin and cancer will soon die and then at the return of Christ will be raised incorruptible, perfect, and cancer-free into an eternal fellowship with her Savior, Jesus Christ. So now do you see the beauty of the Christian hope? I hope so because I could be cut off and fly away today. And I know that I will fly to my God, the one true and only God. Where would you fly off to? You only fly off to your Master, and the Bible says you either follow the world and its master--Satan--or you follow Jesus Christ and his master, God the Father. Which will it be? What hope do you have? Repent and be converted to Jesus, the only Hope that is true.