Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Psalm 39:5-8a Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, And does not know who will gather them. "And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You. Deliver me from all my transgressions..."
LORD, DELIVER ME...
What is a shadow? A shadow can't do anything, and it is gone as soon as the light changes. In another Psalm, the holy writer declares that, "...he sees that wise men die; likewise the fool and the senseless person perish, and leave their wealth to others" (Psalm 49:10). The end will be the same for both in this world.
The psalmist is asking the LORD in this psalm to remind him that there is more to life than this world. No matter how rich, no matter how healthy, not matter how good, or famous, or whatever, the psalmist says, "Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor." How long does it take for the steam to clear out of your bathroom in the morning after you shower? How long does it take your breath to disappear on a cold day? That's how long man's life on this earth is, when compared to eternity.
"And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You." What's the point? Why go on? If life on this earth is so bad, what are we waiting for? The psalmist tells us. His hope is in the LORD. We can't trust in our riches. We can't trust in our own strength. They can't even save us from death, and they certainly can't save us from the eternal punishment of hell. Our only hope is in the LORD. The believer waits for God to deliver him, not only from the troubles of this world, but especially from sin and its punishment, as the psalmist prays, "Deliver me from all my transgressions..."
While we wait for the deliverance of eternal life, there is no need to wait for deliverance from transgression. In Christ Jesus God delivers us with the fullness of His forgiveness: "...the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from _all_ sin." (1 John 1:7).
