A Devotional and Reading from Psalm 39:6-13
Psalm 39:6–13
6 Surely every man walketh in a vain shew:
Surely they are disquieted in vain:
He heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
7 And now, Lord, what wait I for?
My hope is in thee.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions:
Make me not the reproach of the foolish.
9 I was dumb, I opened not my mouth;
Because thou didst it.
10 Remove thy stroke away from me:
I am consumed by the blow of thine hand.
11 When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity,
Thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth:
Surely every man is vanity. Selah.
12 Hear my prayer, O Lord,
And give ear unto my cry;
Hold not thy peace at my tears:
For I am a stranger with thee,
And a sojourner, as all my fathers were.
13 O spare me, that I may recover strength,
Before I go hence, and be no more.
A preacher friend of mine told me that he got a new set of golf clubs that he really enjoyed. They were perhaps his favorite earthly possession. He could hit them better than any set of clubs he had ever owned and with them he played more confidently on every shot. He said that he told his wife that if he died that she could marry again with his permission. He wanted her to be happy after all. He said, your next husband can live in our house, sit in my Lazy-boy, and even drive my truck when I die but don’t you dare let another fella use my golf clubs. He told me that she assured him that would never happen because the next guy was left handed anyway. What a comfort!
David here sounds a lot like his son Solomon. He speaks a lot about vanity and asks us to Selah. (Pause and ponder) “…Every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain” (vs.6), “…Surely every man is vanity.”(vs.11) Why was David making such a negative observation of life? This Psalm is about the brevity of life and how that a person might work their entire life in order to amass a savings and pack up possessions only to have someone else take advantage of them after they die (vs.6). We will all die and leave it all to another. Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes came to the same conclusions about life and it’s pleasures. Solomon taught in his book that all is vanity under the sun, in other words, if this life, on this planet is all there is then there is no lasting meaning. Don’t think that David and his son were just looking on the dark side with pessimistic eyes. The key to Psalm 39 is in verse 7, “And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee.” David recognized that it is only in the Lord that life finds lasting meaning. You can live a life that has eternally positive impact when you look to the eternal one. Solomon warns in his conclusion to remember the creator in youth and not to waste time on the things that don’t last. The point is simple, life here is short so give what you have to a Savior who has been known to make a little into a lot. Like the little lad who gave his little lunch that Jesus used to feed a multitude, give your life to the one that can use it to do great things. I don’t have much and I don’t have long but Lord, my hope is in thee!
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