“You have made his splendor to cease and cast his throne to the ground. You have cut short the days of his youth; You have covered him with shame. Selah. How long, O LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever? How long will Your wrath burn like fire? Remember how short my time is! For what vanity You have created all the children of man! What man can live and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah.” Psalm 89:44-48
Devotional Thought For The Day
Again the psalmist is considering the life of the nation, but speaking personally so that we can all identify with his sentiments and understand his dismay at the destruction of God’s church. He personalizes the fate of the nation to himself – so that all three things, David, Israel, and the psalmist are the same. This is not generally how we view things, although there is some remnant of this left in us. We do take some things that pertain to our nation personally – when our enemies attack us; and we are personally concerned about the state of affairs of the nation. I suspect that there are some people who also have a personal investment in the life of the church, who are thoroughly committed to the well-being of the church and who lament when things are going poorly. And we all experience personally the process of aging, accident, injury, illness and the inexorable march toward death. As bad as things sometimes seem, we have not had to witness the total demise of the nation and the church, but we do remain subject to aging and death.
The psalmist’s laments to God invite us to consider some of the inscrutable mysteries of God’s reign and governance over the affairs of men and all of human history. God has chosen to imbue mankind with the dignity of freedom, so that we may freely love Him and devote ourselves to Him. The instrument of His loving regeneration of sinful, fallen, idolatrous human hearts is His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the redemption He has secured for us in His suffering and death on the cross. In Him we learn that God is love. These blessed realities are conveyed to us by the Word of God, Holy Scripture, which accompanied by the Holy Spirit of God are able to give us new birth to faith and salvation [1 Pet. 1:23; 2 Tim. 3:15]. Yet this Word of God, bearing His invitation to return to Him in repentance and faith, to be shepherded and nurtured by Him, is “resistible” and can be discarded and rejected by human beings, much to God’s sorrow [Luke 13:34]. Even within the visible institutions of the church, as it was in ancient Israel, there are many who end up turning away from God’s Word. Some simply leave while others choose to remain and attempt to corrupt, pervert, and destroy the church from the inside. Faithful people of God must suffer all of this, and often personally experience great anguish. Always, God’s people live by faith, by faith in God’s Word and promises, and not by sight.
So there are times when it seems that God has “hidden” Himself, and that His wrath is burning against us, that He makes no distinctions between the faithful and the rebellious. There are times when it seems that our lives are nothing but vanity – of no enduring good or purpose. We cannot escape the physical experience of aging and death. But we continue living by faith. “Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol [death]?” We know the answer by faith – “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” [1 Cor. 15:56,57] He is the resurrection and the life – and those who believe in Him have everlasting life, so that even though they die yet shall they live. [John 11:25] Making decisions about God on the basis of what we can observe and experience is a very treacherous business. God’s dear children of faith suffer many sorrows and indignities, as we through much tribulation enter the kingdom of God. However, by faith we grasp that “blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!” [Rev. 14:13]
The big picture “hidden” things of God’s governance and providence are beyond our ability to grasp – the complexity is obviously immense. Thankfully, His Word is clear and simple, in assuring us of His love, His mercy, forgiveness, and free gifts of redemption and eternal life in Christ Jesus. All of this is enough for the life of faith, and a blessed life it is – especially when we are blessed to rest from our labors and to enter the blessed life of heaven!
Prayer For The Day
Ah, dear Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us as we pass through the trials, troubles, and tribulations of this fallen world of sin. Keep us humbly mindful of our own sin, that we remain resolute in repentance and joyful in faith and trust in Your gracious mercy. Help us to live by faith, to continue looking joyfully and expectantly for the fulfillment of Your promises. Preserve us as You impose the consequences of rebellion upon the incorrigibly recalcitrant. Amen.