God, we long to meet with you,
to hear your voice,
and to speak to you,
adore you,
bring our requests to you,
confess our sins to you.
And we want to intercede on behalf of our church
and behalf of our city.
We pray that you will lead us,
speak to us first from your word
so that our prayers are winged by the truth of your word,
informed by them,
shaped by them,
so that we may pray according to your will
and be confident that our prayers will be answered by you.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
We're in Psalm 39.
This is to the choir master,
to Jeduthun,
a Psalm of David.
I said,
I will guard my ways
that I may not sin with my tongue.
I will guard my mouth with a muzzle
so long as the wicked are in the presence.
I was mute and silent.
I held my peace to no avail
and my distress grew worse.
My heart became hot within me
as I mused.
The fire burned.
Then I spoke with my tongue.
O Lord, make me know my end
and what is the measure of my days.
Let me know how fleeting I am.
Behold, you have made my days a few hand breaths
and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath.
Surely a man goes about as a shadow.
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil.
Man heaps up wealth
and does not know who will gather.
And now, O Lord,
for what do I wait?
My hope is in you.
Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool.
I am mute.
I do not open my mouth
for it is you who have done it.
Remove your stroke from me.
I am spent by the hostility of your hand.
When you discipline a man
with rebukes for sin,
you consume like a moth
what is dear to him.
Surely all mankind is a mere breath.
Hear my prayer, O Lord,
and give ear to my cry.
Hold not your peace at my tears.
For I am a sojourner with you,
a guest like all my fathers.
Look away from me
that I may smile again
before I depart
and am no more.
In the book that C.S. Lewis wrote
entitled A Grief Overb,
in a tongue-in-cheek manner,
he asks this question.
He says,
what do people mean when they say,
I am not afraid of God
because I know he is good?
Have they never even been to a dentist?
Because he's saying,
basically, when we visit a dentist,
two factors help us to endure
the painful drilling of our cavities.
One is knowing that
it's only going to last a little while.
Two, it's knowing that
contrary to our instinct to flee pain,
the dentist knows better than we do
and that it's going to end up
being good for us,
the drilling that he is doing.
And these two simple observations
translate to our spiritual life as well
and help us endure
far deeper troubles and afflictions
when we remember that,
one, it's going to only last
a little while,
and two, that God's behind
and sovereignly
and he is good.
And in Psalm 39,
we find David in some kind of distress
and he goes from reflecting
on his distress
in verses 1 to 3
to a realization
in verses 4 to 6
and finally to a request
to God
in verses 7 to 13.
Reflection, realization,
and a request.
And the summary of the Psalm
is that we are to hope
in the eternal Lord
and not in this fleeting life.
And so first,
he goes into his reflection
in verses 1 to 3.
He writes that
due to the presence
of the wicked around him,
he has resolved
not to sin
with his tongue.
So he's experiencing
some kind of affliction
and we don't know
exactly what it is.
Probably all the better
because then it's
universally applicable
what he's going through.
And he really wants
to cry out to God
bitterly
and complain to him.
But he is concerned
that in doing so
he might speak rashly
and presumptuously
and sin against God.
And he's particularly wary
of blaming God
in the presence
of the wicked
lest he fuel
their unbelief in God
and their disdain
for God's people.
So David notes
in verses 2 to 3,
I was mute and silent.
I held my peace
to no avail
and my distress
grew worse.
My heart became hot
within me
as I mused
the fire burned.
So the expression
my heart became hot
within me
is similar to
an expression
that's used
by Prophet Jeremiah
in Jeremiah 29
where he says
if I say
I will not mention him
or speak any more
in his name
there is in my heart
as it were
a burning fire
shut up in my bones
and I am weary
with holding it in
and I cannot.
So it's describing
that kind of
burning passion
a zeal
an irresistible urge
to say something.
And so after
reflecting
on his
distress
in verses 1 to 3
of Psalm 39
he goes to
he comes to
a realization
in verses 4 to 6
and
in verse 4
of chapter 39
it says
O Lord
make me know
my end
and what is
the measure
of my days
let me know
how fleeting
I am.
So in other words
he's saying
O Lord
when is this
all going to end?
show me
that this
will all be over soon
that my life
is short.
And at the end
of his reflection
David realizes
he already knows
the answer
to the question
and so he starts
to say
in verses 5 to 6
Behold
you have made
my days
a few hand breaths
and my lifetime
is as nothing
before you
surely all mankind
stands as a mere breath
say love
surely a man
goes about
as a shadow
surely for nothing
they are in turmoil
man heaps up wealth
and does not know
who will gather
hand breath
is a measurement
of four fingers
basically
it's one of the
smallest measures
units of measures
in the Hebrew
measurement system
and so when he
compares his life
to a hand breath
he's saying
that our life
is fleeting
it's a mere breath
it's here today
and it's gone tomorrow
it's like a shadow
he says
like that shifts
and disappears
with the slightest
movement
of the sun
so then he concludes
in vain
do the wicked
prosper
in vain
do people fret
and grumble
in this life
in vain
do people invest
countless energy
and hours
to heap up wealth
that they will
leave behind shortly
and so it's
not unlike
the way he describes it
not unlike a little
child in the beach
at the beach
who is
you know
with meticulous care
building a sandcastle
not knowing that
in just a few moments
a wave is about to come
and to wash it all away
right
just these people
who are heaping up wealth
and investing in this life
and so with that
he comes to that realization
that we should hope
in the eternal Lord
and not in this
fleeting life
this is a really
helpful perspective
when we're in the middle
of distressing times
and circumstances
I heard the story
in 1852
the English poet
Edward Fitzgerald
wrote this
or retold rather
this babel
that's been around
for a long time
it's called
the Solomon's Seal
he says that
there's a sultan
who asks King Solomon
you know
like so if
because he had heard
of his wisdom
asks him
hey he's there
a saying
that you know
that will hold true
no matter what situation
in life
that will guide me
that can help me
in life
and apparently
Solomon responded
this is probably
a made up story
but he says
this too shall pass
right
you guys probably
have heard that
I've heard my neighbors
use it
and so that's helpful
to remember
right
that means
our difficult
neighbors will pass
right
yes
and our
our
your illness
will pass
right
it's the
your life
will pass
right
David
applies this
particularly
to distressing times
but it's equally
applicable in times
of joy and celebration
right
so when
whatever we are enjoying
if it's
if it's related to our
temporal life here on earth
it will pass
right
the delicious food
we enjoy
will pass
first Corinthians 6 13
says food is meant
for the stomach
and the stomach for food
and God will destroy
both one and the other
right
uh
sexual intercourse
is one of the strongest
pleasures of earth
but that too will pass
right
as Jesus says
right
there's no marriage
in heaven
Mark 12 25
so the earthly pleasures
will be superseded
by far superior
eternal pleasures
so that phrase
this too shall pass
helps in both
distressing times
and
uh
and in good times
to help keep proper
perspective
on our attachment
to earth
um
and then so after
his reflection
on his suffering
and his realization
of the fleeting
nature of life
he comes to his
final request
to God
in verses 7 to 13
he says
and now oh Lord
for what do I wait
and then he answers
my hope
is in you
so
he's saying
concluding
that we are to hope
in the eternal Lord
and not in this fleeting life
and because God
is the only worthy
object of our hope
right
and when our
attention turns
from this fleeting life
to the eternal Lord
uh
that's
when for David
the pressing issue
no longer is his circumstances
his suffering
his distress
but his own sin
so he prays
in verse 8
deliver me
from all my
transgressions
right
so as
so he
and then
as he realizes
that it's
God's disciplining him
afflicting him
for his sins
he retreats
once again
into silence
and uh
uh
and so this
this is a really helpful
uh
truth
to remember
that even
the distress
and the affliction
uh
come from God's
sovereign hand
right
not only is our
suffering short-lived
it also comes
from a sovereign
God
out of his providence
so David prays
in verses 10 to 11
remove your stroke
from me
I am spent
by the hostility
of your hand
and when you
discipline a man
with rebukes for sin
you consume
like a moth
what is dear to him
surely all mankind
is a mere breath
so David's
affirming that God's
disciplining him
uh
as his father
as Hebrews 12
6 says
the Lord disciplines
the one he loves
uh
and uh
and God disciplined
David in this case
like a moth
that consumes
what is dear to him
right
this is kind of hard
for us to relate to
because we rarely
deal with uh
moth infestations
in our city's
context
but
but moths
are pretty
destructive
right
I mean they
you know lay larvae
and uh
and they consume
all kinds of
natural materials
right
it's like wool
like hair
leather
you know anything
natural
they eat it
and it's destroyed
and uh
and so
God's
it's
he says
God consumes
like a moth
what is dear
to him
and why
does God
consume
what is dear
to us
right
in what he's
disciplining us
afflicting us
and I think
it's he
loosens
our desperate
grip on this
world
when he consumes
what is dear
to us
right
things of this
world
that are dear
to us
when he consumes
it
he loosens
our grip
on earth
and draws
us near to him
makes us cling
to him
instead of
clinging
to this world
and uh
and so
because of that
David's teachings
we are to hope
in the eternal
Lord and not
in this
fleeting life
and and with
that he comes
to this conclusion
verse 13
oh Lord
I am a sojourner
with you
a guest
like all
my fathers
he says
all his fathers
of faith
all the people
that preceded
him
were sojourners
and this
is in spite
of the fact
that he's
already in
the promised
land
right
David
is the one
that conquers
Jerusalem
he's in
the promised
land
yet he says
he is a
sojourner
because I
think he
realizes that
all of us
our ultimate
home is with
the Lord
in heaven
and therefore
all the people
of God
who are on
earth
are still
sojourners
and a lot
of the New
Testament
authors
grab hold
of this
idea
and use
it
and as
he hopes
in the
Lord
he asks
God to
pardon
his sins
because he
realizes that's
what's keeping
him from his
full enjoyment
of the presence
of God
verse 13
look away
from me
that I may
smile again
before I
depart
and am
no more
obviously
David's
not asking
God to
go away
and not
deal with
him
but he's
asking God
to look
away from
him in
judgment
from
condemnation
and
this is
true for
all of us
right
if God
were to
count
and mark
all our
iniquities
none of us
can stand
right
yet
because no
one can
escape
God's
all-seeing
eyes
and that's
why
right
as
Christians
who have
experienced
the ultimate
redemption
of God
in Christ
we have
a better
hope
than even
David
knew
I mean
he knew
prophetically
of what
God would
do
but he
can't
really
in good
conscience
ask God
to look
away from
him
because
God's
a just
judge
but God
can look
away from
him
God
can forgive
him
God
can pardon
him
because
he looks
ahead to
Jesus
his son
who lives
a perfect
life
and dies
for our
sins
and rises
again
so that
his
righteousness
is imputed
to us
and so
that
as it
says in
Isaiah
and other
parts
God
does not
remember
his sins
against
us
and I
mean
God's
not forgetful
he doesn't
it's not that he
forgets our
sins
but he
chooses not
to remember
our sins
against us
meaning he
doesn't count
it against
us
and so
David's
prayer
becomes a
reality
for us
God
looks away
from us
from
judgment
and comes
to us
looks to
us in
grace
and love
only
and
for that
reason
we have
even more
hope than
David to
place our
hope in
him
more reason
than David
to place
our hope
in him
and not
in this
pleading
life