Psalm 89:47
“Remember how short my time is:
wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?”
~ Psalm 89:47
The brevity of man’s life is given no small attention in the Scripture. James reminds us that our life “is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James 4:14). Job characterized his own days as “swifter than a weaver’s shuttle” (Job 7:6). The number of the days of man’s life is compared to a hand breadth (Psalm 39:5) and “like grass which groweth up. In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and whithereth” (Psalm 90:5-6). Day follows hard after day and our time flees as if pursued.
A quick glance at our text might cause us to put it in with other verses that treat of this subject. However, there is an important distinction between this verse and most others that address the shortness of man’s life. The distinction is one of perspective. Most of the verses are written man-ward in the sense that they speak to man to provoke him to realize his situation. Consider Psalm 90:12—“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Such verses exhort men to be wise and redeem their time because they have little of it and man is prone to waste his time on insignificant things.
Our text, though, speaks God-ward. It is a man speaking to God, “Remember how short my time is.” It should be considered a prayer, pressing upon the Almighty to remember how few the petitioner’s days really are. The Psalmist is crying out for deliverance asking, “How long, LORD?” (Psalm 89:46). This prayer is neither irreverent nor unbelieving. He does not doubt the deliverance of God, but he cries for it to come speedily.
The Psalmist feels a sense of urgency when he sees the people of God in disgrace in the world. He is grieved to see God’s enemies with a high hand defying the Living God. He cannot carry on with personal business when the Kingdom of God seems receding with its crown in the dust (Psalm 89:44). Though he knows his present condition is not the end of the story, he implores God that He will not let his days run out before the power of the true King triumphs.
The Psalmist qualifies his petition by asking, “Wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?” Several thoughts are suggested by this phrase. The vanity of how men spend their lives is magnified when set against the brevity of that life. So few days we have and they are mostly consumed in procuring the material things of the world.
It seems the Psalmist thought that his own days would be vain if God delayed in showing mercy. If the Lord were not working, his days would be consumed. He had the spirit of the old prophets who longed to see the power of God in their day. They had hope in the future, yet desired to see God working in their own day. They wanted to see terror struck in God’s enemies and for Him to be the rejoicing of His people.
We need this spirit in our day. A comparative minority of people continue to advance the agenda of evil and tread Christians under foot. Who will redeem their time in these evil days? Who will forsake all for the Kingdom’s sake? Who will beseech God that He act in power to confound His enemies and vindicate His own name in our day? May the people of God today have the conviction of urgency that makes them cry, “Remember how short my time is.” “Blessed be the LORD for evermore. Amen, and Amen” (Psalm 89:52).
Luke 18:7
“And shall not God avenge his own elect,
which cry day and night unto him,
though he bear long with them?”
~ Luke 18:7
Our verse contrasts God with “the unjust judge” in the previous verses. This man was unrighteous—he “feared not God” (Luke 18:2). He was also without compassion and mercy—he “neither regarded man” (Luke 18:2). He refused to hear the case of the plaintive widow “for a while” (Luke 18:4), though she was oppressed by an “adversary” (Luke 18:3). The widow was one who had no power to avenge herself. She was easily oppressed and taken advantage of, if none would intervene on her behalf. For all of this, the unjust judge was neither compelled to relieve her by duty nor by love.
However, eventually, the woman was avenged. Interestingly, the judge’s heart did not soften to her pitiful estate; neither did his neck bend to transcendent justice. He was made neither righteous, nor caring, but the widow won her case only by “her continual coming” (Luke 18:5). She found neither love nor mercy with this wicked judge, but she did find justice, although it was served both tardy and cold.
The contrast, and the lesson learned by it, could not be more blatant. God is “the righteous judge” (2 Timothy 4:8) and “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25). God cannot forsake justice. Though He is “slow to anger,” He “will not at all acquit the wicked” (Nahum 1:3). The unjust judge did not consider the widow in her estate, but God is “A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows” (Psalm 68:5).
Ah, but the contrast continues. In His judgment, God is neither petty nor austere. With Him is found mercy and love in abundance: “But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth” (Psalm 86:15). All of His judgments of His people are bathed in mercy: “For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment” (Deuteronomy 10:17-18). It is not only that He can show mercy, but “he delighteth in mercy” (Micah 7:18). Mercy is His delight and rejoicing.
Furthermore, the judge had no personal connection with the widow. She was simply another demand on his time. He found her an inconvenience—“this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me” (Luke 18:5). What was it to him whether she found justice or not? So, the contrast is furthered by considering the relation of the Righteous Judge to “his own elect, which cry day and night unto him.” These are His people that cry unto Him. Though a woman could discard “the son of her womb,” refuse to “have compassion,” and “forget” him, God says to His people, “yet will I not forget thee” (Isaiah 49:15). He declares, “Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continuously before me” (Isaiah 49:16).
In light of this testimony, our text is a conclusion that cannot be otherwise. The context of our verse is a parable, and a peculiar one at that. It is peculiar because it is prefaced by the primary purpose for the parable. The first verse tells us, “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” The whole must be interpreted in light of this purpose, especially our text. If this widow found justice at the hands of an unjust judge solely by her perseverance, how could it be possible that the people of God shall not be delivered when they cry day and night unto their Father? And, shall their deliverance not be much greater through the hands of their benevolent Father in heaven? Christ also answered the question, “I tell you that he will avenge them speedily” (Luke 18:8).
We must not think that our faith shall not be tried in this matter. Christ frames the promise saying, “though he bear long with them.” As the people of God labor for His cause in the world, as they go forth to war for the sake of His kingdom, they meet with opposition and oppression. This word is spoken to us not to despair of His deliverance, for it seems to us He delays it. It not only seems that way to His people, but also to their enemies. For this cause, they revile and mock, as they did David: “My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?” (Psalm 42:3). Do we think the man after God’s own heart should have to wait patiently on the Lord’s salvation and we shall not suffer the same? Though we wait on the vindication of Christ in us, we must not despair. “He will avenge them speedily.”
We must give heed that His people “cry day and night unto him.” I see no promise without this cry. Our resolve must be as the Psalmist who declared, “As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice” (Psalm 55:16-17). This fervent prayer was not birthed from personal desire for success, nor was it for deliverance from inner personal struggle. His heart was “sore pained” with the “terrors of death” upon him (Psalm 55:4). He cried, “Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me” (Psa. 55:5). Why? “Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me” (Psalm 55:3).
Oh that we would take up the cause of Christ in the world today! Oh that we would be so jealous and zealous for His honor that we would “cry day and night” in prayer, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Oh that we would cry unto God day and night that the nations would be subdued under His feet and that they would give Him the glory due unto His name (Psalm 96:7-8)! Amen!
Psalm 86:17
“Shew me a token for good;
that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed:
because thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me.”
~ Psalm 86:17
The eighty-sixth Psalm is a prayer of David to God. The tone is set for the Psalm in the first verse, “Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.” He is crying out to God because of his affliction. The distress of David is obvious. This matter of prayer is pressing. He cries, “Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily” (Psalm 86:3).
Though David is in trouble, this is not a plea of desperation without faith. He prays, “In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me” (Psalm 86:7). David declares his faith in verse thirteen, “For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.”
David’s confidence was bolstered here by two reasons. First, he has been delivered in the past from times of trouble. God had shown Himself strong on David’s behalf before, so there was reason to hope that another temporal deliverance would be wrought. Second, David has already been delivered from eternal condemnation. Even if David were not delivered from his present distress by God preserving his life, David would still be delivered ultimately.
As a prayer, there is much in this Psalm for our instruction. For one, when we consider the whole Psalm, we find there is more of the praise of God in it than the trouble of David. This should immediately convict us to the very selfish nature of many of our prayers. David did spread his complaint before God, but he seems almost swept away at times with the worship of God in His various glories. However, we wish to focus our attention upon the conclusion of David’s prayer and glean some good for our soul from it.
David concludes his petition asking God, “Shew me a token for good.” He is asking God for a sign or some sort of visible evidence of God’s mercy toward him. David does not doubt that mercy. He has already said, “For great is thy mercy toward me” (Psalm 86:13). He is seeking a manifestation of that abiding mercy in his present situation.
At one time, Christ rebuked the Jews because they were seeking a sign. He said, “This is an evil generation: they seek a sign” (Luke 11:29). They wished to be healed from some sickness or they wanted to witness some great miracle. Their motives were to receive benefits to themselves and Jesus reproved them. David’s desire was different. He was seeking a sign that God would be glorified and His enemies would be “ashamed.”
David asked for a “token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed.” This request is in accord with the whole reason for David’s prayer. His complaint is voiced in verse fourteen, “O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.” David’s distress is because of persecution. He rightly recognizes his detractors as the enemies of God, not just David. He said they “have not set thee before them.”
We find reasons for his persecution in verse two. He said, “For I am holy,” or, favored of God. He also said he was “thy servant that trusteth in thee.” The fact that God’s blessings were evident in his life was the reason he was held in contempt. Paul had experienced this same persecution. He wrote to Timothy, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).
Christians in America today know little of real persecution for “righteousness’ sake.” One reason for this is that perhaps we are not living godly. We have an ungodly self-reliance in this country. We believe in the “American Dream” and our own ability to “make a living.” As a result, the evident tokens of God’s mercy are largely absent from our life. We read here success story after success story of how some poor fellow started out with nothing and with hard work and determination, pulled himself up to the top of the heap. God help us not to bless “the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth” (Psalm 10:3). Our lives ought to be trophies of God’s grace, not testimonies of our own ingenuity. We must repent of our self-reliance and start depending on God.
David gives reason for both his persecution and his request saying, “Because thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me.” The word “holpen” carries the thought of surrounding or protecting. David said that his enemies hated him because God covered him. Did not Satan complain to God of His protection of Job? He asked, “Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side?” (Job 1:10). The wrath of David’s enemies was aggravated by this fact of God’s protection. Just when they thought they had him, some deliverance would be wrought that confounded them. They hated David because God helped and comforted him.
We conclude then, that it is not wrong to ask God for a “token for good” in our lives. In fact, we should seek that God’s hand will be evidently with us every day. I was greatly stirred in the reading of John Warburton’s Mercies of a Covenant God. He would often pray for deliverance that God would be glorified in his life and that he would not be confounded before his enemies. He did not want his life and lack of faith to give cause to the enemies of God to reproach and blaspheme His name. Feeling himself to be poor and needy, he would also ask God to confirm His love for him again.
We should desire to be trophies of God’s grace. We should want our lives to be testimonies to the goodness of the Lord. Can we really be a trophy of grace and walk in sin? Let us cast off the works of darkness with its independence and let us seek the signal blessings of God that a demonstration of His power will be seen in our life. May God give us tokens for good that others may see, fear, and glorify Him.
Luke 2:37
“And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years,
which departed not from the temple,
but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.”
~ Luke 2:37
The birth of Christ was very humble, yet He was not without honor. He was greatly honored in the temple on this day; first by Simeon and then by Anna. Anna is one of the minor characters in the New Testament, yet she was highly favored by God in that she saw the Christ of God with her own eyes before her death. She like Simeon, was “waiting for the consolation of Israel;” which Simeon saw in Jesus and proclaimed, “Mine eyes have seen thy salvation.”
It is not clear from the text whether she was eighty-four years old at this time or if she had been a widow for eighty-four years. Either way, she had been a widow for a long time and she had been serving God devoutly for a long time. She “had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity.” She had had only one husband and after his death, she chose rather to devote her life to God than to remarry, for “she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband” (1 Corinthians 7:34). This is not a negative statement about the remarriage of one whose spouse has died, but it is commendable that she chose to remain single in order to serve God. “He that is able to receive it, let him receive it” (Matthew 19:12).
The verse tells us she “served God” and that is where I wish us to invest our attention now. Anna is called a prophetess in the thirty-sixth verse of this chapter. That may indicate no more than that she was a teacher of “the young women,” or she may have been a foreteller. You will recall that Jezebel called herself a prophetess and undertook to teach others (Revelation 2:20). It is not a great matter in what way she was a prophetess for that is not in consideration in our text. The fact that she was a prophetess is not included here in the testimony that she “served God.”
Anna here teaches us some things about the service of God. In the first place, it is not only the duty of the religious officers to serve God. It is certainly expected of such officers to be engaged in and devoted to the service of God. However, some seem to think that only those in official capacity are to be daily employed in God’s service. Additionally, there are those that think only the officers can serve God. In other words, unless we are acting in some great capacity or involved in a highly visible work, we cannot serve God. This widow woman proves this untrue as she “served God… night and day.”
In the second place, we notice of what her service consisted. It is first said of her that she “departed not from the temple.” She was faithful to attend the house of God. At this time, the church was not established, so there was no New Testament assembly as such. The temple was the place for the public corporate worship of God. However, after the establishment of the Lord’s ekklesia, the church is the place for the corporate public worship of God and public ministry of His Word. “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father… But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him” (John 4:21, 23).
Our private home with our families is the proper setting for private and family devotions, but this will never fulfill our responsibility to the services of the church. We are commanded by the writer of Hebrews, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25). Therefore, faithful attendance to the Lord’s house was a part of her life to which the Holy Spirit testified, “She… served God.”
The second part of her service was that she “served God with fastings and prayers night and day.” What a testimony of personal holiness and godliness! It was not that she observed the “hour of prayer” (Acts 3:3), but rather she prayed “night and day.” She was always at the business of prayer. She must have relished communion with God to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Prayer was no drudgery or mere perfunctory service. She delighted in conversing with God and heaving praise upon Him that was her joy and strength. She must have exclaimed, “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name” (Psalm 103:1).
Dear Christian, how is it with your testimony at this hour? Could it be said of you that you “served God with fastings and prayers night and day?” Let us daily be occupied in this blessed service to our faithful God. When the Lord was telling Ananias that Saul of Tarsus had been saved, He said, “Behold, he prayeth” (Acts 9:11). Prayer is a mark of the true child of God. Prayer is also the very beginning of service. We cannot do anything without prayer. We are instructed to do “everything by prayer and supplication” (Philippians 4:6). May we learn from this humble widow and be more frequent upon our knees doing serious business with God.
