David Deals With Death and Life

Q: What does the Bible say about human life?

The Bible teaches that human life is frail and brief, likening it to a handbreadth and emphasizing its vanity without God. In Psalm 39, David expresses the frailty and brevity of human life, stating, 'Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth, and mine age is as nothing before thee' (Psalm 39:5). Throughout the Scriptures, life is depicted as vulnerable and transient, with phrases like 'a shadow that appears for a little while' and 'a flower that blooms for a day and is gone tomorrow' illustrating its ephemeral nature. Solomon echoed this sentiment in Ecclesiastes, emphasizing the vanity of seeking fulfillment outside of a relationship with God.

Q: Why is it important to control our speech as Christians?

Controlling our speech is crucial as it reflects our inner character and can influence others for good or ill. The Bible emphasizes the importance of controlling our speech, as seen in Psalm 39 and James 3. David highlights his intent to 'keep my mouth with a bridle' to avoid sinning with his words (Psalm 39:1). James elaborates that improper speech reveals a heart that is not aligned with God's will, stating, 'If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man' (James 3:2). As Christians, our words can either build up or tear down, making it vital to speak thoughtfully and in love, reflecting our faith and glorifying God.

Q: How do we find God’s will?

We discover God's will by diligently reflecting on His Word and taking heed to our actions. Finding God's will is not a matter of chance; it requires intentionality and attention to His Word, as emphasized in Psalm 39. David states, 'I will take heed to my ways' (Psalm 39:1), underscoring the necessity of wisdom and diligence in how we conduct ourselves. This aligns with the reformed understanding that while God is sovereign, He calls us to actively engage in seeking Him through prayer, scripture reading, and living out His commandments. Thus, the pursuit of holiness and adherence to His teachings becomes our guide in discerning His will.

Q: What does the Bible say about the nature of humanity?

The Bible teaches that humanity is fundamentally vain and in need of redemption through Christ. Scripture presents a sobering view of humanity's nature, emphasizing our inherent vanity and total depravity. As David articulates in Psalm 39:5, 'Verily, every man at his best state is altogether vanity,' highlighting that even our best efforts are insufficient without Christ. This view is reinforced throughout the Bible, as Isaiah declares our righteousnesses are 'filthy rags' (Isaiah 64:6), and Paul states that 'in the flesh dwelleth no good thing' (Romans 7:18). Understanding our fallen state underscores the necessity of God's grace and the redemptive work of Christ.

Q: Why is hope essential for Christians?

Hope is essential for Christians as it anchors our faith in God's promises and the life to come. For Christians, hope is foundational to our faith and a continual source of encouragement amidst trials. In Psalm 39:7, David expresses, 'My hope is in thee,' indicating that true hope can only be found in God. This hope is not a vague optimism but a confident expectation rooted in God's promises of salvation and eternal life through Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul reinforces this by stating that if our hope is only for this life, we are of all men most miserable (1 Corinthians 15:19). Thus, our hope motivates us to live in a manner worthy of our calling, fully assured of the glorious future that awaits us.

Now I'd like for you to open
your Bibles with me again to Psalm 39. Psalm 39. David begins this psalm with
these words, I said, I will take heed to my ways. Now while God
is sovereign And while God can bring good out of our folly,
and while God can and does work his purpose amid the chaos of
human error, he gives us a mind with which to think, and he gives
us wisdom to work his will. Men do not walk in the will of
God by accident. we find God's will by taking
heed to God's word and taking heed to our ways. And that's
what David is talking about here. I said I will give attention,
give diligence, take heed to my ways, that I sin not with
my tongue. Now Spurgeon said he who is able
to keep his tongue can keep the rest of his body. for the tongue
is the rudder of the ship, and if it be well managed, the ship
will steer aright. But how many are the sins of
the tongue? We utter proud words, unkind
words, false words, jealous words, unclean words, words which break
confidence, words that divide friends, and angry words. James had a lot to say about
the tongue. Turn to James, chapter 1, if
you will, verse 26. David said, I will take heed
to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue. James said in chapter
1, verse 26, If any man among you seem to be religious, and
bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this
man's religion is vain. And then in chapter three, in
verse two, he begins with these words, For in many things we
offend all. If any man offend not in word,
the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole
body. Behold, we put bits in the horse's
mouth, that they may obey us, we turn about their whole body.
Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and
are driven of fierce wind, yet are they turned about with a
very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so
the tongue, as a little member, boasteth great things. Behold
how great a matter a little fire kindleth. And the tongue is a
fire, it is a world of iniquity, So is the tongue among our members,
that it defileth the whole body, setteth on fire the course of
nature, it set on fire of hell. For every kind of beast, and
of birds, and of serpents, and things in the sea, is tamed,
and hath been tamed of mankind. But the tongue can no man tame.
It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless
we God, even the Father, and therewith curse we men, which
are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth
proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought
not to be. Doth the fountain send forth
at the same place sweet water and bitter? David said, I will
take heed to my way deliberately on purpose, that I sin not with
my tongue Yes, God can bring good out of evil. The wrath of
man can praise the Lord. But nevertheless, man does not
find God's will by accident, but by taking heed to His ways. And man does not walk in God's
will by accident, but by taking heed to His ways. And then he
goes on in verse 1 of chapter 39 of Psalms and says, I'll keep
my mouth with a bidle while the wicked is before me. I will keep my mouth with a bridle
while the wicked is before me." Now, when I'm with true believers,
if we can find true believers, redeemed people, I can wear my
heart on my sleeve. When I'm with true believers,
if we can find true believers, I can speak the deepest thoughts
of my heart I can reveal the secrets of my soul with true
believers, with redeemed people. For among them there are no evil
birds to peck at it or bear it away for evil use at another
time. For the redeemed understand. They understand themselves, and
consequently they understand me. The redeemed love Christ
and His glory and His kingdom, therefore they love and protect
me. The redeemed cherish the good
and they forget the bad. They can let the wind blow the
chaff away that they may keep the wheat. The redeemed need
an open heart. But when I'm with the wicked,
David says, I have to be careful what I say. For they will be
sure to misunderstand me and they will be sure to misrepresent
me. My honesty and straightforwardness
with a redeemed person is appreciated and protected, but my honesty
and straightforwardness with an unbeliever or a hypocrite
will be casting my pearls before swine. Therefore, he says, I
will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me."
Now watch verse 2. He says, I was dumb with silence. I held my peace even from good. You know why? He couldn't find
any true believers to talk to. I was dumb with silence. There
was no one with whom I could speak. There was no one with
whom I could share my heart and my thoughts. He said at one place,
I said in my heart, all men are liars. Therefore I held my peace
even from good. He said, I got to where I wouldn't
even speak, I wouldn't share my thoughts, I wouldn't share
my trials, I wouldn't share my infirmities, I even refused to
talk about God's goodness. I refused to talk about God's
glory. I held my peace not only from
affliction and infirmity and trial, but I held my peace even
from good. Men who cannot understand themselves
certainly cannot understand God. Men who cannot understand their
need cannot understand the grace which meets that need. So David
said, I just quit talking. I just quit communicating with
them because I found no one with whom I could be true. And he
goes on, he says, and my sorrow was stirred. Another word for
that in the center reference is trouble. My heart was trouble.
My sorrow was trouble. Someone said in regard to this
statement here, water that is quiet may look clear, it may
look free from any pollution, but the sentiment is in the bottom,
and if it's stirred, you will see all that is there. So it
is with heart troubles. They may appear clear and not
present, but they're there. Like David, there's peace on
top. but trouble within. And I was
dumb with silence and held my peace, even from speaking good. My sorrow was stirred, look at
verse 3, and my heart was hot within me. The fire was kept
in my heart because of the wickedness and hypocrisy of men. It was
not allowed to break forward, it was not allowed to be expressed,
and so it grew hot within me as an oven. While I was musing,
the fire And then I spake, and then I spake with my tongue,
and then I spake to whom. But he still didn't speak with
men. He said in verse 4, Lord. He spake with the Father. And
I find in this psalm that David spake about three things. First
of all, he spake with the Father about his view of human life. And then he spake with the Father
about his feelings in regard to human life, and then he prayed
a prayer. And that's what we're going to
talk about tonight for a little while. Now, first of all, David
gives his view of human life. We begin with verse 4. He says,
Lord, make me to know mine end. and the measure of my days, what
it is, that I may know, number one, how frail, how frail I am. This is what you were talking
about, Brother Huddle, in the study a moment ago. How frail
is human life. Someone said a bubble, a bubble
of soap blown from a child's pipe is more substantial than
a human life. A handful of dust blown into
the wind is more permanent than human life. A shadow, the scripture
says, that appears for a little while. A flower that blooms for
a day and is gone tomorrow. A mist of vapor from a tea kettle. How frail I am. Spurgeon said one time, how amazing
it is that a heart with so many strings could stay in tune even
this long. Then verse 5, he says, this is
his view of human life, Behold, thou hast made my days as an
handbreadth, how short is our life. My life is but a handbreadth,
but a small, short span, and my age is as nothing before thee,
my generation. What multitudes of generations
have come and gone, compared to the Eternal God, a generation,
a generation of man is but a thing of yesterday. The everlasting
hills are but infants compared to Him. Therefore we can say
my age is nothing. What is fifty, sixty, seventy,
eighty years in the presence of the Eternal God? My days are
as but a span My age is as nothing before thee. Verily, every man
at his best state is altogether vanity." Now, we don't believe
that. We have a way of justifying ourselves
even in our sins and even in our failures. We're always set
to defend ourselves and find some good even in our evil, but
God says, Not at our worst are we vanity, he said, at our best
state. Every man at his best state is
altogether vanity. Yea, Isaiah said, our righteousnesses
are filthy rags. Paul said, in the flesh dwelleth
no good thing. We are continually debating about
who is right and who is wrong. Well, the answer is here, none
of us are right. All of us are wrong. All of us
are wrong. God says at our best we are altogether
vanity, altogether, totally, completely, thoroughly corrupt
from the sole of our feet to the top of our heads. Verily,
verily, every man at his best state is altogether vanity. And then in the next place, his
view of human life, he says in verse 6, "...surely every man
walketh in a vain show." David seems to have in mind here a
parade, a procession, something like the Rose Bowl Parade or
the Orange Bowl Parade, when people dress up in in all manner
of masquerading costumes. There are kings in the parade,
and there's a queen sitting up on a float. She's not really
a queen. She's dressed like a queen. And there are beauties, and there
are soldiers, and there are clowns, and it's all a show. There's
no reality. It's just a procession of put-on
and masquerading. And that's what he's saying here.
Every woman in this world walketh in a masquerading show, no reality,
no truth, all put on." And he says, "...surely they are disquieted
in vain." That is, they're in a turmoil for nothing. I got
a little help here. Listen to it. One of the old
writers said this, talking about this verse here, "...every man
walketh in a vain show, and surely they are troubled in vain, they're
in turmoil in vain. He said, see how we toil, how
we fret, how we fidget, how we worry. How few there are who
are free, actually free, from the anxious spirit of this age. We weary our minds and agitate
our spirits and press our bodies We buy, we sell, we borrow, we
run to and fro here and there till we lose our lives in trying
to live. Suddenly we wake up and life
is gone. And we wake up then to the fact
that we really haven't lived at all. We've been too busy planning
for tomorrow to enjoy today. Oh, for a little quietness of
spirit. Oh, for an opportunity to think. Oh, for a privilege to get near
to God. Oh, for a unity of fellowship,
a unity of heart and mind with other weary pilgrims on a toilsome
road. Oh, for an opportunity to enjoy
the journey to Canaan. They are disquieted, they are
in turmoil, in vain. Look at that next line. And he
heapeth up riches, and those not, who shall gather them. You
read in the newspaper something like this. I read this the other
day about a man in Lexington who died, and they said he was
worth five hundred million dollars. Don't you believe it? A dead
man's not worth two cents. If he does not have Christ, he's
not worth anything. The believer is richer in death,
for to die is gain. But the unbeliever, well, he's
not rich, he's not wealthy, his death is not gain, it's total
loss. The newspaper article ought to
read this way, this man died and left five hundred million
dollars, and that's not all he left. He left more than that. He's left, he's gone from the
land of grace. He leaves the gospel message. He leaves the preaching of the
word. He leaves the assembly of the
saints. He leaves all hope behind. He's died and he's left everything. Not just five hundred million
dollars, he's left everything. He's left everything. There you
have David's view of human life. He says, how frail I am, my days
are but a brief span, my age, my entire generation is really
nothing before God, and every man at his best state, at his
best, nothing but vanity, And all the people of this earth
are walking in a masquerade. They're walking in a procession.
They're walking in a parade. It's all put on. There's no reality. We're all in a turmoil in vain. We're all striving to live and
not being able to live. We wake up when life is over
and look back and we haven't enjoyed anything. We haven't
lived at all. Haven't lived at all. We heap
up riches and we don't know who's going to gather them. And then
David expresses his feelings in regard to these things in
the next verse. He says, And now, Lord, what
wait I for? What wait I for? My hope is in
thee. Do I wait to gather riches for
another to squander? Do I wait to join this vain parade
of flesh, of put-on, of hypocrisy? Do I wait to spend my life in
worry and anxiety, fear? Do I wait to suddenly find my
life gone and wasted? Do I wait for tomorrow only to
miss the blessings of today? What wait I for? Charles Spurgeon
had an outline on this verse, and I want to pass it along to
you. And now, Lord, what wait I for? He's been talking about
human life. He's been talking about what
it is. And now he turns to himself and he says, O Lord, what weight
I fall. Three points to this outline.
First of all, Mr. Spurgeon said, David said, and
now Lord. David consults with the Lord
about this matter. He says, Lord, now I turn away
from the material. Now, Lord, I turn away from the
vanity. I turn away to Thee, the rock
of my salvation. And now, Lord, I've passed my
childhood. I am a man. If ever I'm going
to begin to live, I've got to do it now. If ever I'm going
to exercise any wisdom, it's now time. If ever I'm going to
appraise life and death and eternity, It's now time, now Lord, now
I seek Thee, now I turn to Thee, and now Lord, and now Lord. What wait I for? The second point
he brought up, what am I waiting for? David says, I feel out of
place. What do I wait for? I know what
these fools on this earth are waiting for. They're waiting
for their places in the parade. They're waiting for their places
in the veins show. They're waiting to put on the
masquerading garments and go out and try to outdo the other
fool that's walking next to them. They wait to clench the treasures
that they cannot keep. They wait to gain the fame that
they'll soon lose. They wait to take part in the
honor they can never keep. They wait to build houses they'll
soon have to leave. What wait I for? Am I waiting
for this possession? Am I waiting for this masquerade? Am I waiting for this vain show? A question only God can fully
answer. What wait I for? I've not found
it yet. I've not found it yet. And then
in the next statement he says, But my hope is in thee. And now,
Lord, there's nothing to this other. Whatever I'm waiting for,
I haven't found it yet. The hope of ever finding anything
here, David said, to content me, to interest me, to fill me,
or to satisfy me is long since gone. Solomon came to the same
conclusion. Why we can't profit by the examples
of our forefathers is amazing to me. Why we can't profit from
the Word of God, who points these things out to us, and yet we
make the same mistakes, walk the same path, are guilty of
the same sins, fall in the same pitfalls when the Word's right
there for us. David said, but now, Lord, I'm
waiting for something I haven't found here. But I'll tell you
where my hope is. My hope is in Thee. I'm expecting
good things to come. Like Abraham, I look for a city
built by God. I look for a permanent dwelling
place. If in this life only, Paul said, we have hope, we are
of all men most miserable. What wait I for? I think it can
be summed up in the words of David in another psalm, I shall
be satisfied when I wait with his likeness. And then last of
all, his prayer. Verse 8, here's his prayer. Deliver
me from all my transgressions. Now the first thing a man finds
out when he gets near to God is that he's a sinner. When David
gets near to God, when David turns his eyes off the world
and when David turns his eyes off others and material things
When he turns his eyes on God in verse 7, he seems to say,
he draws his conclusion about human life, and then he says,
And now, Lord. And when he drew near to God,
he was made aware of his transgressions. This is always the case. Job
sat around with the masquerading friends and talked about how
holy he was, and then God came in and revealed himself to Job,
and he began to talk about how sinful he was. Isaiah did the
same thing. In the year that King Uzziah
died, I saw the Lord. Then I said, Woe is me. And the
first thing David prays about, Now, Lord, deliver me from all
my transgressions. Make me not the reproach of the
foolish. I was dumb. I opened not my mouth,
because thou didst it. Remove thy stroke away from me.
I am consumed by the blow of thine hand. when thou with rebukest
a correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume
away like a moth. Surely every man, every man is
vanity." And then in verse 12 he says, "'Hear my prayer, O
Lord! If I can't do anything, at least
I can pray.'" At least I can pray. And then he goes on, he
says, "'And give ear unto my cry, keep back keep not back
thy comfort at my tears." Look at this next line, "...for I
am a stranger with thee." He didn't say, I'm a stranger to
thee. This is beautiful here, I am a stranger with thee. Oh
God, thou art a stranger in thine own world. He came unto his own,
his own received him not. The world was made by him. He
was in the world. The world knew him not. O God,
you're a stranger in the land, and so am I. I'm a stranger with
you, and I'm a sojourner, as all my fathers were. Tis no surprising
thing that we should be unknown. The world knew not her King,
God's everlasting Son. Behold, Lord, I am a stranger
with thee, and a sojourner as all my fathers were. Tis no surprising
thing that we should go unknown. The world knew not her King,
God's everlasting Son. Spare me that I may recover strength,
that I may gain some wisdom, that my trials may work together
for my eternal good. that all of this that I should
have learned will bring me to knowledge of Christ, that all
of this that God has revealed to me, at least in my head, may
do something for me spiritually before I die and be no more. O God, spare me that I may recover
strength, that my soul may be restored, that my heart may be blessed
that my soul may be filled, that my nature might be regenerated
before I die and be no more. That's a solemn word in verse
13 there. It's high time that we were learning
something. It's high time that we were applying
our hearts to wisdom. It's high time that God taught
us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.
bear me, that I may recover strength before I go. Hence and be no
more." Our Father, we give thanks for
Thy Word. We pray that we may be impressed
that it is the Word of the King, that we may be further impressed
that while by Thy power we are made willing but not against
our wills. The man whom God does not make
willing, God will condemn. The man whom God does not make
willing, God will damn. Thy people shall be made willing
in the day of thy power, in the beauty of holiness. O God, minister
to our hearts Too long we have heard the doctrine, too long
we have heard the words, and they've been to us but words.
May they be, this evening, words of life that we may say with
David, and now, Lord, and now, from this moment on, what I wait
for is not to be found here. My hope is in thee. all for an
hour, for a day, for a year, to walk in fellowship with the
living God. Move in our hearts according
to Thy will. Do something for us, for Christ's
sake. Amen.

David Deals With Death and Life

What does the Bible say about human life?

Why is it important to control our speech as Christians?

How do we find God’s will?

What does the Bible say about the nature of humanity?

Why is hope essential for Christians?

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David Deals With Death and Life

What does the Bible say about human life?

Why is it important to control our speech as Christians?

How do we find God’s will?

What does the Bible say about the nature of humanity?

Why is hope essential for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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