“I said to myself, “I will watch what I do and not sin in what I say. I will hold my tongue when the ungodly are around me.” But as I stood there in silence— not even speaking of good things— the turmoil within me grew worse. The more I thought about it, the hotter I got, igniting a fire of words: “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered— how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.” Interlude We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it. And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you. Rescue me from my rebellion. Do not let fools mock me. I am silent before you; I won’t say a word, for my punishment is from you. But please stop striking me! I am exhausted by the blows from your hand. When you discipline us for our sins, you consume like a moth what is precious to us. Each of us is but a breath. Interlude Hear my prayer, O Lord! Listen to my cries for help! Don’t ignore my tears. For I am your guest— a traveler passing through, as my ancestors were before me. Leave me alone so I can smile again before I am gone and exist no more.”
Psalms 39:1-13 NLT
Many Christian’s use an excuse of being “only human” to excuse a trite mentality about their finiteness. They muse that because they are finite, they are allowed to be less than godly in their behavior. David neither excuses his ungodly behavior as anything but sinful, nor does he use his finiteness to bolster that behavior. Instead he recognizes that he is deserving of his sinful consequences. His appeal to God is in the realm of relationship . Though he recognizes that it is impossible for him to relate to God of his own accord, he also realizes that God can and does relate to him. This psalm is a plea that God not simply dismiss him as insignificant. He would be within his right to do so. Instead he wishes God to remember how fragile he is and alleviate his rightful punishment, because he is can’t suffer as God can. It is a rather unique approach to dealing with rightful consequence and one that several biblical authors take with God. Incidentally, questioning one’s own ability to overcome without God’s grace is something that God tends to honor amongst his creation. This is because God wants us to return to the proper submission structure when we are rebellious. This mindset does that. We ought to remember this when we are struggling with the wages of our sin.
JOSH McGARY.COM 