Psalms 39:4-8

“Lord, make me to know mine end”

Psalms 39:4-8, “Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them. And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee. Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish.”

Psalms 39 is a Psalms that begins by emphasizing the importance of using the mind. God gave man a mind. It is good to use it. Think before you speak and think before you act. One reason man is often so easily lead astray into sin and false teaching that is contrary to the Bible is because man fails to use his mind and think and to with the mind seek the truth. In talking about the use of the mind and what it is a person should use their mind to think about, what is mentioned in Psalms 39 is the temporariness of human life. Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

Psalms 39:4-5 says, “LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.”

In talking about sin in Psalms 38 and the consequences of sin Psalms 38 talks about the fact that man grows old and dies. Life is temporary. All men die. This is something all humans need to think about. You are going to die one day. It may be from old age. It may be from disease. It may be from some other tragedy. If only men would think about and consider this truth instead of ignoring it. The Bible says in Job 4:17-21, “Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his maker? Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly: How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth? They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish forever without any regarding it. Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? They die, even without wisdom.” As of December 2012 the world population is estimated at 7 billion people. According to the internet 146,000 people die a day and 100 people die every minute. Death is a part of life. One day I will die. One day you will die.

Shall mortal man be more just than God? No. Lord make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; how frail I am. It is appointed unto men once to die but after this the judgment. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” How often do men fail to think before they speak and before they act. If only we took more care in thinking before we speak and before we act perhaps we would sin less. None the less all have sinned.

Now why is it the Bible would say to think about the temporariness of life. After all death is a morbid, negative, and depressing truth to think about. Humans like to be happy. To think about death and the truth that one day you will die, or to think about those you know who have died or are dying can be a troubling and sorrowful subject. Most people do not like to think about death or the temporariness of life. The Bible is a book with a positive message. So why does God warn man to think on such a morbid topic as death? Because it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment.

When you are young and strong and when you have health it seems like you will live forever. LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Psalms 39:5 says, “Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.” One of the greatest problems with man is pride. All men have some pride. The devil fell because of pride. A rejection of the gospel of Jesus Christ is pride. A lack of repentance of sin to Christ is pride.

When the Bible says in Psalms 39:5, “verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity,” It is talking about pride. Pride and faith are not the same thing. They are opposite. The word vanity that is used here is a word that means, ‘the breath of the mouth.” When God created man it says in Genesis 2:7, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

In verses 5 and 11 of Psalms 39 it says that man at his best is vanity. Now what does that mean? Of course man has abilities, and gifts. Men accomplish things in life. Yet despite all the intelligence of man, despite all the strength of men, despite all the achievements of man in science, medicine, technology and athletics man at his best is vanity. This is why Psalms 39:5-6 says, “Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreath; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.” Now Jesus said in Matthew 16:26, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Humanism is pride. Humanism is man trusting in himself and his own abilities, and his own strength, and his own righteousness. Despite all the strength of man, and intelligence of man, and wisdom of man, and accomplishments of man; man is still a sinner. Yes man has walked on the moon, and man has split the atom. Yes man has learned to use computers and satellites to study the human brain. Yet man is still a sinner.

Romans 3:23-27, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God. To delcare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.”

What good is the mind if you don’t use it. What good is all the strength of man, all the riches of the world, or all the power of the world even when you are lost in your sins. Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them. What shall it profit a man if he the gain the whole world and lose his own soul. Shall mortal man be more just than God? They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish forever without any regarding it. Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Every man at his best state is altogether vanity. It is appointed unto men once to die but after this the judgment. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Where is boasting then. It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

If only you would think about the temporariness of your life. If only you would think about the judgment of God because God loves judgment. Jesus was judged on the cross for the sins of the world. You can escape eternal judgment in the lake of fire by repenting of your sins and turning to Jesus. Romans 3:24 says, “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

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