Title: Have mercy on us
In Europe, Finland and Scandinavia live a small rat called "Lemming". They multiply rapidly when food is plentiful. When breeding like that, there are times when they suddenly move quickly and linearly towards the sea or lake. Then, when they come near the sea or lake, they run right into the water and drown. It can be a very strange animal. These images are reminiscent of people who are dying in an accident while driving at a frightening speed in a car. Just think of a lot of cars running through that wide road. Furthermore, these lemmings are similar to humans who do not know where life is going, focus on their work, look only at what is in front of them, live their lives, and finally die.
We live in a world where everything is accelerating. Everyone is busy and busy with something. You run away without even having time to think about what life is. Living like this, I am busy living my life without thinking about what it will be like at the end of my life. Then people will come to the end of their lives. The text urges us to pause for a moment and think about life, and to live with a wise and correct attitude. We must know who we are, and we must know who God is. As we will see in the text, the more we know ourselves, the better we get to know God, and the more we know God, the better we get to know ourselves. Those who realize this will know that God's mercy and mercy are the only way for us to live, and we will want to live a righteous life by following God's instructions.
Eternal and Great God: Momentary and Insignificant Man
This poem was written by Moses. Moses, who lived 80 years in the palace of Egypt and 40 years in the wilderness, experienced many things, says that God is eternal. “Lord, you have been our dwelling place from generation to generation. Before the mountains were created, before you formed the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, you are God” (verses 1-2). , even if all these things pass away, He still exists without change. To God, even a thousand years is like a day or a moment that has already passed. “For a thousand years have passed in your sight, as yesterday, and as a watch in the night” (verse 4). How long is a thousand years of history for humans? It is as long as the Goryeo Dynasty and the Joseon Dynasty combined. However, a thousand years is not the same as a moment to God. We only realize very little of the eternity and greatness of God.
But what about us humans compared to the eternity and greatness of this God? Aren't we the ones who have accomplished countless achievements with the pride of being the lord of all things in our own way? The world is dazzlingly dazzling with the culture created by humans. But what is man really in the sight of God? When God speaks once, he immediately turns to dust. “For the Lord has turned man to dust, and said, Return, ye men” (verse 3). Man's life is not natural and does not depend on himself, but entirely depends on God. It seems to live for a long time, but it is only a passing existence. Life is empty like grass that blooms and grows in the morning and then cut and dried in the evening. “You are sweeping them away like a flood; they are like a short slumber; they are like grass that grows in the morning. The grass blooms and grows in the morning, and at night it turns and dries up” (verses 5-6).
Here we see the contrast between the eternal and great nature of God and the momentary and too small human nature. But this is only a fraction. Let's think more about what we humans are like before God.
God's Righteous Wrath and Man's Misery
Humans were originally created to be good and blessed, but they fell and sinned. Since then, man has shown a sinful tendency to be evil in all things and to disobey God. All humans are sinners. So God's wrath is poured out on us. God hates iniquity and punishes it because all our iniquities are openly revealed before God. God knows all our secret sins and even the evil thoughts of our hearts. Therefore, no one can live in ignoring God.
Isn't this the fate of many people today? Without fear of God and ignoring eternal hope, they will live their lives like this and die in this world like the wilderness. How short is life anyway? Even though life is short, it seems that people often mistake it for living a long life. How long have you lived your life now? 1/3, 1/2, or 2/3? This is a story assuming we live 70 or 80 years. But let's look at those who lived a long time. Do they have much to brag about? Isn't the only thing to be proud of is hard work and hard work? “Even if our years are 70 years, and if we are strong, we are 80 years old, but their pride is toil and sorrow; they go quickly, and we fly away” (verse 10)! 70 years of your life will pass in an instant.
Yet people do not know how to take God's wrath seriously. And they don't even know how to fear God. Here is human misery. “Who knows the power of thy anger, and who knows thy wrath, as they should fear him?” (verse 11) It is not living, but committing all sins. In doing so, they end their miserable lives in the wrath of God. When life ends like that, all that is left is eternal punishment and regret.
So Moses prays that God will teach us to number our days so that we may gain a heart of wisdom (verse 12). This means let us know how empty life is in the sight of God so that we don't waste those days in vain and live our lives worthy of it. This is very important. Those who realize the futility and shortness of life will repent of their sins and have a heart to fear God. Paul said, "Therefore, be careful how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, saving time, for the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:15,16).
Seeking the Grace of a Merciful God
How fortunate that God, so great and eternal, and who hates sin, has compassion on us, His creatures, and does not ignore our prayers for His mercy. God is not only a God of wrath, but a God of compassion. So Moses prays to God for mercy. “Return, O Lord, how long? Have mercy on your servants” (verse 13). God hears our prayers. We also need God's mercy and grace today. Without it, we have no hope. So we should pray like this. David confessed, "Lord, what can I hope? In You is my hope."
Our compassionate God wants us to restore our joy and joy. “Give us joy according to the number of days of our distress and the number of years of our woe” (verse 15). God's will for us is good. When we turn to God and humbly ask for His grace, He restores us and makes us safe. God comes to us and reveals His glory. “Show your works to your servants, and your glory to their children” (verse 16).
We can become hopeful beings only through the grace of God. Without God's grace, our lives are in vain. Think of the millions of Israel who fell in the wrath of God in the wilderness. Where is that? See how people who thought that today's world is everything and lived so obsessively ended their lives in vain. How vain and feeble is life? But when God grants us his grace, our lives become solid. “Let the grace of the Lord our God come upon us, and establish for us the work of our hands; make sure the work of our hands” (verse 17). The strong hand of God upholds me. God, who has absolute sovereignty and rules the universe and the history of mankind, guides us in all things for good. Therefore, believers who completely depend on God are strong. In particular, when your life on this earth ends, you will enter the eternal kingdom of heaven. How strong is a life in which the afterlife is guaranteed, a life in which God's strong hand is with you? May you live a life of solid, rewarding, true satisfaction and joy by the grace of God.
Time is just passing. Our short-lived life is passing by quickly. Where are we going? You have to pause for a moment. And we should pray, "Teach me to number our days." God is vast and we are too small. God is eternal, but we only live for 7,80 years. And He is holy, and we are all sinners. All our sins are exposed before a holy God. God does not overlook sin. Therefore, as sinners, we cannot but suffer the wrath of God.
But when we start to realize that we are really small and sinful, our hopes come alive. We become hopeful when we know that we are hopeless without God's grace. This is because we pray to God for forgiveness, restoration, and grace, and God is willing to hear our prayers. When we pray in this way, we can expect God's favor and blessing. It is because God, who gave up his own Son on the cross for us, hears our prayers. "Teach me to number our days" *