Psalm 91:16

Psalm 91:16

The gift of long life

Do you remember the doom and gloom of Psalm 90? “You turn people back to dust.” “You sweep people away in the sleep of death.” “Like new grass in the morning we spring up but by evening we are dry and withered.” “Our days quickly pass, and we fly away.” 

That melancholy song of Moses has now been replaced by a song of hope, for those who dwell in the shelter of the Most High will be protected and guarded and satisfied with long life. So, is the Bible contradicting itself? Not at all, we only have to look inside ourselves honestly and we know that there are times when we feel very down and negative, and there are other times when our cries to the Lord are full of positivity and hope. The Lord understands our changeable emotions, and every situation and period in our lives is meant to teach us increasing dependency on Him whether things are going badly or well. How boring it would be if we were always the same. We are vulnerable and sometimes weary or empty or anxious. This is in contrast to our God who is always the same and thus can be trusted however we may feel. And so, the Psalm ends with is wonderful statement, “With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” That is our God speaking and that is His gift to the righteous. Thank You Lord! Thank You that our life is eternal in Christ Jesus and we will never die! Hallelujah!

 

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