Psalm 141:7

Psalm 141:7

The inevitability of death

Another powerful verse! This time “ploughing” is used as an allegory for the fate of all men and women. Once a field has been harvested and cleared of its season’s growth, the farmer moves in with his plough. In ancient times this would have been with oxen, or maybe horses if the landowner was wealthy enough. Modern farmers use tractors and heavy machinery of course. The resting earth would be turned over, and clods would be exposed where the ground had been hardened by the weather. At this point the field lies fallow awaiting seedtime once again. This verse sees humanity as those who enjoy a season of fruitfulness but once our time of harvest has passed, we die and are broken up by the rigours of death, our bones are waiting to be scattered at the mouth of the grave. We are like a ploughed field. Our lives will never be repeated, our fruitfulness cannot be reclaimed, our children may be our seed, but we no longer serve any purpose. Only Eve and her successors have escaped with some small consolation, she would be saved through childbirth!

The wrath and justice of God are still being conveyed through the inevitability of death. No one escapes it and no one escapes Him. “We are consumed by Your anger and terrified by Your indignation.” (Psalm 90:7) Human beings have one shot at obeying God and one lifetime to show whose side they are on; in this life they are given endless opportunities to make peace with God and to acknowledge Him. He surrounds us all with goodness, with love and protection. His provision is endless, and His Garden of Delights still beckons those who will enter. But most pass by, their eyes are blind, their ears are stopped, and they give no time nor credit to the One who loves them. So, we will all die, our mortal lives will be extinguished, and we will be laid back in the ground, in the dust from whence we came. All of us that is, except the few who have received salvation through Jesus Christ, the one who turned away His Father’s righteous anger and opened the door to eternal life. 

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