The Transitory Character of Life" Part II

Shepherdess Edermira Cruz

STUDY #1194 CHURCH IN THE HOUSES Wednesday, June 2, 2021

"The Transitory Character of Life" Part II (Psalm 39:1-13) My heart was burning inside me. When there are two forces in the mind "that prevent" from coming out what must come out, in this case from the Psalmist, those intense mental thoughts are disturbing his soul. That intense mental heat, the suffering was taking more life than hope.

I. Silence is a terrible thing for the sufferer.

A. He must lose his mind.

1. The sickness and grief that his heart carried was melting, his subject of illness was confusing.

2. What a blessing! What a privilege prayer is! Apart from being a delight.

3. Meditation is an aid to prayer. Meditation is like oil for the lamp; the lamp of prayer will go out unless meditation sustains it.

4. It is to bring the mind, the thought with attention and study it thoroughly, to understand it well. Meditation and prayer are said to be like two turtledoves; if they separate from each other, they die.

5. When you get to church meditate on your life, you prepare for prayer when you get to it.

6. When the mind is full of good thoughts, you will be prepared for prayer and now send thoughts of sighs and groans from heaven.

7. Meditation produces a double benefit: pour (spill) in and out; first pour good thoughts into the mind and then pour them out again in prayer; meditation first provides the material for prayer and then prepares the heart to pray. Thomas Watson.

8. Meditate until you see that your heart has warmed up for this duty.

9. Brother, your heart is cold; stand near the fire of meditation until you feel your affections warm and ready for spiritual service.

10. When God enters our dark heart, the question is: What thoughts are here? Why do these thoughts arise in your mind?

11. Have you not become judges of evil thoughts? (Luke 24:38) Why are you troubled, do these thoughts come into your hearts?

12. They were frightened and scared, they thought they saw a ghost; It is I Myself! Touch Me and see; for a spirit has no flesh or bones as you see that I have, so flows the thought of the one who does not meditate. (Bring the mind and thought with attention and study it thoroughly, understand it well).

13. (James 2:4) Have you not discriminate among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

14. I uttered (say) with my tongue. The muzzled tongue (preventing speech) breaks the obstacles. Misery is going to come out in abundance.

15. It may silence praise, but anguish cries out and screams. Resolution or not, caution or not, sin or not, the overwhelming torrent (dominant, oppressing, abuses, humiliates, runs over) breaks through and drags everything in its path. C.H.S.

16. (V. 4) "Let me know my end."

17. The psalmist wants to know more about the brevity of his life in order to cope with his passing evils and so far, we can kneel with him, uttering the same request.

18. But those who don’t find a limit to their misery is a real hell; but who finds an end to the affliction of life is the hope of all who have hope beyond the grave.

19. Those who see death through the glass of the Lord see a beautiful sight, which makes them forget the evil of life by providing the end of life.

20. And what is the measure of my days; know how fragile I am. That is, when I will cease to be.

21. Alas! Poor human nature, dear as life, man alternates with God, so that he rather desires to cease to be than to endure what is assigned by the Lord. What a pettiness in a saint!

22. But let's wait a bit until we are in a position similar to his and we won't do much better.

23. The ship on the dock is surprised that a waterway appears on the boat, but when he throws himself into the high seas, he is amazed that the timbers withstand such storms without cracking (cracks, crevices).

24. David's case is not recorded for us to imitate, but for us to learn. (Psalm 39:5) The span of my life is like nothing before You.

25. So short that it's almost nothing. Before the Eternal, the age of man is like a crack. Ticking the clock. C.H.S.

26. It is certainly like a breath every man who lives.

27. This is a great truth and there is nothing more certain than that.

28. He considers a man, the best and is nothing more than a man, a breath, insubstantial (tasteless, vain hollow) like the wind.

29. Its constancy is inconstancy (not stable, variable, unstable, constant: firm). His vanity is the only truth; the best thing about him is that he is vain, only vanity. C.H.S.

30. (V. 6) Yes, as a passing shadow is man. Certainly, in vain he strives.

31. Read this text well and then listen to the clamor of the market, the rumor of the stock market, the rumble of the streets of the city and "remember that all this noise", this interruption of stillness is something insubstantial, passing vanities.

32. The interrupted rest, the anxious fear, the overloaded brain, the collapsing mind, the madness, all of them are steps in the process of anxiety and restlessness of many and all strive to be rich, to fill up to overflowing; body that they will leave soon, after all. C.H.S.

33. Every carnal man walks in a vanity fair and despite everything, how he puffs up his vanity fair!

34. He worries in vain, and it is only vanity that worries him.

35. He works all his life for the gain of riches and yet, in death, his riches will not take advantage of him.

36. He piles up riches and doesn't know who will collect it.

37. The men get up early and go to bed late to build a house and then a stranger walks through its corridors, laughs in their rooms (house, mansion) and does not remember who built it and calls it of his own.

38. This is one of the evils under the sun for which there is no prescribed remedy.