“Life is an excellency added to being.” –Thomas Goodwin
If you could ask God for anything at all, what would it be? David asked God for a long life and the Lord answered his request:
O Lord, in your strength the king rejoices,
and in your salvation how greatly he exults!
2 You have given him his heart’s desire
and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
3 For you meet him with rich blessings;
you set a crown of fine gold upon his head.
4 He asked life of you; you gave it to him,
length of days forever and ever. (Psalm 21:1-4)
These opening verses are sung by the people of Israel in celebration of their blessings God has bestowed on their earthly king, David. Often, kings before going into battle would seek God’s protection and blessing. They desired to be spared from harm in battle and prayed for their lives to be lengthened. Another reason why David wanted his life extended is because he truly understood what made life life? Listen for the answer in verses six and seven.
For you make him most blessed forever;
you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord,
and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved. (Psalm 21:6-7)
King David trusted the Lord and was glad with the joy of God’s presence. One of the greatest blessings a believer can experience is the joy of God’s presence. And because of God’s word, we can be confident that the presence of God will be with us at every stage of our life. David confessed that God was with him in his origins, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” (Psalm 139:13) Joshua heard this word of encouragement at the noon of life’s day, “Be strong and courageous… for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9) Isaiah assured the house of Jacob and assures all believers that God will not neglect them in their twilight years:
“Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from before your birth,
carried from the womb;
4 even to your old age I am he,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save. (Isaiah 46:3-4)
And Jesus promised his presence, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
David’s request for “length of days” reflected his hunger to experience God. However, if David had been faced with the choice of a short life with God’s presence as compared to a long life without him he would have chosen the former. A life lived long is not to be desired over a life lived well. Josias Shute noted, “A musician is commended not that he played so long, but that he played so well. And thus, it is not the days of our life, but the goodness of our life… that is acceptable unto God Almighty.” (Puritan Golden Treasury, 169) How will this day be for you? If you are a believer then you have the promise of his presence. Ask him to make you sensitive to his presence today. Have a blessed week and we will see you on Sunday.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Dale