Psalm 90:9-10 "For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. (10) The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away."
There is a cloud that hangs over our heads from the moment we are born. It is
called death. Paul speaks of it in 1 Corinthians 15 as being the last enemy
that shall be destroyed. The writer of Hebrews speaks of it in this manner:
"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he
also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might
destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; (15)
And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."
(Hebrews 2:14-15) The cloud that hangs over us consists of the words
"enemy, power of death, fear of death, and bondage." If we only
see those words, then indeed we must say "all our days are passed away in
thy wrath."
But there are words that, when properly understood, drive that dark cloud away
from us. Those words are "delivered (1 Corinthians 15:24 and Hebrews
2:15), destroyed (1 Corinthians 15:26 and Hebrews 2:14), and ultimately victory
(1 Corinthians 15:57)". Though we still have the cloud of death hanging
over us, we are assured of the blessed and ultimate victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ who tasted death for us and thereby delivered us from the bondage
of the dark cloud of death. We understand the wrath of God was passed upon Adam
and all his descendants. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy
staff they comfort me." (Psalm 23:4) That wrath was taken from us,
we were saved from that wrath when Jesus, the Son of God, became man and took
that sentence of death upon Himself in our stead.
The Psalmist tells us that we "spend our years as a tale that is
told." We write our life's story each day that we live. It is often said
of an individual, "He/She preached their own funeral by the life they
lived." Another adage that is often used concerns the writing on a
headstone. There are two dates on every headstone: the date of birth and the
date of death. Between those two dates is the "dash". The dash
speaks of the days of our lives, the "tale that is told." All
the days of our lives, however many that may be, are spent in labor and sorrow.
This is the result of sin that entered through Adam.
For the child of God, the last phrase is the beautiful one. "We fly
away." Songs have been written about these words. Illustrations have been
used such as a bird being freed from its cage. However we look at the words,
the truth of the matter is:
There Is Coming A Day When No Heartaches Shall Come,
No More Clouds In The Sky, No More Tears To Dim The Eye;
All Is Peace Forever More On That Happy Golden Shore,
What A Day, Glorious Day That Will Be!
What A Day That Will Be When My Jesus I Shall See,
And I Look Upon His Face, The One Who Saved Me By His Grace;
When He Takes Me Be The Hand And Leads Me Through The Promised Land,
What A Day, Glorious Day That Will Be!
There’ll Be No Sorrow There, No More Burdens To Bear,
No More Sickness, No Pain, No More Parting Over There;
And For Ever I Will Be With The One Who Died For Me
What A Day, Glorious Day That Will Be!
by E.A. Barnes