–Louis L’Amour  (Down the Long Hills)

       “Since his days are determined, the number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass.”

                    –Job 14:5 (NKJV)
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This portion of Psalm 90 is cause for great reflection upon one’s life–both the past, present, and hopefully the future.  It is a psalm that should be taken to heart by those alive on earth today.  No one rightly fears the Lord; few are there who comprehend His power.  What would happen if the Lord decided to turn His wrath upon sin?  We think of Him as a loving God, and His is, but there is also that attribute of His wrath.  In the near future, I believe, the inhabitants of the earth, those who have rejected the offer of grace given through the death of Jesus on the cross, will see part of His wrath.

          10 — The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
          11 — Who knows the power of Your anger?  For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.
          12 — So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
          13 — Return, O LORD!  How long?  And have compassion on Your servants.
          14 — Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days!
          15 — Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, the years in which we have seen evil.
          16 — Let Your work appear to Your servants, and Your glory to their children.
          17 — And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands.  (NKJV)

       Verse 10, seems like it belongs in Ecclesiastes.  We work, struggle and toil for seventy years, perhaps eighty.  Human life is short-lived because it is spent under God’s judgment upon man’s sin.  The NIV Study Bible states, “All their health, joys, riches and honor are soured by trouble and sorrow, or emptiness.” (Solomon might say it is “vanity.”)   Then verses 11-12 hit us, “But everyone ought to know the measure of his few days or he will play the arrogant fool, with not thought of his mortality or of his accountability to God.” (NIV Study Bible)
       Many times we read in the writings of Paul to be good stewards, to redeem the time.  James tells us that our life is but a vapor.  Since God has numbered our days, we should do likewise.  We should take account of our responsibilities and see that they are fulfilled to the best of our ability each day.  We are to be good stewards, not hirelings.  We are to be stewards not only of the talents and blessings the Lord has given us, and the blessings of meeting our needs and abundantly so, but also with our time and lives.  “Man must be careful not to waste his life in temporal frivolities but to invest it for eternity.” (Steven Lawson)
       Notice the psalmist cries for the Lord to satisfy us with His mercy.  When we know and recognize that it is by the mercies of the Lord that we are given each day then we will rejoice and be glad.  Our deeds should reflect His mercy, our lives should reflect what He has done for us.  Pray for His mercy and that He will establish the work of our hands–the work that has been done for His glory and for the eternal kingdom of God.  Oh, Lord, establish the works of our hands making them effective and enduring.  Let us be good and faithful stewards of our time and our lives.  Help us to realize that we must live “strategically in light of eternity.” (Lawson)  Let us have purpose, let us live every day for Your approval.
       It has been said, “Aim at nothing, and you will hit it every time.”  Life is like that.  A misdirected life is a wasted life.  Let me pass on some words from Steven Lawson, “Wisely investing one’s life requires living in light of eternity.  It necessitates living with an eternal outlook on all of life…  In order to hit the target of God’s will, one must live for what is truly important and will stand the test of time…  One must live for God and His eternal kingdom today.  Only a life lived for God will be a truly satisfied life.”
       Remember, you have only so much time–invest it wisely.  That amount of time is determined by God and is given to you.  Now, redeem the time.  Now choose wisely what you will do with your life.  Now accept the mercy of God or live in His wrath.  “One must pour his or her life wisely into these eternal realities.” (Lawson)

                    “O God, our help in ages past,
                    Our hope for years to come,
                    Our shelter from the stormy blast,
                    And our eternal home!”
                           –Isaac Watts

                    –Joshua 23:3 (NLT)
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Last Sunday, our church pianist played a song that I haven’t heard in probably a hundred years or so.  Well, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but it’s been many, many years since I have heard it.  I remember singing it as a kid in church, but as the years have gone by, the church has began to frown on the idea that it is militant and that we are in the midst of a raging war.  Each verse, but the last, raises a question?  See how you answer them.

               “Am I a soldier of the cross,
               A foll’wer of the Lamb,
               And shall I fear to own His cause,
               Or blush to speak His name?”

Jesus says that anyone who is ashamed of Him, that the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when He returns (Mark 8:28; Luke 9:26).  For some reason, people have become reticent about serving the King of Kings.  There is a battle to be won.  Oh, for sure the Lord is already victorious, but there are still many battles to face and victories to be won.  If you don’t think so, just take a look at the status of our nation.  Or, maybe even closer, are you in the midst of a battle?  Yes, the victory was secured at the Cross, but in the meantime, we have our own fights and we want to be like Paul, and say, “I have fought a good fight.” (2 Timothy 4:7)

                “Must I be carried to the skies
               On flow’ry beds of ease,
               While others fought to win the prize,
               And sailed thro’ bloody seas?”

Who are we in this “woke society” to think that we can just tip-toe our way to heaven resting on the blood and sacrifices of others who have gone on before?  Peter Marshall said, “When we eventually reach the goal to which we are all striving, God will look us over, not for diplomas, but for scars.”  Have you fulfilled your mission on earth?  Have you faced the enemy, braved the battle, and come out victorious?  Remember, those who have gone on before.  The great early church leader, Tertullian, made the remark, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”

               “Are there no foes for me to face?
               Must I not stem the flood?
               Is this vile world a friend to grace
               To help me on to God?”

No, we are not like Don Quixote fighting mythical foes, thinking windmills are the enemy.  There is a real devil, contrary to the beliefs of the liberal church.  There is a hell to shun and a heaven to gain.  There are  “principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12, NKJV) that we fight against.  This world is not our friend, yet so many are on friendly terms with the world.  Perhaps that is a reason why hymns such as this are no longer sung.

               “Sure I must fight if I would reign,
               Increase my courage, Lord:
               I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,
               Supported by Thy word.”

 I was looking up some history for this song and I discovered that it was much older than I had thought.  It was written by the great hymnist, Isaac Watts and was written in the first decade of 1700.  From what I found there was no particular reason for the writing of this hymn, except for the fact that Watts “composed a hymn every week to use in connection with his Sunday morning sermon (hymnstudies).  Hear me, my friend–pick up your sword (the Word of God) and be ready and able to face an enemy who wants to destroy you.  Only then can you make it, only then will the crown be placed on your head–“When the Battle’s Over.”

                         “And when the battle’s over we shall wear a crown!
                         Yes, we shall wear a crown!
                         Yes, we shall wear a crown!
                         And when the battle’s over we shall wear a crown
                         In the new Jerusalem.
                         Wear a crown, wear a crown,
                         Wear a bright and shining crown;
                         And when the battle’s over we shall wear a crown
                         In the new Jerusalem.”

                      –Ken Pratt  (The Leather Man’s Journal)

       “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.'”

                      –Job 28:28 (NKJV)
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Remember the B.C. comics where one of the men seeks wisdom and climbs up the mountain to seek it from, naturally an old man?  For some reason we associate wisdom with age, probably because an older person has experienced so many dumb and foolish things in their lives.  What is the old German saying, “Ve get too soon oldt…und too late schmart.”
       Solomon was granted wisdom but he didn’t understand true wisdom until late in his life as we are seeing in Ecclesiastes.  Yes, he was wise (in most of his ways), but he saw that apart from God wisdom too, can be vanity.

               “Wisdom is good with an inheritance, and profitable to those who see the sun.”  7:11, NKJV
               “For wisdom is a defense as money is a defense, but the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it.”  7:12, NKJV
               “Consider the work of God; for who can make straight what He has made crooked?”  7:13, NKJV
               “In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider:  Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other; so that man can find out nothing that will come after him.”  7:14, NKJV

Wisdom preserves our lives from human pitfalls–wisdom is protection.  Most of us at least try to make wise choices.  We don’t purposely get up in the morning thinking that today I’m going to intentionally make a foolish choice or commit a dumb decision.  Read those verses again and ponder them carefully.  With an inheritance comes the pitfall of pride.  Wisdom preserves us from that.  With affliction comes the pitfall of doubt and disillusionment.  Wisdom preserves us from that.  With the anticipation of relief, vindication, even rewards for doing what is right comes the pitfall of resentment and bitterness.  Wisdom preserves us from that.  (Charles Swindoll)
       Read the Book of Proverbs for in it we see that one of the four characters mentioned is wise.  True wisdom provides our lives with divine perspective.  Look at that powerful word–“consider.”  It means to examine for the purpose of evaluating.”  Have you considered the work of God?  Have you considered God’s blessings?  If you enjoy good health, prosperity, fame, do you consider why it happened to you?  Oh, I know there is human wisdom, and I’ll not downplay its importance, but have you considered that a word of wisdom is one of the gifts of the Spirit?
       Verse 13 should cause us to stop and “consider.”  We normally think that God wants to straighten us and everything out, but there are some paths He has purposely made crooked.  There are some high summits for us to pass over, some gorges for us to cross, and some valleys that we must travel through.  There are some in the world, primarily because of choices not to be wise, God has given them a hard-heart.  Whatever comes our way, we are to gain wisdom from it and we are also to use the wisdom we already have in going through it–no matter the adversity, the storm, or the battle.
       Too often we fight God instead of trying to find out what He has in store for us in adversity.   James reminds us, “If any of you lacks wisdom let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5, NKJV)  Without wisdom, without following the Lord’s commands we find out that life is futile.  Why continue in a journey of futility?  If we look to God, and His wisdom, “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11, NKJV)  In the midst of troubles, adversity, and peril, God is with us, and He has things for us to learn if we stay in His presence.  We have to remember that as we journey the things that come our way are from the all-wise loving Father.

               “Day by day, and with each passing moment,
               Strength I find to meet my trials here;
               Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
               I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.”
                         –Lina Sandell Berg

                         –Louis L’Amour  (The Cherokee Trail)

       “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me.”

                         –Song of Solomon  7:10 (NKJV)
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               “And her hand was soft and trembly
               That night underneath the tree,
               When I couldn’t help but tell her
               She was ‘all the world to me.'”
                         –Charles “Badger” Clark

It wasn’t underneath a tree, but on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, ’round about midnight in the pouring rain that I pulled off to the side.  It was such a romantic setting, not like you see now with guys kneeling and begging, nor the fancy dinners and doings.  I told her (right out of Charlie Pride’s songbook) that “There’ll be no mansion waiting on the hill with crystal chandeliers…  Everything I have is standing here in front of you to see.  All I have to offer you is me.” (Arthur Owens)  It was the right time and the right place, so I proposed.  We had been dating since mid-February, and I wasn’t about to let her cut me loose.  So I entered the school year with a smile on my face.
       However, the spring before I popped the question I had to “wine and dine” her.  Ha, ha, on my income.  Usually we would have a “date” in the library and if I could save a couple of dimes we would go to the snack bar for a coke or ice cream bar.  If only one dime, then we’d share a coke.  There was one fella, he was kind of bothering her, in fact, he was right down stalking her.  He would pop up almost anytime.  Finally, I decided it was time for he and I to have a little discussion.  I told him in no uncertain terms to SCRAM!  I wasn’t about to let him get in the way of my wondrous romancing.  
       That summer I went home to work so I could come back to school the next year.  Annie stayed for summer school so she could graduate with her class as she started school a semester late.  A lonely summer for sure, but I wrote close to every day.  We planned to meet at Gary and Kathy’s wedding in August, and it was I was taking her home from there when I asked her to marry me.  Boy howdy, did I make the right choice!

       When I look over at her in the evening as we are watching Gunsmoke or some other show, I think to myself how much the Lord has blessed me.  Then on those days when we share morning coffee on the deck, or beside a campfire, I smile, at least inwardly, thinking that the Lord knew what He was doing to bring Annie to me.  When I look at her cooking and baking (i.e., the pies whether they be apple, blackberry, butterscotch or other) I smile, not only is she good-looking, loyal, and dependable, she can bake pie.
       Milton Carson (a pseudonym) penned the following:

               “My love will grow deeper as time passes by
               Deeper as the ocean and as high as the sky
               My love, my devotion are yours till I die.”

       When I think of those early days of courting, I often stop to think of the Lord and His relationship with His bride–the Church.  He is betrothed to her and has currently gone away to prepare a place for them to dwell.  He is building, and thinking of His beloved and waiting for the day when He will go to get her.  There will be a grand jubilee, and a wondrous feast in heaven when He returns with her.  As I did, with some of my money designated for school, I placed a seal upon Annie with a ring, so the Lord has sealed His bride.  

               “Place me like a seal over your heart, or like a seal on your arm.  For love is as strong as death, and its jealousy is as enduring as the grave.  Love flashes like fire, the brightest kind of flame.”
                              –Song of Songs (Solomon) 8:6 (NLT)

       There are stalkers in this evil world.  Foul-mouthed individuals who mock and scorn the bride.  Jesus will not have His bride sullied and dirtied.  He will make sure that she is kept pure for the wedding day.  Oh, and a side-note, if the Lord wants a pure bride, how much more should we follow His example with the one we love?  The Lord is ready, I’m sure His eyes are burning fire right now as He looks down on how His bride is being treated.  It won’t be long before He says, it’s time!  Time for the wedding, time for the feast–time for Me to go and fetch My bride home!