Verse 1
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Let this verse remind you that we live in God more than we live in any physical place on earth. He is ultimately our refuge and safety.
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Written by Moses, this Psalm speaks of the journey of the Israelites in the wilderness of Sinai. Before Sinai, the people were slaves in Egypt. Before that, they were nomads in Canaan. They had to learn that God was their refuge, and especially since they had no permanent place of safety to call their own. Most of us, however, do have homes, and we trust in them too much.
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Before you get too comfortable with your physical living situation, remind yourself that God is your dwelling place. See your home as simply being with Him, and He being with you!
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Verses 2-6
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While man is frail and returns to the dust in death, God is eternal. God has existed and reigned from eternity past and will exist into eternity's future.
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Even a thousand years of time is really like a passing day (2 Peter 3:8). Since He sees all of eternity, God sees the future as well as the present at the same time.
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Verses 7-10
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We, on the other hand, live for a few short years, and even less if we continue in sin. Life is already short, and sin shortens it even more. And from God this is our just due, for “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
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Verse 10b. Then after death the spirit flies away to return to God for judgement (Hebrews 9:27, Ecclesiastes 12:7).
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Verses 11-12
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We don't really know the greatness of God's anger toward sin. If we did, we would have a far greater fear of Him, and we probably wouldn't be able to survive that fear.
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So, knowing how God feels about sin, and knowing that time can easily be cut short because of it, be mindful of your time. Remember that your time is borrowed, not promised; and your time can be shortened if you don't use it well.
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Make the most of your time, stay away from sin, and you will gain the most wisdom.
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Verses 13-17
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In Christ, we have the privilege of God's mercy, and that gives us reason to rejoice! Our lives went to waste in both our sin and the sorrow that came with it. If you stay in sorrow, your life will continue to be wasted.
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Learn to be satisfied and joyful in Christ now! Be urgent about learning what brings joy and obedience to God! This will make your days useful!
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Verse 15. Think this way: “As intensely as I was bound in sin and sorrow, I should be bound in righteousness and joy.” As the verse says, “Make us glad according to the...years in which we have seen evil.” The NLT of this verse says it well: “Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace the evil years with good.”
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In other words, don't let it be said that sin had a stronger hold on you in your past life than the Spirit has on you in your present life. The power of the Spirit should be a much stronger force in your life than the power of sin ever was.
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“We have spend enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lewdness, lust, idolatry...” (1 Peter 4:3). Say enough is enough! Choose joy today! Depression is of those who don't know Christ and remain in sin; but you do know Christ! Don't allow such sorrow to poison your mind today! This kind of thinking will redeem wasted time so that you use your life well (Ephesians 5:15-20).
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