Lesson 291 - Junior
Memory Verse
"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).
Notes
The Lord Near to Help
The men who wrote the Psalms had learned to trust in God. Whoever he was -– David, Moses, or some other song-writer -– he found the One to whom he could go when he was in trouble, to find help.
In the opening words of the Forty-sixth Psalm, the writer declares: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” He is right beside us to help any time we call upon Him.
In the days when the Israelites were on their journey to Canaan Land, Moses wrote similar words: "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” [DEU:33:27]). Sometimes when we are in trouble we feel that everything has been swept away from us; we may feel as if we are falling – that there is nothing under us. But if our trust is in the eternal God, His arms are beneath us and He will not let us fall.
God told Isaiah, "I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you” [ISA:46:4]). And when Paul was writing to the young preacher, Timothy, he said: "The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom” [2TM:4:18]).
God Our Refuge
A refuge is a safe place, a shelter. In the State of Oregon we have game refuges where wild animals are safe from the hunters' guns. Within certain parks no deer, elk, or certain kinds of birds may be shot. The animals seem to sense that safety, and they roam freely in great numbers through the forests –- especially during the hunting season when they are not safe outside the refuge.
God wants man to sense that he can find safety in the Lord. Satan is shooting his arrows at people everywhere, and many of his victims do not know where to find refuge. If they would look into the Bible they would find, as the Psalmist did, that God is our eternal refuge. Those who run to God for help, find peace to their troubled soul.
We cannot see with our eyes the arrows that Satan shoots, but we can see the trouble they bring. All evil, sorrow, jealousy, pride, and hatred are caused by his arrows. When we have big wars with armies on both sides shooting much ammunition, we know that Satan started it all by shooting his little poisoned arrows.
Those arrows may be shot at us and bring evil thoughts, unkind words, and selfish deeds. Such things are not of God, and we do not want them in our lives. How can we escape? By running to our Refuge, the eternal God. The Blood of Jesus will wash away everything that He does not like, and forgive sins and take away the evil thoughts of all who ask Him.
Not Frightened
When we are safe in that refuge we have nothing to fear. Jesus is right beside us, "a very present help in trouble.” The Psalmist said he would not even be afraid if an earthquake pushed a mountain into the sea. Many people are afraid when they feel a little quake. Think how terrified they would be if the hills moved into the sea! During an earthquake in a little village, the people who lived there became very much frightened -– all except one old lady who seemed to be enjoying it. The people all knew her, and finally one asked, "Mother, are you not afraid?” "No,” she answered, "I rejoice to know that I have a God who can shake the world.”
The Psalmist was not afraid of storms on the sea, either. He was trusting that God could speak peace to the troubled waters. He had not been with Jesus in a little boat as the disciples were on the Sea of Galilee when Jesus said, "Peace, be still,” and the storm was over; but he knew, anyway, that God could do it. He had learned to know the God who had made the sea and the land, and to him the huge waves and the whitecaps spoke of God's power to command the winds and the seas. In one of the Psalms we read: "He commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves thereof. . . . He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still” [PS:107:25], [PS:107:29]).
God's Power Revealed
There is a great day coming when all the world shall see and recognize the power of God. At the sound of His voice the earth will melt with fervent heat. The same Voice that spoke the world into existence will destroy it again in the day of judgment.
But before the world is destroyed there will be a time of peace upon this earth. We hear in this Psalm a song about the Millennium, a time when the Lord will cause all wars to cease. No man can stop wars -– not even councils of men from many nations. But Jesus can. And when He comes to stop them, there will be no more fighting. He will prove in that day to all sinners and unbelievers that He is all powerful, that He rules the universe.
No kings nor dictators will be able to stand before our Jesus-King when He comes. Their power will be broken completely when they hear that Voice from Heaven, and Christ comes to set up His throne upon this earth. We, as Christians, already have the Lord of hosts with us. "The God of Jacob is our refuge.”
Our Hope
Our life here on earth is very short compared with eternity. The really important thing for us today is to be sure that we are ready for the life to come. Those who are making themselves ready to rule with Christ are not letting anything in this world come between them and their worship of the eternal King.
The Apostle Peter was looking for that brighter, better world, and he wrote: "Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless” [2PE:3:13-14]). We want to live in the new world where everything will be beautiful and perfect, but we have something to do to make ourselves good enough to live there. No sin nor wickedness will be there, so we must be cleansed from all our sins here, through the Blood of Jesus, before we are ready to enter into that glorious place.
In this Psalm of Moses, he prayed, "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Let us consider the length of our time here, and use each day profitably. Some people act as though they think they will live forever on this earth and they need do nothing to prepare to meet God. If we live each day as though we believe Jesus is coming at its close, we will be very careful of our actions so as not to displease Him.
We do not know whether our lives may end through accident or illness, and we shall have to stand before the Lord. Life is very uncertain, but death is sure – unless Jesus comes to take us first. We want to live every day so that we will not be afraid to leave this world.
As a Tale that Is Told
Even if we should live to be 70 or 80 years old, as Moses wrote, how long is that compared with eternity? Moses said that even such a long lifetime was but "as a tale that is told.” Someone may tell you a story, and you forget it right away. Or if it is very exciting, you may remember it for a while; but it makes no difference in your life.
Consider all the billions of stars, which God is watching and holding in place as they whirl through space. Think of the billions of people who have lived on this earth during the past 6000 years. What does one person amount to in such great numbers, in such great periods of time? Unless we do something very important, no one will know or care in a hundred years or so whether we ever lived. And great men are remembered only a little longer.
Even nations rise and fall, and are forgotten. God said: "Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing” [ISA:40:15]).
Eternally His
As we look at ourselves through those comparisons we find that we are indeed small and unimportant. If our life here on earth will vanish like a cloud in the sky, or like grass that grows in the morning and is cut down at night; and if our physical labours here will be destroyed, what, then, is important? What lasts? Why are we here?
Jesus created us for Himself, to live and enjoy eternity with Him. "Thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” [REV:4:11]). Our life here is to prepare us for the glories of the world to come, which will endure forever.
Our lives on earth may be "as a tale that is told”; but our God is forever and ever. That eternal God is our refuge, our hiding place. He is our Hope, our Salvation, our Comfort, our Guide. In Him we find joy now, and we shall know the ecstasy of life everlasting.
Moses prayed, "Satisfy us early with thy mercy.” That could mean early in life. The mercy of God comes to us even in our youth. We are children and young people are satisfied by His love to us as we give Him our hearts early in life.
Moses also prayed that the works of our hands might be established. He wanted to do things that would not be burned up when Jesus comes. The things that we do for Jesus, because we love Him and love His people, will endure forever. There is no greater work than to win a soul for Jesus. Such work is as gold and silver that fire will not affect -– only purify and make more beautiful. The Prophet Daniel wrote that those who won souls for Christ would shine "as the stars for ever and ever” [DAN:12:3]).
Let us each one prepare in our youth for the glory that is to come. Thus we shall be satisfied here, and enjoy an eternal reign throughout eternity with our Lord and King.
Questions
1. What is a refuge?
2. Who is the refuge of the Christian?
3. What are we saved from when we are safe in the refuge?
4. Where do we have to go to find Jesus?
5. How long a life has God promised us?
6. How long is that, compared with eternity?
7. What did Moses tell us to do with every day?
8. What works will stand for eternity?