The Days of Our Years

"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 shut off, and we fly away." (Ps. 90:10.)

The days of our years are our most valuable possession, but how we do

waste them! Benjamin Franklin (printer) said:

"If time be of all things the most precious, then wasting time is the greatest

prodigality."

In the above verse we should place great emphasis on the word "soon."

God wants us to know that our lives are very brief periods. They are soon cut

off. Even if we attain unto threescore and ten (and not many of us will), they are soon cut off. Now let us hear

another verse: "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts

unto wisdom." (Verse 12.) May the Lord help us to do some numbering.

These precious days with their precious opportunities will be gone forever

soon How we should hoard them! We can do so much by the right use of our

time. If we live out our threescore and ten. the ten would be the sum of the

Lord's days in such a span. What a great thing to think of ten years of Lord's

days spent in worship and service to him! And we cannot afford to take one

of these Lord's days off.

"Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city,

and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: whereas ye know

not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour,

that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to

say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that." (James 4:13-15.) We

talk glibly about what we are going to do tomorrow, or next week, or next

month, or next year; but we know not what a day may bring forth. "Thou fool,

this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be,

which thou hast provided? (Luke 12:20.) We do not know the day or the night

when we shall quit the walks of men and go to render an account to Him who

gave us all our days.

Jesus said: "I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the

night cometh, when no man can work." (John 9:4.) The night of death will

soon overtake us, and what a night it will be if we have not used our days in

the work of the Lord. Better for us had we not been born than that night

should overtake us unprepared.

One of the saddest verses in the Bible is Jer. 8:20. Hear it: "The harvest is

past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." What a bitter end! Reader,

look ahead to the end of the harvest and to the end of the summer of life. In

view of it all,accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, repent of your past sins, be baptized for the

remission of those sins, and from the watery grave of baptism rise to walk in

newness of life. The days you spend in the service of the King are sweet days

and the end everlasting life.

"Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."

(2 Cor. 6:2.) The devil would try to persuade us that there is plenty of time.

He is a liar and the father of lies. This is one of his diabolical lies. There is not

time enough yet. Our time is short. God has promised to save you now—not

next week nor next year, but now. The Bible is not full of meaningless

phrases, but of pregnant truths.

Here is some striking language addressed to Christians: "And that,

knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our

salvation nearer than when we believed." (Rom. 13:11.) Our salvation is much

nearer than when we first believed. Some of us first believed many years ago.

Our salvation draws near. How near, only God knows.

"And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth

according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear."

(1 Pet. 1:17.) Too many of us are not fearful enough. We seem to be too easily

satisfied with our attainments. We are not going to be saved in droves. We are

not going to be saved by families. We are not going to be saved by

congregations. God is going to judge every man's work—not every family's

work nor every congregation's work, but every man's work. Every other

member of the family may be a good Christian, but that will not save us. What

are we? Every other member of the congregation may be a good member, but

what are we? Conversely, every other member of the family may be anything

but a Christian; but if you are faithful to the Lord, you will be saved. Even if

every other member of the congregation should be a hypocrite, you can be

saved by loving, humble obedience to God. Salvation is an individual

something.All the hypocrites on earth and all the demons in hell cannot keep a

Christian out of heaven.

We are living in perilous times. "This know also, that in the last days

perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves,

covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful,

unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent,

fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of

pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the

power thereof." (2 Tim. 3:1-5.) We know that this is a divine record of our

times. Men are lovers of their own selves, covetous, and boasters. So many are

proud and blasphemers.

Was there ever a time when there was more disobedience to parents? The

children almost rule the parents instead of the parents ruling the children. And

so many are unthankful. God is so good in giving us such rich blessings, but

how many are truly thankful? Men are at the throats of others instead of on

their knees in thanksgiving to God for his wonderful blessings to the children

of Men; and unholiness is rampant.

Natural affection becomes more rare as the days come and go. And the

trucebreakers! Nations and individuals look upon solemn agreements as mere

"scraps of paper," and they are fierce.

And the really good are despised, and sometimes they are despised by

those who even profess to be good. Traitors are in our midst on every hand.

Brethren even betray brethren; and so many are heady and highminded; and

the world, and many church members, are pleasure crazy. Fortunes are

squandered on races and games. Men and boys and women and girls are

physically and morally ruined by the so-called pleasures of the world. Some

members of the church will stand in broiling sun or wintry blasts by the hour

to witness some demoralizing game, and these same brethren will absent

themselves fromprayer meeting, Lord's-day evening services, and complain at a sermon that

goes beyond thirty minutes! And doubly complain if the sermon is aimed at

modern sins and ungodliness! And again I say: We are living in perilous times.

"My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and

from them that persecute me. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save

me for thy mercies' sake. Let me not be ashamed, O Lord; for I have called

upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. Let

the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and

contemptuously against the righteous." (Ps. 31:15-18.)