20. Man’s Appointed Time
Hymns: EHS 18 When Days Are Sad and Dreary; RHC 227 Until Then O Glorious Day!; 332 Moment by Moment; 334 Sweet Peace, the Gift of God’s Love;
Job 7:1-6
1Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling? 2As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work: 3So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me. 4When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day. 5My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome. 6My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope. (Job 7:1-6 KJV)
Man’s Appointed Time
OUTLINE
- Strength Through Wearisome Days
INTRODUCTION
How fitting are the words of the psalmist in Psalm 115:1-31Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake. 2Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God? 3But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
God is sovereign over His creation. He sovereignly oversees the welfare of His people for His own glory. His children walking closely to Him understands this. As God’s people waits upon Him, they give praise to God’s care for them acknowledging and testifying that the gods of the heathen are false gods that does not help them, that they may be converted to acknowledge the God of Israel.
4Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. 5They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: 6They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: 7They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. 8They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them. (Ps. 115:4-8 KJV)
The psalmist tells us this is how good the LORD is to His people and how they praise Him who draw nigh to Him.
9O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. 10O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. 11Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. 12The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron. 13He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great. 14The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children. 15Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth. 16The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men. 17The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence. 18But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD.(Ps. 115:9-18 KJV)
We know that Job is one who fear the LORD – Job 1:8And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
These promises of God are therefore applicable for Job. God’s blessings are upon His servant. We notice that Job is going through the hardest of hardship. His life hanging as it were by the thread, harassed by Eliphaz, provoked to despair. Job defended his integrity.
- Strength Through Wearisome Days
1Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling? 2As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work:
The Apostle Paul encouraged Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
The word “hardship” means to suffer trouble, misfortunes or afflictions, as meeting hardships courageously bear affliction, endure hardships. [Friberg]
Matthew Henry observed well, word “hireling” is “a poor servant”, “going through the weariness of his work has to wish for the shadows of the evening when he shall receive his penny and go to rest. The welcome darkness of the night is as welcome to the labourer as the light of the morning to the watchman.”
The heart-cry of His servant Job is well-articulated in the words of psalmist in psalm 130.
Psalm 130:1-8 A Song of degrees. Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
Indeed, the rest of the labourer is sweet (Eccles. 5:12).
Recall when we studied this psalmist in our series Balm for the Weary, this was our outline:
- Plead with God for Relief – Prayer (v1-2)
- Make Right with God – Penitence (3-4)
- Wait Upon God Meditating on His Promises – Patience (v5-6)
- Expect to Receive Mercy and Deliverance from God – Peace (v7-8)
The psalmist cried from a sea of trouble that is so deep in its depth that it has threatened to drown him. His soul was depressed and he is despaired beyond measure. He could not measure the depths of his distress.
He is drowned in the depths of his trials and troubles but the LORD was with him to hear his prayer and still his heart to hope in Him. The LORD will surely be gracious. He was assured of help in God.
Psalm 18:6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, eveninto his ears.
Jesus said, “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4) This psalm expresses the comfort received in the heart of the mourner as he sought solace in God. This word “comfort” literally is the word “called alongside”. What is that comfort? It is from God.
Words cannot describe how God relieve his sorrow or comfort his distress, cheer, encourage his arching heart.
Jesus says in Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The psalmist experiences this rest in his LORD.
1 A Song of degrees. Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.
It describes the low point of the psalmist’s emotional well-being. He sought the LORD. This relationship he has with God was the thread that kept his soul from being drowned. Thank God that we have a lifeline with God even in the most desperate and distressing moments of life.
2 Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
He talked to God. In prayer, he poured out his soul before Him in the silence of his distress. It seemed that there is no other helper in visible sight. He asked his Master to responsive to his needs and care for him in this moment of loneliness.
Romans 8:26-27 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what isthe mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will ofGod.
It is as if he is that lone voice in the quietness of the moment, all is silent before him and he pleaded that the ears of God be opened to his supplication. Does God hear? Are His eyes close to the call of his children?
3So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me. 4When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day.
He was going through many wearisome nights, months of emptiness as he grapples with the meaning of life in this time of his calamity. He asked God is there an appointed time for man on earth? How does one determine how long is he going to live? Living in such miserable condition, such a poor quality of life, what is the use of prolonging life when life is such a misery? How to bear with such hardship. It is so unbearable. Due to his physical infirmity, he was unable to rest well in the night. He felt himself so useless. He was feeling such a loss, he was seeking to find solace and strength, comfort and encouragement in his tossings.
5My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome. 6My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope.
When a man is sick in the body, the weariness of the condition is so really discouraging. If a man has no hope of eternal life, how can he find hope?
I am reminded of the chorus “Keep on Believing”:
Keep on believing
Jesus is near
Keep on believing
There’s nothing to fear
Keep on believing
This is the way
Faith in the night
As well as the day.
The believer is strengthened by faith. The Spirit of God sends comfort to the ailing heart. He is refreshed in the spirit.
Barnes observed, “The weaver’s shuttle is the instrument by which the weaver inserts the filling in the woof. With us few things would furnish a more striking emblem of rapidity than the speed with which a weaver throws his shuttle from one side of the web to the other. It would seem that such was the fact among the ancients, though the precise manner in which they wove their cloth, is unknown. It was common to compare life with a web, which was filled up by the successive days. The ancient Classical writers spoke of it as a web woven by the Fates.
We can all feel the force of the comparison used here by Job, that the days which we live fly swift away. How rapidly is one after another added to the web of life! How soon will the whole web be filled up, and life be closed! A few more shoots of the shuttle and all will be over, and our life will be cut off, as the weaver removes one web from the loom to make way for another. How important to improve the fleeting moments, and to live as if we were soon to see the rapid shuttle flying for the last time!”
Job represents the thread of his life as being spun out with great rapidity and tenuity, and about to be cut off. [Clarke]
CONCLUSION
We notice that it is God sustaining His servant in the hardships of life. Thank God for His grace. Amen.