eternity

A taste of eternity

“O sing unto the LORD a new song…shew forth his salvation from day to day” (Psalm 96:1). Salvation is only mentioned a few times in the Bible before David became king of Israel. Many personal names contain a form of the word that is translated salvation or yeshuw’ah (yesh – oo´ – aw), such as Joshua, Isaiah, and Jesus which is a Greek form of yeshu’ah (3444). When David speaks of salvation, I believe he is referring to the Messiah. Before David, there was not a focus on God’s eternal plan of salvation, the main focus of the Israelites was getting settled in the Promised Land.

In Psalm 89, it says “I have sworn unto David my servant, thy seed will I stablish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations, Selah” (Psalm 89:3-4). The words for ever signifies eternity. The literal translation of the Hebrew, ad olam, is “into the indefinite future” (5769). The concept of eternity was new in David’s time. People did not talk about life beyond death, their attention was on things that were temporal.

The psalmist goes on to say in Psalm 89:

Then thou spakest in vision to thy Holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people…With whom my hand shall be established; mine arm also shall strengthen him…Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. My mercy will I keep for him evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. (Psalm 89:19, 21, 27-29)

It’s not easy to focus on eternity when you are wrapped up in the day to day activities of life. David had the ability to focus on both at the same time, he saw his accomplishments from an eternal perspective and was able to worship the LORD as if he was already in heaven.

The Hebrew word olam is properly translated as concealed. It represents the vanishing point when we are no longer aware of time. Even though we are currently bound by time, God has given man the ability to live “above time” (i.e. to remember yesterday, plan for tomorrow, and consider abstract principles)” (5769). It takes a conscious effort, but when we show forth God’s salvation from day to day, live in the moment and focus our attention on what is happening now, the awareness of time disappears and we get a taste of eternity.

Unfinished business

Some people have a problem with unfinished business. Whether it is making your bed before you leave in the house in the morning or returning a call from a prospective client before you go home for the night, there are certain things that have to be done or you feel unsettled, unable to rest or enjoy yourself.

When Abner came to David to offer his support, David brought up some unfinished business that he wanted Abner to take care of. “And he said, Well; I will make a league with thee: but one thing I require of thee, that is, Thou shalt not see my face, except thou first bring Michal Saul’s daughter, when thou comest to see my face” (2 Samuel 3:13).

Michal loved David and she had helped him escape from her father when Saul was trying to kill David. “But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Phalti the son of Laish” (1 Samuel 25:44) after David left in order to spite him. The betrayal hurt David and caused him to be disgraced among the people of Israel. He didn’t feel he could effectively reign over the kingdom until his wife was returned to him.

In Psalm 45, David said, “The king’s daughter is all glorious within: Her clothing is wrought of gold. She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: The virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: They shall enter into the king’s palace” (Psalm 45:13-15). It was a great moment for David when Michal joined him in the king’s palace. David’s victory over Saul was marked by the return of his devoted wife, Saul’s daughter Michal, to his side, but there was some other unfinished business that still needed to be taken care of.

In Psalm 43, David said, “Why art thou cast down O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me?” (Psalm 43:5) and in Psalm 44, “Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbors a scorn and derision to them that are round about us” (Psalm 44:13). After the Philistines killed Saul and his sons, the people of Israel, “forsook the cities and fled: and the Philistines came and dwelt in them” (1 Samuel 31:7), so David prayed to the LORD, “Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercy’s sake” (Psalm 44:26).

In Psalm 49, David used a parable to evaluate his situation from an eternal perspective. David compared the person that trusts in his wealth to the upright man that puts his trust in God. David concluded, “Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning” (Psalm 49:14). David realized that some business cannot be taken care of in a day or may be left until death brings about a change in circumstances. The ultimate victory for David was that death was not the end. Because God’s kingdom is eternal and will continue after death, David said:

They that trust in their wealth, and boast of themselves in the multitude of their riches; none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him…But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: For he shall receive me. Selah. (Psalm 49:6-7, 15)

Don’t be a fool

God exists outside of time, therefore, the past, present, and future are all the same to him. He does not see things as a stream of events that occurs from one day to the next, but sees the entire picture of life as a whole, nothing is missing from his viewpoint.

David summarizes God’s viewpoint in Psalm 14. It begins with a description of man’s fallen condition:

The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: There is none that doeth good, no, not one. (Psalm 14:1-3)

Some people may think that the Israelites were God’s chosen people because they were better than everyone else or that as a result of God choosing them they would become better than everyone else, but the truth is that they were just as corrupt as the rest of the world. There was no way for them to be different until Jesus came.

The course of the Israelites’ history is similar to every person’s that comes to know God in that the pathway from corruption to everlasting life always includes repentance. David ends Psalm 14 with the return to prosperity:

O that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When the LORD bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad. (Psalm 14:7)

David says “when” the LORD bringeth back the captivity because it had not yet happened. David is not referring to the Israelites exodus from Egypt, but a future event that was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit. Psalm 14 presents God viewpoint from an Old Testament perspective. If all you had was Psalm 14, you would think that a return to prosperity was all there was to life. Just as death is not the end of life, a return from captivity is not all there is to God’s big picture of life.

The difference between God’s viewpoint and ours is that his extends into eternity. The Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to see things from beginning to end so that life makes sense, but sometimes we are allowed to see beyond the end, or what appears to be the end, of life into eternity. David was given a glimpse into life beyond death and provides us with a snapshot of heaven in Psalm 16:

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth, my flesh also shall rest in hope: For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path to life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. (Psalm 16:9-11)

God’s big picture viewpoint makes it possible for him to guide us through the obstacles of life and reach our final destination without having missed any of the milestones that are required for eternal existence. Since we know very little about eternity, there is no way we can prepare ourselves for it without God. That’s why it is only the fool who says in his heart, “There is no God” (Psalm 14:1).