Our Lifespan on Earth

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newton3003

Senior Member
Feb 4, 2017
437
42
28
#1
Psalm 90:10 says, “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty…” The inference is that if nothing happens to us, and if we strive for righteousness, we shouldn’t ordinarily expect to live on earth past 80.

Now we know there are people who live past 80. Comedian Don Rickles passed away when he was in his 90’s. Some may say, tongue-in-cheek perhaps, that if he lived past 80 then it shows he wasn’t judged to be righteous. Many of us know, however, that he didn’t mean the insults he parried against his audience, and those whom he insulted knew that too. Still, that leaves the question, existentially, that if people like Rickles lived past 80, was it because they weren’t righteous in some way? After all, it says plain and simple in Psalm 90:10 as to what our lifespan on earth should be, and it seems that unless the Bible says otherwise, any actions we undertake, and any state of existence as described in the Bible are forms of righteousness.

So, if people who have strived for righteousness live past 80, should they believe that all is lost, and they should stop being of use to anyone, and just sit and sulk? To a lot of those who have lived past 90 and who see themselves as God-fearing, the question may be ridiculous. But as we live according to the Bible, whether we want to or not it behooves us to be mindful of what the Bible says as we go about our lives. Perhaps our age may be a worry that should not be considered, but many of us are prone to doubts in our lives, questioning the things we do in terms of right and wrong, and sometimes wavering between the two since we are not perfect. Some of us who find ourselves in a depressed state will question everything that may affect our lives. Some of us may endure a Hamlet moment from time to time, questioning our own existence. So, it may help to put to bed any worries that some people may have concerning passages like Psalm 90:10.

Is Psalm 90:10, like other passages in the Bible, an absolute directive in that there is no choice in the matter? Inasmuch as 2 Timothy 3:16 says that ALL Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, we must consider the whole Bible. So,

The Bible says that God created the heavens and the earth, and he is eternal, so He is above everything including the Bible He breathed out, just as we are above our own breaths. Considering that then, James 1:17 says “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” So, regardless of Psalm 90:10, it is conceivable that anyone who lives past 80 has done so because God has gifted them. In a sense, His gifts supersede what the Bible says we can expect.

How do people know, when they live past 80, that they have received a gift from God, and it’s not because thy have lived lives counter to what the Bible expects of them? The Bible tells us to test everything to determine if we are on a righteous path. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 says to “…test everything; hold fast what is good.” Hang on to goodness, no matter how strong the winds of evil which blow by, threatening to carry you along with it.

No matter our age, to paraphrase Don Rickles, anyone who doesn’t spend their lives striving for righteousness is a hockey puck! (And if I lived for anything but righteousness, I would expect to be judged as a hockey puck too…)
 

Hevosmies

Well-known member
Sep 8, 2018
3,612
2,631
113
#2
what I want to know is why do some righteous die early?
And some wicked like hugh heffner live LOOONG lives?

Me personally, I dont mind living long IF im healthy. If im not healthy just beam me outta here.
 

Dan_473

Senior Member
Mar 11, 2014
9,054
1,051
113
#3
Psalm 90:10 says, “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty…” The inference is that if nothing happens to us, and if we strive for righteousness, we shouldn’t ordinarily expect to live on earth past 80.

Now we know there are people who live past 80. Comedian Don Rickles passed away when he was in his 90’s. Some may say, tongue-in-cheek perhaps, that if he lived past 80 then it shows he wasn’t judged to be righteous. Many of us know, however, that he didn’t mean the insults he parried against his audience, and those whom he insulted knew that too. Still, that leaves the question, existentially, that if people like Rickles lived past 80, was it because they weren’t righteous in some way? After all, it says plain and simple in Psalm 90:10 as to what our lifespan on earth should be, and it seems that unless the Bible says otherwise, any actions we undertake, and any state of existence as described in the Bible are forms of righteousness.

So, if people who have strived for righteousness live past 80, should they believe that all is lost, and they should stop being of use to anyone, and just sit and sulk? To a lot of those who have lived past 90 and who see themselves as God-fearing, the question may be ridiculous. But as we live according to the Bible, whether we want to or not it behooves us to be mindful of what the Bible says as we go about our lives. Perhaps our age may be a worry that should not be considered, but many of us are prone to doubts in our lives, questioning the things we do in terms of right and wrong, and sometimes wavering between the two since we are not perfect. Some of us who find ourselves in a depressed state will question everything that may affect our lives. Some of us may endure a Hamlet moment from time to time, questioning our own existence. So, it may help to put to bed any worries that some people may have concerning passages like Psalm 90:10.

Is Psalm 90:10, like other passages in the Bible, an absolute directive in that there is no choice in the matter? Inasmuch as 2 Timothy 3:16 says that ALL Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, we must consider the whole Bible. So,

The Bible says that God created the heavens and the earth, and he is eternal, so He is above everything including the Bible He breathed out, just as we are above our own breaths. Considering that then, James 1:17 says “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” So, regardless of Psalm 90:10, it is conceivable that anyone who lives past 80 has done so because God has gifted them. In a sense, His gifts supersede what the Bible says we can expect.

How do people know, when they live past 80, that they have received a gift from God, and it’s not because thy have lived lives counter to what the Bible expects of them? The Bible tells us to test everything to determine if we are on a righteous path. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 says to “…test everything; hold fast what is good.” Hang on to goodness, no matter how strong the winds of evil which blow by, threatening to carry you along with it.

No matter our age, to paraphrase Don Rickles, anyone who doesn’t spend their lives striving for righteousness is a hockey puck! (And if I lived for anything but righteousness, I would expect to be judged as a hockey puck too…)
Perhaps a different translation will shed some light


We are destroyed by your anger;
we are terrified by your hot anger.
8 You have put the evil we have done right in front of you;
you clearly see our secret sins.
9 All our days pass while you are angry.
Our years end with a moan.
10 Our lifetime is seventy years
or, if we are strong, eighty years.
But the years are full of hard work and pain.
They pass quickly, and then we are gone.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+90&version=NCV

I think these are generalities. Not all of my days are full of hard work and pain. Some are full of joy and rest.
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
7,173
113
#4
Question, how old was King David when he died? After all he wrote the psalms. Or was it Moses? It says prayer of Moses.
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
7,173
113
#5
Moses lived 120 years accordning to Deuteronomy 34:7
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
7,173
113
#6
I wonder if actually people misinterpret and it actually meant 40 years as thats the amoint of time they wandered in the wilderness. I could be wrong though. But the numbering of days may not be related to lifespan...but a particular season where God is teaching His people.
 
L

LPT

Guest
#7
Question, how old was King David when he died? After all he wrote the psalms. Or was it Moses? It says prayer of Moses.
Was he 70 reigned for 40
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
7,173
113
#8
Ok googled and found King David died age 70. He reigned for 40 years....I think he was just meaning for himself but we can apply the psalm to our lives to I suppose. Many of us when we are born again need to redeem the time.
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
7,173
113
#9
I worked in retirement villages who'd pushed up the entry age to 70. Retirement age here is 65 to get the pension. Ive noticed there are two kinds of people who live in retirement villages...those who believe and those that dont.
 

JaumeJ

Senior Member
Jul 2, 2011
21,195
6,508
113
#10
According to Cortana, King David was 70 years old at his time of death.

Many of the Psalms are attributed to King David, and many are attributed to Moses...…….
 

newton3003

Senior Member
Feb 4, 2017
437
42
28
#11
Dan_473 said,

I think these are generalities. Not all of my days are full of hard work and pain. Some are full of joy and rest.
Generalities? How do you reconcile generalities with, say, the passage from Timothy 2 3:16 which says that all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness? Is Timothy 2 3:16 a generality also?
 

obedienttogod

Well-known member
Jan 3, 2019
1,012
343
83
#13
It's definitely interesting what the introduction of sin did for our longevity. In Genesis, God promised 120 years..

Genesis 6:3
And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

Then by the time we get Psalms, we are now at 70 to 80 years.

Not that most people 95+ and older have an active fulfilling life, considering many are prisoners in some facility and bed ridden. But had sin not increased once it entered our lives, we would still be lively at 115.
 

Dan_473

Senior Member
Mar 11, 2014
9,054
1,051
113
#14
Generalities? How do you reconcile generalities with, say, the passage from Timothy 2 3:16 which says that all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness? Is Timothy 2 3:16 a generality also?
an excellent question!

I don't think 2 Timothy 3:16 means that all scripture is to be taken literally.

taking a look at some other things in the Psalms

Psalm 91: 4. He will cover you with his feathers. Under his wings you will take refuge. His faithfulness is your shield and rampart.

God has wings? or maybe it means just like a bird covers her Young, so God covers us.

Psalm 91: 10. no evil shall happen to you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.

from what I've seen, plague and disease do sometimes come, even to the houses of sincere Christians. the big difference for us is that in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer. O death where is thy sting?

Psalm 137: 9. Happy shall he be, who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock.

I doubt if everyone who smashed up a Babylonian baby was happy. but I hear the emotion, The cry of the heart of the songwriter. and I can identify with that!
 
Dec 12, 2013
46,515
20,395
113
#15
It all boils down to Job 14 and our very years, months and days have been preset by God....no one is guaranteed any particular time under the sun....Solomon said time and chance happen to all.....you can be at the wrong place at the right time and have your life cut short and or have it extended beyond reason if God so chooses.......
 

Hevosmies

Well-known member
Sep 8, 2018
3,612
2,631
113
#16
It all boils down to Job 14 and our very years, months and days have been preset by God....no one is guaranteed any particular time under the sun....Solomon said time and chance happen to all.....you can be at the wrong place at the right time and have your life cut short and or have it extended beyond reason if God so chooses.......
So which is it? is the day predetermined or is it cut short by chance?
 

newton3003

Senior Member
Feb 4, 2017
437
42
28
#17
So which is it? is the day predetermined or is it cut short by chance?
Either way, we have no choice in the matter.

We can take every precaution, but one day find we have to leave our house to get food from the supermarket, and we step out onto the street where our car is parked, and we get run over by a passing car. Was it predetermined, or was it by chance? Would we care at that point?

Reminds me of a schtick that the late Rodney Dangerfield had. He says,

“Every morning I wake up with a heaviness over my head. So, one morning I look up and I say ‘Hello, Heaviness.” And Heaviness answers me, saying, ‘Today you’re gonna get it!”

Can we stop from happening what is going to happen? And if we can, perhaps it wasn’t supposed to happen to begin with, either by chance or as pre-determined.
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
7,173
113
#18
I think if we live past 80 that ought to be a reason to celebrate.
Ive been to an 80th birthday party and so many people were there, and the lady had so many memories, she knew so many people. Of course as you get older you do go to more funerals of your peers...but you also get to see the younger generation grow, especially if they are your grandchildren or even great grandchildren.. even if you didnt have any offspring God wants you on earth for a reason maybe Hes got more miracles in store. GOd didnt give sarah and abraham a child until they were well 'over the hill'!

The queen of England is now in her 90s. Psalm 91 goes on to say with my long life I will satisfy him and show Him my salvation.

Some of us may not make it that far but for those that do be thankful God still has a purpose for you. It may be to give, or it may be to receive love and forgiveness or maybe hes teaching you something its important for you to learn before leaving this earth, to pass on to others. One doesnt have to be fully active in the prime of youth to learn from God, actually, many youth just dont have the wisdom and hindsight that age brings. When Isaac was older and his eyes were dim, he still had one thing to do before he died and that was to bless his children. If we are blessed to be a blessing then maybe better start now blessing others!

Perhaps your children are craving a blessing youve withheld from them? Well dont just sit there, get blessing.
 
P

pottersclay

Guest
#20
In retrospect what the pslam is saying is that our days are numbered, 70 ...80....we all have an appointment to keep.

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,

To say that because one lived beyond the allotted yrs were found not righteous imo would be unfounded.