Among the dead no one proclaims your name. Who praises you from the grave? – Psalm 6:5

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 7, 2019): Psalm 6

Charles Spurgeon wrote that “churchyards are silent places; the vaults of the sepulcher echo not with songs. Damp earth covers dumb mouths.” There are very few “churchyards” left that double as graveyards for the dead parishioners. For a short time, my grandparents were the caretakers of a cemetery, and they lived right on the property. I have to admit that when I visited them there, I loved to walk among the gravestones and imagine the stories of the lives of those who were buried there. I celebrated with those who had lived long lives and mourned for the ones who died young. And I remember one gravestone that contained a teddy bear, a favorite toy of a child who had died much too early.

The one thing that all of these gravestones represented was a life that was finished. There were no more pages to be written, no more statements to be made, and no more songs to be sung. Spurgeon was right. In the cemetery, damp earth covers unspeaking mouths.

The Tanakh’s, or Hebrew Bible’s, message on what happens to us after death is often unclear. Job seemed to have a clear understanding of all that was to come.

I know that my redeemer lives,
    and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
    yet in my flesh I will see God;
I myself will see him
    with my own eyes—I, and not another.
    How my heart yearns within me (Job 19:25-27)!

But in other places, the message is not all that clear. The afterlife is surrounded by shadows and questions. But the central message of this passage should not be viewed as espousing a doctrine about what happens to us after death. It is a clear statement that the message that we have to speak about God on this earth has to be expressed while we are still alive. Even with all of his problems, the Psalmist is still alive, and always willing to praise his God. But he is only able to do so as long as God continues to give him breath.

And we are only able to praise God as long as God gives us breath. So as long as we breathe, it is his praise that should be on our lips.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 7

Personal Note: Happy Birthday to my Son, Craig. Hope you are having a great day!