Let's take our Bibles once again.
Turn with me to the book of Psalms chapter 90. Psalm 90. Psalms chapter 90. The title right above, verse 1, says a prayer of Moses. The man of God. Psalm 90 is considered to be
the oldest of the Psalms. Pinned, obviously, by Moses. But listen to what was said concerning
Moses. The man of God. What a wording, what a saying,
what a truth. The man of God. A man known of
God, loved of God, called of God, taught of God. A picture of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the one chosen by God to deliver God's people out of Egypt The picture of Christ, who delivers
his people out of the bondage of sin. A man, the scripture
says, that spoke face to face with God. A man that spoke face
to face with God. A God who is spirit, oh, but
the image of the invisible God. The Lord Jesus Christ who spoke to Moses, but is He
not a picture again of the Lord Jesus Christ who said in the
book of Proverbs to be wisdom Himself who was ever before the
Father? Before the worlds were made,
before the mountains were formed, Before there was anything, I
was with him. That's what the Lord said. This
one brought up with him. And Moses was moved by the Spirit
of God to pen this song, a psalm, a song. And he began this psalm by saying, Jehovah. Thou has been our dwelling
place in all generations. Jehovah. Jehovah. Thou has been our habitation,
our refuge. You know, God's people are born
into this world as we considered just a moment ago, sinners. But when the scripture says in
Ephesians chapter 1 that we were chosen in Him before the foundation
of the world. In who? In the Lord Jesus Christ
who is the image, the express image of the Father. The Lord Jesus Christ, in whom
dwelleth the fullness of the Godhead, bodily. Being chosen in Him, being in Him, Moses can say,
Lord, You have been our dwelling place
in all generations. Now, I love this thought. I believe
this, that God's people have always dwelt in Him. You said, well, what about when
they fell in Adam? God's people have always been
in Christ. How about when they sinned? Lord, thou has been our dwelling
place in all generations. Now don't ask me to explain that
to you, but I'm gonna proclaim it because it's so. You've always been our habitation,
our refuge. We've always been in you. Before we believed, the Father put us in the hiding
place himself. and he's always been our surety,
he's always been our representative, always been our husband. I betrothed
you unto me everlastingly. Let me ask you this, how long
have God's people been secure? Chosen in him, Lord. Verse two, before the mountains
were brought forth, or ever thou has formed the earth, and the
world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Before there was any stable part,
we know of, of creation, Lord, there was you. In the beginning, God. The I am. The true and living
God, the only God, the unchangeable God, sovereign, sovereign in
creation, sovereign in providence, sovereign in salvation and Lord,
thou has been our dwelling place in all generations. Verse three,
thou turnest man to destruction and sayest, return. You children of men. Lord, you turn men or cause them
to return to dust. We're born from dust, we were
made. That's how Adam was made. God made Adam from the dust of
the earth. Let me just read something to
you, Job 34, 15. Job 34, 15, what are we going
back to as far as this body is concerned? Well, here it is right
here, Job 34. Verse 15, all flesh shall perish
together and man shall turn or return again to dust. That's what's going to happen.
That's what Moses said. Thou turnest man, in general,
all men, to destruction. We're going to die. That's what
he said. You cause, because of sin, for
all men to go back to that from which they came, and you determine
the time. that they're going to turn, or
return. Ecclesiastes 3, 1 and 2, to everything
there's a season, time to every purpose under the heaven, time
to be born, time to die. Everything's according
to God's will, God's timing, God's decree. Men pass away,
but Lord, you've been our our dwelling place in all generations,
always will be. Ecclesiastes 12, seven, then
shall the dust return to the earth as it was in the spirit,
shall return unto God who gave it. Moses said in verse four, for
a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday, when it
is passed, and as a watch in the night. Lord, you're eternal. Time has no bearing on God as
to His existence. God is the I am. All is with Him now. A thousand years in your sight
is but as yesterday when it's passed. A thousand years as it's
yesterday. Paul and Larry came to see us.
He got here Friday afternoon. From Friday afternoon to right
now, just like that. Just a blip. I just remembered.
A thousand years to the Lord. Just as yesterday. As I watched just a portion in
the night. A thousand years. It just seemed
so long to man. A thousand years. A thousand
years. A thousand years, it just seems
like a day to the Lord. Just a moment. 2 Peter 3, 8,
But beloved, be not ignorant of one thing, that one day is
with the Lord as a thousand years, a thousand years is one day.
To Him, nothing more than just a watch, just a portion of the
night. Verse 5, Thou carriest them away
as with a flood. They are asleep in the morning,
they're like grass which groweth up. Or generations and generations
and generations come and you just carry them away like a tsunami. Tsunami comes back and wipes
away everything, just obliterates it, just takes it out, All men, they're just like asleep. In the morning they're like grass,
grows up like dreams that seem to have some sustenance to it
there while I'm dreaming it. Then in the morning I wake up
and realize it's gone. It's just a dream. Verse 6, in
the morning. It flourisheth, groweth up in
the evening, cut down and withereth. Youth! It seems like it just appeared
to have some promise just a while. I'm just thinking here for just
a second. Something happened, I think I
mentioned this to you one time before. I told my dad one time,
I remembered a house that we lived in, in Alexandria, Louisiana. I remembered hearing in my mind,
I can remember hearing a creaking noise up, and my dad was sitting,
from where I was standing, my dad was sitting right here, and
there was a stairway that went up. And I heard something, and I
looked, and I remember him telling me. Oh, he said, I think that
was just, you know, an elf or something, you know. I told my dad that. He said,
you can't remember that. I said, well, I think I do. I remember where you were sitting,
and I remember the stairway. I remember you telling me what
you told me. He said, you were only just, you know, 18 months
old, something like that. I said, well, OK. Okay. I was just sitting, you know,
on the riverfront in Natchitoches, Louisiana in college. I was just
sitting there. I was just, you know. Glenda
and I just got married. It just, you know. In the morning
it flourished, it grows up. In the evening it's cut down
and withered. Verse 7, we're all consumed by
thine anger, by the wrath, we're troubled. Now here we are, we're
all like this. Believers, unbelievers, we're
consumed. That is, we come to an end. What
does that mean? That means we're all going to
die. For thy wrath, the fury of your power, not that God's
people are under the wrath of God. God's people have never
been under the wrath of God. God doesn't deal with his own
in wrath. Why? He dealt with his son in
wrath. He forsook his son. My God, my
God, why has thou forsaken me that he would not forsake his
own? God's just. He's just. We're all going to
die. The Lord has put away our debt. in the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ. But listen, we're going to be
consumed, meaning that we're going to die just like all men
die. Believers die just like unbelievers
die. We're all going to die. But Lord,
verse 8, Thou hast set our iniquities before Thee. Our secret sins
in the light of thy countenance. Let me tell you the iniquities
that God knows of his people. All men, all men, but his people,
those that he set before him are secret sins in the light
of thy countenance. Let me tell you the ones he knows.
All of them, all of them. There's some things you don't
know about me. I grew up with her. There's some
things she don't know about me. There's some things that I've
done, thought, and said that she don't know. That's my sister.
She don't know. But God does. God does. You set our iniquities before
you in the person of your blessed Savior. All of them. The ones that I forgot. The ones
I don't want to remember. Those secret sins in the light
of thy countenance. He was made all. The completeness. You set them all before you.
Those things that we would desire to conceal. I hope nobody ever,
I hope you never find out some stuff about me. I do, I really
do. You set them before You in the
person of Your precious Son, Your Lamb. You dealt with them.
You dealt with them. And Lord, You put them away. I don't owe. I don't owe anymore.
I don't owe. Verse 9. All our days are past. They're turned away in Thy wrath. We spend our years as a tale
that is told. You've turned them away from
us. Our days that we have on this earth shall fail to continue
with us. Our lives are quickly turned
back and we're going to leave. We spend our days as no longer
than a thought or just a meditation, just a tale that's told. It's
life but a vapor. It's life's a vapor. I'm telling you now, it wasn't
just a little bit of gold. I, you know, turned 10. I'm old. How did I get here? Didn't take long, I'll tell you
that. I got here by the grace of God and now here I am. Verse 10, the days of our years
are threescore years and 10. That's just 70. I'm older than
that. And if by reason of strength, they be fourscore years, 80,
yet is their strength labor and sorrow, for it's soon cut off. What does that mean, they're
soon cut off? It means we ain't gonna be here long, that's what
it means. And we fly away. The spirit of
God has set forth that the average time for a man on this earth,
by God's decree, by God, 70 years old, but if he gives us 80, and
our bodies happen to appear to have a little bit more vigor
and vim and strength, We're just filled with weariness and affliction,
filled with trouble and grief. And we're going to die. We're
going to die. I told you about me reading that,
what this man that had his 102nd birthday, asked him, what do
you want for your birthday? He said, I want to die. You just
get tired. Verse 11, who knoweth the power
of thine anger? Even according to thy fear, so
is thy wrath. You know, we see something in
the Scriptures concerning the power of God's anger against
sin. I think about reading over in
Revelation when we're all going to stand before God and all the
books are going to be opened. And those that are not found written
in the book of life, Christ himself, they're going to be judged out
of the books of their works, of what they had done. Okay,
I can read that. I read it. And those not found
written in the book of life, here's what scripture says, by
them hand and foot, and cast them out. How do you know? I don't know. I don't know anything. I don't
know anything about God's wrath. I read that. I understand that. I understand the words of it,
but I don't know any. Who knoweth the power of thine
anger? Who knoweth? When God sent the flood, when
God rained fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, when those that came
out of Egypt died in the wilderness, but especially at the cross.
Christ being made sin, being made what we are, and God forsook
Him. Who knoweth? Who can tell? Who can perceive the power of
an anger? Who knows that? Who knoweth the
power of thine anger, even according to thy fear? So is thy wrath. Just like no mere man can contemplate
the fierceness of God's anger. No one knows or considers the
reverence that's due him, even so to thy fear. Who knows the
power of your anger? Who knows according to thy fear? Who knows the reverence that's
due to you? I don't realize how reverent
I need to be. I want to be. I want to be. I want to be. I'm just here for
a little while. I want to be. I want to be respectful. I do.
I don't know how to reference Him. I'm telling you, I'm an
ignorant person. Even according to thy fear, so
is thy wrath. Who imagines what's going to
come to those who are found without Christ, without a substitute?
So Lord, verse 12, teach us to number our days. that we may
apply our hearts unto wisdom. Instruct us to weigh the days
that we're given here. Let me tell you what I would
desire. And I mean this, I am sincere. I want to be obedient. I want to consider that this might be my last day. Do you know, I would assume that
most people that die really didn't think that that was going to
be their last day. Even those that maybe die tragically
in an accident, I'm sure that they didn't wake up that day
thinking, well today's, but if this was my last day, What would
be my attitude today? What would really matter to me
today? If I knew this is going to be
my last day, this is it. You know, I would pretty well
assume that probably things of this life probably wouldn't have
the luster. If I knew today's it, this is
going to be it. Teach us to count or to consider
that this might be our last day and keep me from being taken
up with the things of this world. How would things be? I would
hope that I'd want to get things right with people that I'd been
careless about. Teach us to number our days that
we may apply our hearts unto wisdom, unto Christ, who is the
wisdom of God. Let the realization of Christ's
glory and honor and praise come upon me. Let me consider that. If this is the last message that
I'm going to preach, this is going to be it right here. I would say, okay, well, refer
first back to what I just said in the first message. And consider
this, you're getting ready to meet God. You're going to meet
God. I'm going to meet God. That we
may apply our hearts unto wisdom, seeking His will. I just don't
have time today. I'm dying today. I don't have
time for foolishness. Let me get serious. Lord, help
me to be serious. Let us reckon our days as to
be too uncertain to try to see what we can do to just waste
this time. Verse 13, 14, return, O Lord,
how long? Let it repent thee concerning
thy servants. O, satisfy us early with thy
mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all of our days. Return,
O Lord. Turn back to me, O Lord, the
joy of your salvation. Lord, help me because I don't
have the ability to rejoice as I would want to. Lord, help me
here. Help me by your Spirit. Restore. How long? Let it repent thee concerning
thy servants. O, satisfy us. early, early with
thy mercy. That word early right there,
here's what it means. After a night of distress, Lord,
when I consider this life that's been like a vapor, like a night
of distress, like a night of trials and troubles, Lord, satisfy
us with your mercy. Lord, cause me to remember one
more time that you've been merciful, that we may rejoice and be glad
all our days. Draw us to yourself. Cause us
to walk as a believer. Let me exhibit what I truly desire
in my heart, to walk with you. I want to agree with you and
walk with you. Moses here cries, come back,
Lord, how long shall it be? Lord, don't forsake me. David
says, take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Verse 15, make us glad
according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us and the
years wherein we have seen evil. Make us glad, make us glad. Cause us to rejoice. Make us
glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us. I needed
to be afflicted. It's good, David, to say that
I've been afflicted. I needed some chastisement. I needed to be chastened. I needed
to be afflicted. I needed the Lord to teach me
what I am, continually teach me, bring me back. Make us glad
according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us in the
years. wherein we've seen evil. Let the occasions of our joy
be in mercy according to the days of our affliction, which
we truly deserve. We've been shown your kindness,
your compassion, our need of you, Lord, our Savior and our
Lord. Make us glad. Make me glad. Make me to rejoice again. Make
me to remember. God's been merciful to me. And
it's sad that I can't remember that like I want to. Verse 16,
let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto
thy children. Let thy work. Show me, not my
work, because Lord, without you I can do nothing, but yours,
the glorious work of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let
thy work. appear unto thy servants and
thy glory. Moses said, show me your glory. What'd he say? I will have mercy
on whom I'll have mercy. I'll have compassion on whom
I'll have compassion. Lord, let thy work appear unto
thy servants. Lord, I need to be taught again. I need to be reminded and shown
again, Lord, what you've done to me. Verse 17, let the beauty
of the Lord our God be upon us. Let the beauty, the favor, the
mercy, compassion, righteousness of the Lord our God be upon us. Let the pleasantness of the Lord
our God your favor. and establish, or render sure
thou the work of our hands. What work? That which He's established,
that work of faith, labor of love, patience of hope in the
Lord Jesus Christ. But always remember, that was
the work of God. Faithful as He calleth you, will
also do it, believing on Christ. What must
I do to work the work of God? That's what one asked the Lord
one day. What must I do to work the work of God? He said, this
is the work of God. This is the work that God has
wrought in you. This is the work of God that
you believe on Him whom God has sent. According to your word, we're
only gonna be here for just a little while. Time is passing very quickly. Lord, teach us to number, count,
account, account. Teach us to number our days.
Again, not our years, months, weeks, days. Teach us to number
our days that we may apply our hearts unto Christ, unto wisdom. for His glory and our good. Amen.