As we have a little time to meditate on this psalm this evening, I want to look at this prayer of Moses, and particularly then dwelling on the last two verses, 16 and 17. But I do briefly want to go over the earlier verses as well. It's so instructive.

Moses was in the wilderness. And you say, well, there's so much death. There's so much negative. And yet, Moses turns it round. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. They had this, as it were, hanging over them. The older ones would not enter the promised land. And yet, Moses doesn't give up. He says that we can apply our hearts unto wisdom, and to teach us to number our days, to recognize that they are limited, and therefore, while we have those days, to use our time wisely in the fear of the Lord, and to prepare for eternity, to prepare for our end.

And then he says in verse 13, return, O Lord, how long God was, as it were, we read earlier that all thy, for we are consumed by thine anger and by thy wrath are we troubled. And yet Moses goes back to that God, that same God that, as it were, was angry against sin. Yet Moses perceives that God is merciful and he goes back, return O Lord. how long, and let it repent thee concerning thy servants. O, satisfy us early with thy mercy.

God is angry against sin, and yet God is a God of mercy. We are to go back to God, and when we have these difficult things, we are to go back and recognize that God is able to bless us in the midst of these difficulties. O, satisfy us early with thy mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us. They'd had many years of affliction, but now Moses says, all those years of affliction, give us an equal amount of joy. The Lord is able to turn, you see, mourning into joy, and able to bless his people, the years wherein we have seen evil.

And then coming particularly to these last two verses, Moses' petition is this, let thy work appear unto thy servants. Moses wants to see God's work in the lives of Israel, in the lives of his people, his work in redemption, his work in reversing the awful effects of sin. He wants a people to be formed for God's praise. Let thy work appear. This is Moses' concern.

And as we come at the beginning of 2026, what is it as our desire as a church? Let thy work appear unto thy servants. Thy work, not our work, his work in us. It is God that worketh in you to will and to do of his good pleasure. It's God that must go first and then we follow. But out of what he has done for us first, let thy work appear unto thy servants and thy glory unto their children.

How is it that we're going to have a generation to follow on and to know the Lord and to call the Redeemer blessed? How is it the young people going to see the glory of Christ. Moses prays that the next generation might see that glory, that their eyes may be opened to see the glory of God. We've sung in our opening hymn, in him the world no glory sees, no beauty sees. But Moses says, Lord open their eyes, let thy work appear unto thy servants and thy glory unto their children. there'd be a generation following on to see the glory of God not just a people that come and have a round of worship but don't see any glory in it just say well why do we come to the house of God well we've always come to the house of God that's what our parents did that's why we do it no and thy glory unto their children you see God is to be worshipped If you just come to the house of God because it's our duty, as it were, without any joy, then there's no worship taking place.

But you see thy glory unto their children. And then this is the last verse, very, very precious. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. He prays first in this last verse for the beauty of the Lord.

What is the beauty of the Lord? In him the world no beauty see, but the Lord's people see a beauty in Christ and they desire that that beauty might be manifest in themselves. You see, to be conformed to the image of his Son. So Moses is praying what God is in himself. might rest upon them. That they might have that beauty. And what is that? His gracious favour.

You see, it talks earlier about God's wrath and anger against sin. And yet Moses comes back to the same God and prays that he may deal favourably with his people. Because he'd mentioned, you see, satisfy us early with thy mercy. and as we receive God's mercy therefore we can know something of beauty being upon us.

His gracious favour, instead of his anger to be hid in Christ and to know his favour, his loving kindness, his condescending mercy upon us and his gentle approval towards sinners. As he, like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that are his. As they seek to live to God's glory, he gently encourages in them.

And this you see comes before, in verse 17, comes before the work. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish thou the work of our hands. You see, Moses wants to get it in the right order. You see, we need to have that love of Christ shed aboard in our hearts. And from that, then the work is blessed.

The greatest blessing is not what we do for God. but God's gracious presence and blessing upon his people. And that makes God's people what they are. Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. We don't want to be so busy working that we don't take notice of the beauty, and yet, when there is that beauty, then there is that work that flows from that beauty.

So what is it when the beauty of the Lord our God is upon us? How might we know it? Well, sin becomes bitter. As the beauty of the Lord is precious to us, sin becomes bitter. Sin becomes our greatest enemy. You see, it's a great enemy, and we spoke of it the other day on Sunday, how that this great work of gospel promise was, I will put enmity between thee and the woman. That's Satan and the woman and her seed. It is God's work, you see, to put enmity and separation between Satan and us. And so when the beauty of the Lord is upon us, sin will become bitter.

But obedience will become sweet. To walk, to run in the ways of his commandments, that will be sweet. What did Jesus say? I delight to do thy will, O my God, and thy law is within my heart. It was Christ's delight to come to this earth. He didn't say, well, if I must, I suppose I have to. No, he didn't. He came willingly in obedience. And that obedience was sweet. He delighted in it.

Another aspect of when the beauty of the Lord is upon us is duty becomes a privilege. See, if you are told to do something, you say, oh, this is difficult and that's difficult, and the whole thing's a drudgery. But really, duty To serve the Lord is a great, great privilege. And he puts a completely different light on it, doesn't it? If we recognize that it's a privilege to speak in his name, it's a privilege to take the Sunday school, a privilege to take the Bible study, a privilege to do any duty to do with the house of God, a privilege to be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, a privilege to play the organ, a privilege to do the accounts, all the different aspects of the church that need to be done, and a privilege to work on the market stall, a privilege to send out the Bibles. A duty becomes a privilege. To be in the King's service, to recognise who we're serving.

Let the beauty the Lord our God be upon us. Not a drudgery, not just so much work and not our heart with it. Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. And you see, when the beauty of the Lord is upon us, humility becomes natural. Pride becomes foreign. the beauty of the Lord is upon us because we're taken up with him. We're not taken up with ourselves, we're taken up with him.

Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us and establish thou the work of our hands. So as Moses prays for that beauty to be seen in me as a little hymn, let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me That's what Moses is praying for, that beauty of Christ. His favour, his hatred of sin, his obedience becoming sweet, his duty becoming a privilege, and that humility that is so Christ-like.

But then we're to work, you see. Establish thou the work of our hands. There's a recognition here that unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it. Oh, we may be very busy, very busy doing lots of things, but without the Lord's blessing on that, it'll all come to nothing. It'll all be so much wood, hay, and stubble, which ultimately will be burnt up. But if God is with us, if God is guiding us, if this is done to the glory of God, if our labour is unto him, if our labour is in true love to him, if we do it truly unto the Lord for his glory, then Moses recognises that that work will stand, that work will be established. Yea, the work of our hands, establish thou it. So Moses is praying that the Lord would do these things. He prayed this in his time with Israel, many years before Christ came. But really Christ is the fulfillment of Moses' prayer.

teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Christ setting his face toward Jerusalem. I have a baptism to be baptized with and how am I straightened? He had that before him and yet he applied his heart unto wisdom, didn't he? He used that time so wisely. He had a great work to be accomplished and he wasn't going to be deterred from it.

Moses prays, O satisfy us early with thy mercy. Christ came. It's because of him that there is mercy. He is the mercy that satisfies early, that saves us before we go down quick into the pit. He satisfies us early with his mercy. And then Moses prays, let thy work appear unto thy servant. Christ was that work of God. Christ was doing that great work of redemption, that great work that was so precious, was centred in Christ.

And closing petition, let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. The beauty of God was upon Christ without measure. He was the altogether lovely, the chiefest among 10,000, And his work has been eternally established. His work was not in vain. We looked at earlier in Isaiah 49 where it says, I've labored in vain. I've spent my strength for naught. That's what Christ felt like when he came unto his own and his own received him not. But establish thou the work of our hands, yea, the work of our hands establish thou it. Christ's work was established. His labor was not in vain. He was, the beauty of God was upon him. And his work will eternally stand. And throughout a never-ending eternity, there will be that song to the redeemed, unto him that loved us and washed us in his blood. Worthy is the lamb so as we come at the beginning of this year we come in prayer what do we what do we pray for we pray firstly then that that beauty of god may be upon us each that we may be clothed with the garments of salvation, that we might be cleansed and washed, that sin may become bitter, that obedience may become sweet, that duty may become a privilege, that humility may become natural.

Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. And then establish thou the work of our hands, the work that we're involved in, the many ministries God is able to establish them and cause them to be an eternal blessing. Let thy work appear unto thy servants and thy glory unto their children.

Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. Establish thou the work of our hands, yea, the work of our hands establish thou it. May the Lord bless that meditation.