Turn with me this morning, if
you would, to Psalms 90. Psalms 90. We'll read the whole
thing. Verses 1-17, Psalms 90. Before the mountains were brought
forth, or ever thou hast formed the earth and the world, even
from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Thou turnest man
to destruction, and sayest, Return, ye children of men. For a thousand
years in thy sight, or as but yesterday, when it is past, and
as a watch in the night, thou carryest them away as with the
flood, They are as they sleep. In the morning they are like
grass which groweth up. In the morning it flourishes,
it grows up, and in the evening it is cut down and withereth.
For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath we are
troubled. Thou hast set our iniquities
before thee, and our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
For all our days are passed away in thy wrath. We spend our years
as a tale that is told. The days of our years are threescore
years and ten. And if by reason of strength
they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow,
for it is soon cut off and we fly away. Who knoweth the power
of thine anger? Even according to thy fear, so
is thy wrath. So teach us to number our days,
that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Return, O Lord,
how long? and let it repent, be concerning
thy servants. Oh, 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, and the
years wherein we have seen evil. Let thy work appear unto thy
servants, and thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty
of the Lord our God be upon us. and establish thou the work of
our hands upon us. Yea, the work of our hands, establish
thou it." Now, this psalm is not from David. This is a prayer
of Moses. This is what the heading says. This is a prayer of Moses. How
this was handed down and David got it, it doesn't matter. This
is a prayer of Moses. Turn with me to Numbers chapter
12. Numbers chapter 12 and verse
3, just a little insight into our brother Moses, what the Scripture
says about him in verse 3, Numbers 12, Now the man Moses was very
meek above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. We'll go back to our text in
Psalms 90. But Moses, like every saved sinner,
he had his problems. He had his secret sins, his detractions,
yet God used him, we know from Scriptures, God used him greatly
and mightily until Moses' work was done. And then God took him
home. God took him home. And that's the way it is throughout
the whole Scriptures. We've been going through 2 Kings. This king the Lord raises up,
He went to be with his fathers. He was buried with his fathers.
This man rose up and then the Lord took him. So this is the
way it is throughout all scriptures, with all flesh. The Lord took
Moses home. But Moses was a meek man. But there's a phrase in one verse
that caught my eye and stuck with me deeply. And I would pray
that we would all do well to heed our brother's advice. And that is in verse 12. Verse
12. So teach us to number our days
that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Teach us to number
our days. This is what I would like us
to look at and consider this morning And just look at it and
have three points. The first point, teach us. The
second point, apply our hearts to wisdom. And then what we're
to learn. What we're to learn. So in the
first section, the first point in this message, So teach us. This is what Moses is saying.
So teach us. Our brother is asking God to
teach him. And this is one of the points
that I want us to learn and take home by God's enabling grace
in His Spirit. He's asking to learn from God. He's asking to be taught. And it's no wonder, because this
word meek, we spoke of in Numbers chapter
12, it also means gentle. And in other places, it means
teachable. So here's Moses saying, teach me. He's a meek spirit. There's none like Him in the
earth. Teach me. And to have this attitude to
be taught of God is an amazing thing. Whether we're a day in
the Lord, 70 years. It is a beautiful thing
to ask God to teach us. So He says, teach us. Let's look
at this just for a minute. What Moses is asking Jehovah
God is to learn more of His Savior or His Redeemer or the Sovereign. He's wanting to be taught more
of who God is, what He is, where He's at. He's seeking guidance
and desires to be led by the Holy Spirit. Teach us. Teach
me. He's praying to be taught a most
important lesson, which we'll get in a little bit later. But
He's asking God to teach him a very important lesson. He's
asking to be taught true wisdom and right knowledge so that he
may not depart from it. And I like what it says. He says,
teach us. Teach us. But it's not just mere
head knowledge. Look a little further down in
that verse. He says, teach us that we may apply our hearts. We may apply our hearts. More
importantly, He's asking to be taught of heart. Now, you can't
bypass the head from the heart, but you certainly can have head
knowledge and not heart knowledge. You can certainly have head knowledge
and not heart knowledge. And so it is in our text, He
says, apply... I desire you to be taught. I
desire to know more of Christ. I desire to be taught from you,
God, Jehovah. and that I may apply it in my
heart, not just my head. So I believe, as faith, says
James, without works is dead, so too is a head full of doctrine,
or truth, without the heart in like manner. As faith without
works is dead, so too is a mere head knowledge and not a heart
knowledge. To ask to learn of the heart
is to ask aright, it is to ask correctly, and it is an ask in
all seriousness from the pupil to his teacher. Now again, I
can't do that. No man can do that. No matter
how good a teacher or preacher or pastor or elder or deacon
or church member they are, they cannot install these truths in
the heart. The Holy Spirit must take these
words which are spoken from the book in truth, and it will go
through the understanding, but if it doesn't reach the heart,
there will be no application. So what is the end result? He's
asking to be taught. He's asking to be taught from
the mind, but the heart. And he says the last phrase in
this verse, he says, apply our hearts unto
wisdom." Now, we know wisdom in the Scriptures is Christ.
So, the end result is being taught to the whole man unto wisdom. The whole person here is seeking
and learning and teachable with the end result of making or having
wisdom to be the main object in view. Wisdom is Christ. and all things concerning Christ. Wisdom. To be conformed to Christ,
to have the fear of the Lord as its base, which we see in
I think it's Psalms 111, it's the beginning of wisdom. To have
the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Turn with me to Proverbs
3. Proverbs 3. So our beloved Moses is asking to be taught, taught
in the heart, because out of the issues of the heart, they're
the issues of life. The heart, that's the issues
of life. That's what we are concerning
spiritual life. And he's asking to be specifically
taught The wisdom. Wisdom of God. Proverbs 3, verse
13, Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that gets
understanding. Proverbs 4, verse 7, Wisdom is
the principal thing. Therefore, get wisdom, and with
all thy getting, get understanding. And I think it was Psalms 111,
Verse 10 is that passage I was trying to quote, Psalms 111,
verse 10, "...the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."
So God, He's asking, He's asking like a little child, because
Moses was a meek man, that's teachable, that's gentle. So
it doesn't make any difference how young you are in the Lord,
or old you are in the Lord, or if you even know the Lord. Take
this advice, take this verse, teach us, so teach us, and that
I may apply it to my heart. What? About the weather? About history? These are all
good things, they're needful things. About finances? Yes, these are all good things,
these are needful things if we're living in this world. But that's
not the main thing. With all you're getting, whether you know
Christ or not, get wisdom. Get Christ. Ask Him to teach
you in the heart to not be sidetracked by all
these issues. Political or other issues. We
can make doctrinal things issues. But to get right at Christ. To
get right at Christ. He's asking to be taught to be
more like Christ. in all of His character, in all
of our reasonings, in all of our actions towards all men.
Give me wisdom. If any man lacks wisdom, let
him ask of God. Anything concerning the Scriptures.
He's asking to learn in head and heart and in attitude what
it is to be a sinner, to know our depravity. You know your
depravity, you're going to seek wisdom. You're going to realize
you have no wisdom. You cannot save yourself. You
cannot understand the Scriptures by yourself. He's seeking to
understand God's holiness, sovereignty, and majesty. He's asking to learn
the height, the depth, and the width of the Savior's grace and
mercy and love towards us. This is all under the heading
of wisdom. Apply our hearts unto wisdom.
To experience in truth what it means to be freed from sin, Satan,
and finally death's sting. Oh, that we may learn this truly
and only and singularly, because wisdom is the principal thing.
Get wisdom. Now, what are we to learn? How are we going to learn this?
Here we go. And this is not something that
we like to hear, but nevertheless the believer He's asking to be
taught from perhaps the gentlest, most teachable man in the Scriptures. I don't know, but he says he's
more meek than anybody on the earth. This is what we are to
learn as the main issue. So teach us to number our days. Teach us to number our days. Now, I could say, back off and
say, well, it's okay to do this. I'm not even going to go there.
I'm not even going to go there. The Lord give you wisdom on how
do you want to interpret this as correctly. As far as, well,
do I need to do this? Do I need to shut everything
down? I'm not going to go there. I'm just going to positively
look at what He's saying. Teach us to number our days. In Barnes' commentary, he says
this about this phrase, "...the prayer is that God would instruct
us to estimate our days aright. Their number, the rapidity with
which they pass away, the certainty that they must soon come to an
end, they're bearing on our present and future state of mind." If
you know you're going to die next week, I suspect that you
and I would change a few things. I suspect that we would act in
an appropriate manner if we knew, but we don't know that. So that's
not what he's talking about. The number, you're not talking
about an arithmetic, adding together, I got this four score. No, we
don't know. Each and every day we are to
ask this to be applied to our hearts, to teach us to number
our days. to teach us to number our days.
Jameson, Fawcett, and Brown said this, we may know, he's saying
that the prayer is that we may know or understand so as properly
number or appreciate the shortness of our days that we may be wise. We wouldn't be spending so much
time on foolish things. And we do this. We have to live.
We have to pay bills. We've got to do all these things.
But He's talking about, teach me, teach us to number our days. He says it in the New Testament,
we are to redeem the time because the days are evil. And there's
so many more places in Scripture. It's good for me that I've been
afflicted, that I might not go astray. To know as only our Lord can
teach the shortness of our days. It's like vapor, He says. It's
here today, it's gone tomorrow. He says in another place, it's
like the grass. It's here today. It's withered
tomorrow. It's like a shadow. It's here
in the daytime. You can't see a shadow in the
nighttime. To learn from the Master's hand and Spirit that
all flesh is grass, that the Lord reigneth, and that our Redeemer
has fully and completely accomplished redemption. Turn with me to Job
chapter 14. Job chapter 14. Now Job, what
did he have, ten kids the first time, first go around in their
houses and all these different things, and he was fairly well-to-do. Everything is going great. He's
worshiping God. He's given the evening sacrifice,
and then he's in his home one day, and then a porter comes
in and says, the Chaldeans, they came and they got all your cattle.
And then another group came in, and they grabbed this, they grabbed
that. And another guy came and said, well these other guys,
they pillaged this and that. And then while he was yet speaking,
another guy came in and said, there was a storm and all of
your family was eating and being merry. And it just wiped out
the house and killed everybody. And what did Job do? Well, he
understood that day, if not before, I'm sure before, the brevity
of life. And it said, Job worshiped God.
Now, I'm not taking anything away from his grief to lose all
your children Your children-in-law? I don't know that kind of grief.
But I'm saying, in that, we weep like everybody else does, but
not like the world does. In our time of affliction, in
our time of shortness of life, we keep in mind that God is on
the throne. What did He say? The Lord gave,
and the Lord's taken away. We are all just on loan here. Our children, our spouses, our
parents teach us to number our days. I'm not saying you can't
have fun. I'm not saying you can't joke.
I'm not saying any of this stuff. I'm just saying this is what
the meekest man in the earth said. And we're about to look
at what Job experienced. And yes, he sinned. But he saw
God was on the throne. Look with me at Job 14 in the
first six verses. A man that is born of a woman
is a few days and full of trouble. A few days. I go back to Job. When those porters came in, Job
was wealthy. I'm sure he had a lot of hired
hands. He could have said, Well, I'm going to get even with those
guys. We're going to go out and nail them. No, vengeance is the
Lord. He didn't do any of this stuff.
He immediately bowed and worshipped God. And not only that, but I
wouldn't have the strength after somebody came in and told me
all my kids were gone or my one daughter was gone. I wouldn't
have strength to get, after I thought about it, but the initial shock,
I'd be flat, dust and ashes and laid out. But he worshipped God.
And that's why I do not understand. And Bruce and I have talked about
this forever. When trouble hits a family who's
been faithful I hate to see it, all of a sudden they become less
and less faithful. The best place you can be during
a storm of trials and affliction is under the preaching of the
gospel. Whether you're hearing anything
or not, you've got other people of like faith, one heart, one
mind, unified under the gospel of God's grace. Don't forsake
it. Snuggle up. Even if it's somebody
in a pew, I can't hear what he's saying, I'm so grieved. But being
outside, as Henry said, a lone sheep, sheep by themselves are
in danger, they're in trouble, they're weak, or they may not
know, but they're lost sheep. Because sheep are gregarious
animals. Sheep gather together. You know,
and then poor old Joe, he's got his wife. This is your fault. Curse God and die. So he didn't
even have any help there. But look at this. Man is born
of woman in a few days. Oh, well, I've got seventy-seven.
No, no, no, no. Ask Bruce and I. Looking back. Ask Melinda. Looking back. It's like that. It's gone. It's
gone. It's gone, and we can't get it
back Few days and full of trouble he cometh forth like a flower
is cut down and fleeth also as a shadow and continueth not and
thus thou open thine eyes upon such a one and bringest me into
judgment with thee and Who can bring a clean thing out of an
unclean? Not one. Seeing his days are determined,
the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed
his bounds that he cannot pass. Turn from him that he may rest
till he shall accomplish as a hireling his day. Man is full of trouble. He's a few days. Back to our
text. So teach us. Teach us specifically. I want to be taught. And I want
to be taught correctly. I want to be taught in the heart.
And I want to be taught wisdom. Because that's the principal
thing. He's the principal thing. He is that, you know, again,
we want the best for our children and the most success for our
children. But if that success, and I'm speaking out of passion,
I'm speaking out of scriptural reasoning, If that success means
it's going to take them to where there's no gospel, and nowhere,
and, oh, this, you know, it may be humanly, when you get
together at a party, and you get together at a family reunion,
or these high school reunions, it's bragging rights, but then
when you leave, if you're a believer, you're thinking, that is so empty.
Well, here's my friend, 20, 30 years old working at Burger King,
but the Lord saved him. There's no comparison. I don't
think. I don't think at all. So let
us then learn the wisdom. And there's joy of salvation,
full and free, true and right. Apply our hearts unto wisdom,
Christ Himself. Teach us, in the heart, the happiness
of believing upon Christ Jesus the Lord. And so, you know, we're
not gloom and doom, you know, hellfire and brimstone. There's
joy in the Lord. There is no better joy that I
can ever express. And you who know Christ, understand. Yeah, we don't have this. Yeah,
we don't have that. We don't have a multiple this
or that, you know, having a hard time making ends meet. But we
know the Lord. What does that account for? Well,
scripturally, everything. Everything. We've been doing
a lot of reading. Most brethren are of the poor
sort. Not many mighty, not many noble. That's our lot. That's usually
the lot of those who know the gospel. Now, not always. So there
is happiness. May we be taught, teach us the
sweetness of true biblical freedom in Christ. Free from the power
of sin. Free from the penalties and punishment
of the law. Free to worship our God in spirit
and truth. We may be like Bunyan, may be
in prison, but not our spirit. Not our spirit. Free to serve
Him now and in our eternal future. free to enjoy life's sojourn
while we're here. We have things He's given us
to enjoy. We don't enjoy those above and
beyond. That's why the Scriptures can say if a person loves his
mother, father, brother more than me, he's not fit to be my
disciple. What is he talking about? You don't love these people?
No, you love them. But you have sought wisdom with
the heart. And that's what you want. That's
the main thing. As a matter of fact, people who don't know the
Gospel don't know how to love. They know how to lust. They know
how to make babies. They know how to drink in access,
smoke in access. We were, I don't know what little
bitty town we were in, Southwest Missouri the other day. We drove
by, it was Cassville, wasn't a little bitty old town. And
it had a municipal marijuana place going in business. I didn't even know they knew
how to spell it. So that we know how to do all these lustful things.
Because the lust of the eyes is never full. But oh, to enjoy
life's sojourn with the brethren, with the church of the living
God. That's why I keep saying this is the family. This is a
family. So we are free to gather together. Teach us and forget about ourselves
and looking to Christ and each other for help, assistance and
sweet fellowship. All with a mind's eye and a heart
devoted to heaven, knowing that He will fetch us forth from this
vile and worthless world." And He's going to do it, some of
us, sooner than later. Yes, we have. A time of regret. I've regretted doing a lot of
stuff. Sure we do. Heartaches and times of trouble. Absolutely.
That's a part of living. Just because we're chosen, God
does not mean we're chosen in the furnace of affliction. We
looked at that last week or the week before. But, so teach us to number our days
that we may apply our hearts It's a circle. Teach us that
we may pray to you more, we may love you more, we may walk with
you more. And people are going to make
fun of you. I mean, at a certain age, when you get
retired, you start driving 20 miles an hour and at 50 miles
an hour, you don't care. But when you're working in the
world and you're involved in everything, stuff means stuff
to you. And when you make a stand for
the gospel, whom your soul loves because He loved us, don't be
surprised you get mocked. That's just what Matt read in
Lamentations. You're going to get mocked. I
know we want to be cool. I know we want to be ourselves
and be the jokester and this and that. Teach us to number our days that
we may apply our hearts to wisdom. If we're taught If we can but
learn from the heart to number our days here, perhaps we won't
be so caught up in the things of this world and its affairs
and its entrapments. And we'll learn what it truly
means to let the potsherd strive with each other. Let us serve
and adore and worship our tender and kind Savior while we can,
while we have the time. We are going to try to glorify
our Lord and King and we will by His good grace apply these
things to the heart unto His unerring wisdom. Being fully
persuaded, all the believers throughout all time, Abraham,
he didn't see, he didn't see, but he saw Christ and rejoiced.
Fully persuaded that our God is on the throne His purpose,
whether for good or for evil, they say, it shall be done and
we are going to number our days here. Not putting any confidence
in the flesh, but longing to finally be with our Lord evermore. So, and if you think this message
was kind of rough, you need to listen to a message by Henry
Mahan that prompted this whole thing. It is rough, but it was
so good. It was so good. Teach us to number
our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. May God bless and add his blessing
to the reading of the word. Matt, would you close please?