Living With Wisdom and Perspective - Psalm 90

Psalm 90

Copyright December 29, 2024, by Rev. Bruce Goettsche

As the page turns this week on another year, we face the reality that on one hand, it feels like one day is no different than the other. On the other hand, changing the calendar gives us a chance to mark the passage of time in our lives. And as we will see this morning, that is a good thing. It can keep us grounded and moving in the right direction.

As I have been packing up and sorting through things, it has been fun looking through photographs and recounting times we have shared over the previous four decades. Looking through pictures is a great deal like turning the calendar, it gives you perspective on how quickly life changes. I looked at some pictures with me and my parents. I thought of them as “mature” at the time of the pictures, but I realize they were a mere 46 years old at the time. My dad seemed so old when he died. Now, I am just a few years shy of that same age. Perspective!

This morning, we will do a “1-off” sermon from Psalm 90 that is meant to give us perspective for living our lives. Psalm 90 is attributed to Moses. It was written while the Israelites wandering in the desert. I wonder what that was like. The only marker of time they had was the weekly Sabbath. Otherwise, they would have no idea what day it was or how long they had been traveling.

If you remember the story of the Israelites in the wilderness, then you remember that it seemed like the people were always wandering away and doing what they were told not to do. We can shake our heads at their obstinacy, but to do so is to condemn ourselves, for we do the same thing.

Dr. Boice suggests that these words were written around the events in Numbers 20. Three things happened around this time. 1) Miriam, the sister of Moses, died. 2) Moses sinned by striking the rock in the wilderness, claiming he would (magically) bring water from the Rock even though God told him to speak to the rock. This sin (and rebellious act of ignoring God’s clear commands) kept Moses from entering the Promised Land. 3) the death of Aaron, Moses’ brother and companion throughout the Exodus.

If this is the setting, then Moses has had two significant losses: his brother and his sister. He has also failed in his leadership role, which meant after 38 years of wandering in the desert. He would not be able to finish the job and see the destination of the Israelites. His disappointment would have been great.

David reflected on these things and the Psalm begins like this,

Lord, you have been our dwelling place

throughout all generations.

2Before the mountains were born

or you brought forth the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

The Faithfulness of God

These words are the anchor for all of life. God’s faithfulness is our source of strength and stability. God will protect and provide for those who rest in Him. The Israelites had seen this over and over. Every day, they collected manna to eat. They had water to drink even when they were in the desert. We read that even though they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, their shoes never wore out! God provided for His people.

I hope you have seen this in your life. As you work to follow Him, I hope you can see that God has provided for you. It may have been a much-needed job, a check in the mail, a friend who shared the right word at the right time, the strength to get through a crisis, or maybe a peace swept over you. God provides for us! Jesus reminded us that if we first seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (the life He wants us to live), the other things will fall into place.

Sin and its Consequences

Moses continues,

7We are consumed by your anger

and terrified by your indignation.

8You have set our iniquities before you,

our secret sins in the light of your presence.

9All our days pass away under your wrath;

we finish our years with a moan.

Aaron and Miriam were not perfect people (nor was Moses . . . or any of us for that matter!). They had their sinful moments and now it was time for them to die. The Israelites had seen God wipe out thousands because they did not believe in and trust Him. Moses remarked on the fact that God takes sin seriously. He considers it a capital offense!

Some people seem surprised that God would view disobedience as treason. We tend to think, “Come on, God! Why do you have to be so legalistic?” We want God to be according to “our image” rather than vice versa. We must draw our image of God not from our feelings and imagination but from God’s revelation of Himself to us in His Word.

Moses describes an eternal and self-sufficient God with a character and a standard that defines right and wrong. He is just and will judge those who spurn His commands. Moses says God is timeless, while man is bound by time. God sees all things and knows all things, while we see and know very little. When we oppose Him, we face His wrath rather than His mercy.

We presume upon God’s grace. Deep down, we believe He loves us too much to judge us for our sins. What we don’t see is the effect sin has on our lives. Our sin is a barrier between us and the Almighty. Practically, our sin robs us of the enjoyment of living. Yes, God, in His grace, forgives us when we repent, but the consequence of those sins on our enjoyment of living remains.

Where is our peace? It is surrendered to our desire to live our own way. Where is our joy? It is surrendered to the temporary pleasures that we pursue so single-mindedly. Where is our hope? It is consumed by the frustration that comes from the bad choices that we make in life.

Moses observed that our lives seem to be swept away and then we die in the misery we have created by our own rebellion against our holy God.

God doesn’t need us—we desperately need Him—but He doesn’t need us to advance His Kingdom. He allows us to be part of building His Kingdom not out of necessity but out of love. Sin is an offense to our holy God, and He will not stand by and do nothing.

Life is Short (10)

Go back to verse 7,

3You turn men back to dust,

saying, “Return to dust, O sons of men.”

4For a thousand years in your sight

are like a day that has just gone by,

or like a watch in the night.

5You sweep men away in the sleep of death;

they are like the new grass of the morning—

6though in the morning it springs up new,

by evening it is dry and withered.

There is something about death that sobers us. When you lose people you love, you realize how fragile life is and how quickly things can change. In Numbers 20, Moses had lost his siblings. They had shared leadership of this massive group of people with him, so Moses had to feel very much alone. He felt the swift passage of time.

One of our “go-to” funeral texts is Ecclesiastes 7:2, which says it is better to go to a funeral than to a party. When you go to a party, you have a good time. You don’t think about anything but enjoying yourself. However, when you go to a funeral, you will find yourself asking questions about life and eternity. These are important questions to ask if we are going to live rightly and make the most of our days.

Moses continues,

The length of our days is seventy years—

or eighty, if we have the strength;

yet their span is but trouble and sorrow,

for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

Who knows the power of your anger?

For your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.

12Teach us to number our days aright,

that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (10-12)

In comparison to eternity, 70-80 years is a mere flicker of an eyelid. But those years aren’t easy. Sometimes, we will face the consequences of our sin. And if we continue in that sin, we will end up on the wrong side of the Almighty.

Have you had the experience of seeing a friend you haven’t seen for a few years? Often they will introduce you to their children that you remember as toddlers, and now those same kids are headed to college bigger than you are. And speaking of school classmates, have you noticed that so many of those people look like old people? Life goes by much too quickly.

Moses asked God to teach us to number our days. This is not an actuary computation. It is not a matter of trying to figure out how much longer we are going to live. It is a matter of realizing our lives are short and we need to make sure we don’t waste these lives because a measure of our eternal life in Christ is anchored to what we did for these few years we were here.

The Wise Course Is to Find Our Satisfaction in Him (13-17)

13 O Lord, come back to us!

How long will you delay?

Take pity on your servants!

14 Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love,

so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.

15 Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery!

Replace the evil years with good.

16 Let us, your servants, see you work again;

let our children see your glory.

17 And may the Lord our God show us his approval

and make our efforts successful.

Yes, make our efforts successful!

Moses asks several things. He asks that we find our satisfaction in Him. In other words, he asks that we realize that the only life truly worth living is the one lived as God has directed us to live. God knows how we work best, and His wisdom is far superior to our plans. This is a good prayer for each of us: “Lord, satisfy us with your unfailing love.”

Moses asked God to “give us gladness.” Rather than seeking joy and satisfaction in worldly things, Moses knew our satisfaction is most fully found in Him. St. Augustine was correct, he said,

“You made us for yourself, and our hearts find no peace until they find rest in you.”

Of course, we can find some moments of joy apart from Christ. We can find a little satisfaction in the cute antics of a child, a compliment from someone we care about, an award given, a gift received, a victory in a competition, or a moment of intimacy, but true and lasting satisfaction comes from walking with the Lord. These are the joys that will remain throughout eternity.

Moses also asked that God give us a glimpse of His work so we might get a sense of His glory. We should ask God to wow us with His majesty or kindness. We should want Him to lead in an unmistakable way. We should be alert to those things that only He can do.

I pray we might all have the joy of looking for (and finding) “God sightings” in our lives. These are times when you see God's hand working for you or in you. It may be a life unexpectedly touched through something we said or did, or it might be some way in which we saw God work for us. The point is to develop an awareness of God working in and through us.

At the end of the book of Ecclesiastes Solomon says,

Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. 14 God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.

Let’s Get Practical

If we are serious about counting our days and living wise lives, let’s consider some ways to do so.

First, be clear on your priorities in life and stick to them! We must determine to put God, and what God says as of FIRST importance. To know what these things are, it is good to read the Bible Regularly (we encourage you to get involved in this year’s Bible reading program). Listen in worship for the commands of God. Read to grow in the faith. There are so many books written in the world. Not all of them are going to enrich your life! Be picky. The same is true when it comes to activities. There are many good things to do with our time. The wise person looks at those good things and asks which are the BEST things to do. They can do this because they have determined their priorities ahead of time. Let me give you a sample of the priorities I believe honor the Lord.

1. I will be Spiritually faithful regardless of opposition. I will be unafraid to confess Him as my Lord.

2. I will plant seeds of grace wherever I go.

3. I will look for opportunities to be kind and attentive to others.

4. I will Focus. Rather than allow the world's current to take me captive, I will keep my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.

5. I will appreciate and care for those God has given me to love.

These are simple but foundational priorities. If you live by these priorities, you will be “numbering your days” with wisdom.

Second, stop lying to yourself about the things you do. When we have rebelled against God, call it what it is. We must give up the blame game where our poor choices are always someone else's fault. We sometimes blame the government or “bullies” in life. Sometimes, we are even so arrogant that we try to blame God for our sinful choices)! We must confess our sin, ask God for forgiveness, and then ask Him to help us as we try to live the right way.

Third, assemble a group of friends who will be honest with you and challenge you to grow more in Christ. One of the things I treasure about our Bible Studies and Sunday School classes is that these are places of accountability. It is where people know us well enough to question some of our choices or conclusions. This is also the value of weekly worship. It is not just the service (or you could stay home and watch on TV), it is being with the people of the church. We need models to us see clearly, and to be encouraged in our growth in the Lord.

Finally, we need to face the reality of the shortness of life regularly. Periodically, we need to ask,

· Will anyone feel a genuine loss when I die?

· Will I have anything when I stand before the Lord that says I was faithful?

· Have I ever really been serious about following Him?

· Will I get to the end of my life and wish I had spent my time differently?

· Is my use of time and money consistent with what I claim are my priorities?

· Will there be anyone in heaven because of something God did through me?

Yes, we embark on a New Year. During the year, we will experience some of the painful ravages of time. We will lose some people we love; others might drift away. We may think we have a lot of time, but we don’t even know what tomorrow will bring. So, let’s make others know how much we love them. There will be those we know who don’t know the Savior who will move away or be incapacitated, and we want to ensure that we have planted as many seeds as possible. We may lose the ability to do all the things we have always done in the past. So, let’s savor everything and serve in any way possible NOW - so there will be no regrets later.

Let’s remember this adage that is so true: Only one life will soon be past and only what is done for Christ will last. Let’s remember this when set out to number our days,