Sermon
#1447 Miscellaneous
Sermons
Title: A New Year’S Prayer
Text: Psalm 90:12
Reading: Merle
Hart
Subject: The Brevity of Our Time
in this World
Date: Sunday Afternoon – December 31, 2000
Tape # W-18b
Introduction:
The
title of my message this afternoon is A New Year’s Prayer. You will
find my text in Psalm 90:12. But I want us to read the entire Psalm. Then we
will come back to verse 12.
A
Prayer of Moses the Man of God
It might help us to understand this Psalm if we
recall the circumstances which surrounded Moses when he was in the desert. For
forty years, he watched a whole generation of people die in the wilderness. All
of that great multitude which came out of Egypt (all who were above 20 years of
age when Israel crossed the Red Sea), probably, between two and three million
people, died in the wilderness, except Joshua and Caleb. There must have been
constant funerals in the wilderness for forty years. The path of the children
of Israel was marked in the desert by the graves they left behind them. This
Psalm is called “A Prayer of Moses the Man of God.” It is the prayer of
the man of God, who was continually reminded of the mortality of fallen men. In
the midst of constant death, Moses the man of God reverently and turns to the
ever-living and eternal God, and finds rests in him.
Verse 1. LORD, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
Though we are now weary pilgrims in this earth, who
have no fixed dwelling place, like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we do dwell in You,
our great God and Savior. You are our home and hiding place. Christ is the
dwelling place of his people in all generation.
Verse 2. Before the mountains were
brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from
everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
God alone is eternal. Time is nothing to him who “inhabiteth
eternity!” He who is God is the only one who has eternal and essential
existence independently of all others. All others owe their existence to him.
He alone is life. He gives us life; but he is life!
It
is God who gives us life, and it is God who calls us back again in death.
Verse 4. For a thousand years in thy
sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
Yesterday,
while it was here, was a short 24 hours. Now that it is past, it seems like
nothing at all. A thousand years, big with events that we consider to be
weighty, important, and meaningful, in God’s sight are nothing. They “are
but as yesterday when it is past.” A thousand years with God are but the
few hours of a night watch. A thousand years are but “as a watch in the
night” to the Eternal God. And our God who keeps the night watch for us is
that one of whom it is written, “he that keepeth Israel shall neither
slumber nor sleep.”
Verse 5. Thou carriest them away as
with a flood.
A thousand years are swept away by his hand of
providence, like a gnat in a raging flood.
Verse 5. They are as a sleep.
Our earthly existence is but “as a sleep.”
Most things in this world are not what they seem. Our thoughts concerning them
are but a dream, or a nightmare. But the time of awaking is coming. Then things
will look very different to us from what they seem to be now.
Verse 5. They are like grass which groweth up.
Fresh, green, vigorous, lovely, so restful to the
eye. --
Verse 6. In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth
up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.
It requires no long period, ages upon ages, to destroy
the beauty of grass. Let the sun arise and the wind blow, and it withers away.
Verse 7. For we are consumed by thine
anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.
If we had to endure the fire of God’s wrath, we
should be consumed by it. How I thank God that this speaks not of God’s elect,
but of the reprobate and unbelieving. We who are in Christ are not under the
wrath of the Almighty. We need not fear being troubled by the divine wrath, for
his anger is turned away from us by the great atoning sacrifice of his Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ. But the children of Israel in the wilderness were consumed
by God’s anger, and by his wrath they were troubled night and day, as are you
who are yet without Christ. “The wrath of God abideth on” you who
believe not the gospel.
Verses
8-9. Thou hast set our iniquities
before thee, 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.
How sad! For those who abide under the wrath of the
Almighty, there is no escape from his sight; and we must all soon appear before
his august throne of judgment. Like a short story, so the life of man is “as
a tale that is told.” Quickly, our time here will be spent!
Verse
10. The days of our years are
threescore years and ten.
The ordinary period of human life has been shortened
to just 70 years.—
Verse 10. 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.
But to where do we fly? That is the important point.
Shall we fly away to God in heaven, or shall we fly away from God into the pit
of the damned?
Verses 11- 12. 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.
It has been well said that many men will number
their cows, and number their coins, but forget to number their days. What fools
we are! Numbering our days, and seeing that they are but few, should teach us
to seek Christ, to apply our hearts to him who is the Wisdom of God. May God
give us grace to live every day as if it were our last.
Verses 13-14. Return, O LORD, how long? and let it
repent thee concerning thy servants. O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we
may rejoice and be glad all our days.
If our days are but few, let them be happy. Give us
the abundance of Your mercy, O Lord, and let us have it at once, so that,
however few our days may he, every one of them may be spent in the ways of
wisdom, peace and happiness, in sweet communion with Christ.
Verse 15. Make us glad according to
the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen
evil.
C. H. Spurgeon suggests that Moses is saying here, “Balance
our sorrows with an equal weight of joys. Give us grace equivalent to our
griefs; and if thou hast given to us a bitter cup of woe, now let us drink from
the golden chalice of thy love, and so let our fainting spirits be refreshed.”
Verse 16. Let thy work appear unto thy servants.
May God give us grace to devote ourselves entirely
to him and the service of his kingdom, his glory, his Son, his gospel, and his
people. May he grant us grace, day by day, to do the work he has appointed us
to do!
Verse 16. And thy glory unto their children.
What a broad prayer! Yet, it is most reasonable.
Shall not fathers seek the very best good for their sons and daughters? This is
what we desire from God, let it be the only thing we desire from God for our
children, that he will cause them to see his glory in the face of his Son!
Verse 17. And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the
work of our hands upon us.
We must soon die. Let our work, the work God has
given us, the work God has done through us live. Let us pray together that that
which we are doing, as laborers together in the cause of Christ may be
established by our God, that the work of our hands may have permanent,
everlasting results. — How I pray that the work of our hands will not prove at
last to be nothing but wood, hay, and stubble, which the fire will consume. May
God make ours a building of gold, silver, and precious stones that will endure
the fire that, sooner or later, will “try every man’s work of what sort it
is.”
Verse 17. Yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.
Now, go back to verse 12.
How quickly the time passes! How rapidly things in this world change! My text
contains a prayer that I have uttered to God more times than I can count,
especially in the last few weeks. It is a prayer that weighs more heavily upon
my heart than ever before. “So teach us to number our days, that we
may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
Of
all mathematical problems this is the most difficult. Men can number their
herds and their flocks. They can estimate the revenues of their farms and
businesses with relative ease. We can count our cash, balance our checkbooks,
and calculate what our retirement income should be.
Yet, mortal man foolishly
imagines that he is immortal. Most are persuaded that their days are infinite
and innumerable. Therefore they do not number them. We look at a strong young
man, one who watches his diet, exercises regularly, and seems to sparkle with
life, and say, “He has a long life ahead of him.” And we look at an old woman,
weak, worn, wrinkled, and ever weary, and say, “She will not be with us very
long. Her days are few.” Thus, we imagine that we can number the days of
others, but few will number his own days. What folly!
It is
evident that the great thing needed to persuade us to prepare for eternity
is the persuasion of our own mortality and the brevity of our lives in
this world. We will not apply our hearts unto wisdom until we are brought to
the numbering of our days. Yet, the fact is, no one will number his days and
apply his heart unto wisdom until he is taught of God to do so. Thus Moses
prayed, “So teach us to number our days,
that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
As we reflect upon the
brevity of time, we ought to be persuaded to set our thoughts upon things that
are eternal. As we look into the grave, which must soon be our bed, we ought to
be humbled and made to know how frail we are. But we are not wise. Only the
grace of God will cause a mortal man to number his days and apply his heart
unto wisdom. Let this, then, be your prayer and mine, as we stand here, at the
close of the year and look forward toward the dawn of the new year tomorrow: “So teach us to number our days, that we may
apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
Proposition: A sense of mortality ought
to make us wise and cause us to apply our hearts unto wisdom.
In
this message, I want to show you five words from God about time, about our
brief, brief time in this world. May God the Holy Spirit be our Teacher and
apply these things to our hearts.
I. A Word of Comfort - “My times are in thy hand” (Ps. 31:15).
Thank God, my times are not in the hands of
my enemies, or even in the hands of my friends, or even in my own hands. “My times are in thy hand!” The time
that I shall live is in the hand of my God, determined by him alone.
·
The
times of my trials, troubles, and temptations are in his hand.
·
The
times of my peace, prosperity, and pleasure are in his hands too.
·
My
times of darkness, desertion, and despondency as well as my times of dancing
and delight are in his hand.
·
All
my times are appointed by him, ordered by him, and disposed of by him for my
good and his glory.
·
I
can think of nothing in all the world more comforting.
“Our times are
in Thy hand,
Father, we
wish them there:
Our life, our
soul, our all we leave
Entirely to Thy
care.
“Our times are
in Thy hand,
Whatever thy
may be,
Pleasing or
painful, dark or bright,
As best may
seem to Thee.
“Our times are
in Thy hand,
Why should we
doubt or fear?
A Father’s
hand will never cause
His child a
needless tear.
“Our times are
in Thy hand,
Jesus the
crucified!
The hand our
many sins had pierced
Is now our
guard and guide.
“Our times are
in Thy hand,
Help us to
trust in Thee;
Till we have
left this weary land,
And all Thy
glory see.”
As this fact quietened
David’s heart in the midst of great trials, so let it quieten our hearts as we
make our pilgrimage through this vale of tears. “My times are in thy hand.”
A. My time in
this world has been appointed by my heavenly Father (Job 14:5).
Job 14:5 "Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot
pass;"
B. My time in
this world is ruled by my heavenly Father
C. My God will
see to it that I fulfill all my time in this world.
He has promised, “The number of thy days will I fulfil” (Ex.
23:26).
II. A Word of Warning
The apostle Paul warned us of the perilous
times in which we now live (2 Timothy 3:1-7, 14-17).
2 Timothy 3:1-7 "This know also, that in the last days
perilous times shall come. 2 For men
shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent,
fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but
denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead
captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7 Ever learning, and never able to come
to the knowledge of the truth."
2 Timothy 3:14-17 "But continue thou in the things which
thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 And that from a child thou hast
known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works."
In
these days of apostate, free will, works religion, we must tenaciously adhere
to the old, old path of gospel truth that hold our hearts in peace.
Jeremiah 6:16 "Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the
ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your
souls. But they said, We will not walk therein."
·
Divine
Sovereignty
·
Electing
Love
·
Particular
Effectual Redemption
·
Efficacious
Grace
·
Special
Providence
III. A Word of Instruction (1 Cor.
7:29-31)
1
Corinthians 7:29-31 "But this I say,
brethren, the time is short: it
remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; 30 And they that weep, as though they
wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that
buy, as though they possessed not; 31 And
they that use this world, as not abusing it:
for the fashion of this world passeth away."
Because
the time is short, we must redeem the time we have (Eph. 5:16).
C.H. Spurgeon wrote, “A short life should be wisely spent.
We have not enough time at our disposal to justify us in misspending a single
quarter of an hour. Neither are we sure of enough life to justify us in
procrastinating for a moment.”
A. The time
for salvation is short (Isa. 55:6; 2 Cor 6:2).
Isaiah 55:6 "Seek ye the LORD while he may be
found, call ye upon him while he is near:"
2
Corinthians 6:2 "(For he saith, I
have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I
succoured thee: behold, now is the
accepted time; behold, now is the day
of salvation.)"
B. The time
for service is short. -”The night cometh when no man
can work” (John 9:4).
C. The
time for suffering is short (1 Pet. 5:10).
1 Peter 5:10 "But the God of all grace, who hath
called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a
while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you."
Romans 16:20 "And the God of peace shall bruise
Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen."
IV. A Word of Admonition (Eph.
5:16)
Ephesians 5:16 "Redeeming the time, because the days
are evil."
Paul
urges us to redeem the time, to buy up every opportunity we have, because we
are naturally prone to squander the opportunity God gives us in this world. It
is our responsibility to be careful and diligent in our use of time. That does
not mean that we should have no time for recreation and relaxation. But it does
mean that we should study to improve our use of the time and opportunities we
have to the best advantage of our own souls and the souls of others.
Nothing
is more precious and valuable than time. Time and the opportunity of the
moment, once it is gone, is gone forever! It cannot be recalled or even
prolonged. We must not neglect any opportunity God gives us to serve him or one
another, to worship him in private or in public, to gain spiritual benefit for
our souls, or to minister to the bodies and souls of others for the glory of
God.
NOTE: The best way to withstand
the temptations that come with idleness is to redeem the time that is wasted in
idleness, buying up the opportunity to do good.
V. A Word of Preparation
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the
heaven: 2 A time to be born, and a
time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted."
The wise man Solomon tells
us that there is for us all “a time to
die” (Eccles. 3:1-2). “It is appointed unto men once to die” (Heb. 9:27).
God help you to hear me now. “Prepare to meet thy God” (Amos 4:12). Shall
a mortal, sinful man meet the holy Lord God? Indeed, we must. That thought
would send waves of shock and terror through your soul, if you ever gave a
moment’s reflection. There is only one way you can prepare to meet God. You
must trust the Lord Jesus Christ. You must flee away to him like the manslayer
in the Old Testament fled to the city of refuge.
·
You
must be washed in his precious blood.
·
You
must be robed in his perfect righteousness.
·
You
must be saved by his grace.
·
If
you would be saved, you must apply your heart to Wisdom - That Wisdom is
Christ! - Christ is our Wisdom before God. - Christ teaches us the Wisdom of
God. - Christ gives us Wisdom as we walk with God.
When
the appointed time of my departure from this world comes, I want to be found in
Christ, not having my own righteousness, but the righteousness of Christ
imputed to me. Washed in his blood and robed in his righteousness, I hope to
leave this world in confident faith, like the apostle Paul.
2 Timothy 1:12 "For the which cause I also suffer
these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed,
and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him
against that day."
2 Timothy 4:6-8 "For I am now ready to be offered, and
the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I
have fought a good fight, I have finished my
course, I have kept the faith: 8 Henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also
that love his appearing."
Application: As we gather once more around this blessed table, remembering
what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us, let this be our prayer: “So teach us to number our days, that we may
apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Let
us set our hearts upon Christ, as he has set his heart upon us!
AMEN.
I want us to sing number 53 in your Songs of Grace book, The Time is Short, while the deacons
come to serve the Lord’s Table.