Psalms 90
- this morning we're going to be studying Psalm 90
- last week we looked at a very important Psalm with a very
interesting message
- let's see if you remember some of the key ideas:
1) who wrote Psalm 73? (Asaph)
2) who was he? (the Pastor Lopez of Israel's worship)
3) what problem/question/concern did Asaph raise in that
Psalm? (why the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer)
4) what "sin" was Asaph guilty of by taking that line of
thinking/reasoning? (envy//jealousy)
- now I think all of us would agree that Psalm 73 addressed
an issue that every one of us struggles with--and that
every one of us needs answers to.
- Psalm 90 is very similar to Psalm 73 in that way.
- in this Psalm, Moses is writing about the topic of death.
- you remember a few weeks ago we said that the Psalms
really address the critical issues of life -- we've seen
that over and over and we're seeing it again today.
- let's take a minute and do some brainstorming in order to
get our minds thinking about this subject.
- INPUT - what are some fears associated with the end of
life?
(especially go after the one -- "I blew it" - "I've
wasted the years God gave me.")
- before we study the Psalm itself, let me just point out
that Moses was preeminently qualified to talk about this
subject. I say that for several reasons:
1) He was facing his own death. Most Bible students
believe this Psalm was written just prior to Moses'
death at the end of the book of Deuteronomy. So here's
an opportunity to see what a spiritual man is thinking
about during his final days of life.
2) He had witnessed tens of thousands of deaths in the last
forty years. Remember, the children of Israel wandered
in the wilderness forty years because their disobedience
in obeying God's command to take the promised land.
(cf. Numbers 14: 20-34 - READ)
3) Moses had the privilege of speaking to God personally.
(cf. Deut. 34:10-12 - READ) As a result, his
relationship with the Lord was strong, and his knowledge
of the Lord was great (cf. Deut. 33:26-29)
- with that in mind, let's begin reading this Psalm.
- read Psalm 90:1-6
- we'd like to summarize these verses with the point:
I. Man Needs God Because of Life's Brevity
- INPUT - what are some examples of how the average
person is not convinced about the brevity of life?
- these verses are given to convince of that truth, and
to tell us why the Lord is the only appropriate place
to turn for how to handle the brief life we have.
A. Why the Lord is the appropriate place to turn
- INPUT - what reason do you see from verse 1?
1. God is the "home of the believer."
- INPUT - What passage that we've already read
this morning does this verse sound like?
(Deut. 33:26-29)
- it's interesting that Moses would be making
this comment. Remember, they were wanderers--
they had no homes. Yet their personal
relationship with God provided shelter and
security.
- INPUT - what reason do you see from verse 2?
2. God is eternal
- If anyone has answers to the matter of death,
and the brevity of life--it's the eternal God.
- INPUT - what is the reason you see from verse 4?
3. God is not affected by time?
- even the person that lived the longest in
recorded human history, Methuselah (969 years)
--that’s like "the passing of a day", or the
passing of a "watch at night."
- see, the question is - are you and I going to turn to the
appropriate place to learn to handle death, the brevity of
life, and the present implications of these truths?
- INPUT - what are some wrong places many turn as a means
of handling the subject of death?
- in addition to stressing how the Lord is the appropriate
place to turn to learn to handle the subject of death,
these verses also try to get us to concentrate on just how
brief man's life is.
B. Why man needs to turn somewhere
- what words/phrases do you see in the first six
verses that emphasize the brevity of man?
(v. 5 - like a flood--swept away as if it were
never there, like a sleep, like grass)
- the point so far is--Moses wants us, regardless of how old
we are, to think about the brevity of life...
- and then to think about where we're going to turn to
learn to handle that fact.
- in verses 7-11, Moses moves into explaining why life is so
brief. These verses become especially meaningful if you
think about the context.
- all of the Israelites might have been tempted to be
very bitter against God. (because of all the deaths
they had witnessed)
- they, like Asaph last week, might have been tempted
to shout, "God's not fair!"
- Moses "cuts that off at the pass" by clearly stating
the reason for death.
- read 90:7-11
II. An Explanation Of Life's Brevity
- INPUT - how would you summarize the reason Moses gives
for life's brevity? (it's because of our sin)
- We said earlier that this Psalm is similar to Psalm 73
in that it addresses a very important and relevant
issue
- but the other side of that is--there's some real
differences between the way Asaph approached his
topic and the way Moses is approaching his.
- INPUT - how would you characterize the differences? (what
words/phrases would you use to describe Moses' approach?)
- Moses is evidencing a "seasoned" understanding of God
- reverence
- truthful (contrasted to Asaph's half-truths and
exaggerations)
- able to face hard facts without wining//blaming them on
someone else
- remember, Asaph had to ask forgiveness for his approach to
his topic--Moses won't have to do that
- even a man who's facing death, knowing he will not be
able to lead the children of Israel into the promised
land
- is not going to die a bitter man
- he's not going to die having a "pity party"
- he's not going to try to "sway the sympathy to his
side."
- Moses knows why he's going to die and he knows why
everyone else is going to have to die
- because of sin.
- sin has a terrible price.
- of course, what we're reading here is the exact opposite of
what Satan communicated to Eve in the Garden of Eden.
- his message was:
- God isn't fair (hath God said...)
- there won't be a price for sin (you won't surely die...)
- Satan is a liar--and he would be delighted to see you and I
face the issues of life and death with his lies on our
"hearts and minds."
- the fact that he's a liar is born out graphically in Gen.
5.
(develop, so and so lived so many years, and he
died...and he died.....and he died)
- Moses his showing his spiritual maturity by facing what
some have referred to as "the terror of men" (death) with
truth and faithfulness.
- Moses also had some specific desires for the way this Psalm
would impact his listeners.
- Undoubtedly, he was thinking especially of the
"younger generation" -- those who were under "twenty"
at the time the decision was made not to enter the
promised land the first time.
III. Petitions Prompted By The Brevity of Life
- READ 12-17
A. For the wise use of time - v. 12
"teach us to number our days, so we might apply our
hearts to wisdom."
- INPUT - what is the opposite of "having learned to
number our days?"
- INPUT - do you think this is a problem?
- take for example, the fact that Ron Blue claims
that at age 65:
45% of Americans are dependent on relatives
30% are dependent on charity
23% are still working
2% are financially independent
- which means, financially speaking, we're not,
at least as a country, convinced about the
brevity of life.
- if that’s true financially, think how much more
true that is spiritually.
- INPUT - what is the characteristic Moses says will be
present if a person is "numbering his/her days?"
(they will be applying their hearts to wisdom)
- INPUT - what might that look like today?
- cf. Doc Smith's illus. of following protocol
B. For renewed fellowship with God - v. 13
- the great truth is that even though every one of us
faces death because of sin, God has provided an
answer for death through the sacrifice of his Son.
- that means that the believer need not fear death (I
Cor. 15:54-57), and that the believer can enjoy
fellowship with God now as a result.
- and a person who is convinced of the brevity of
life will view fellowship with God as a great
privilege and make it a top priority.
C. For rejoicing in the mercy of God - 14, 15
- Moses also prays for joy to come as a result of
"living in light of eternity."
- the irony of all this is--the pursuit of things
that supposedly will bring pleasure is often what
hinders us from numbering our days (and living in
light of the implications we've been discussing)
- but choosing to live in line with these verses
is what actually brings joy.
- if you know these things, happy are ye if you
do them. - John 13:17
D. For the visible operation of God - 16
- people who realize the brevity of life watch
carefully for the way the Lord is working today.
- Their motto is, "life is short, I don't want to miss
what God may be doing today."
- they also want that to be true of their children.
(cf. 2nd half of the verse)
- we're talking about living for a cause, and raising
children who want to live for a cause as well.
- cf. what's happening with teens today who
aren't living for a cause.
- (take time here to thank the Lord for youth
workers, SS teachers, clubs, etc. who assist us
in training our children to have eternal values)
E. For the favor of the Lord - 17a
F. For the works that last - 17b
- II Tim. 4:7-8