Today: Living in Grace

A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. 1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. 3 You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!” 4 For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. 5 You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: 6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. 7 For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed. 8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. 9 For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. 10 The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. 11 Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you? 12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. 13 Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants! 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. 15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. 16 Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. 17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!

Prayer

Show us your fullness.

Clarify our frailty.

Grant us with heavenly perspective.

Introduction

Systematic Theology - In study and life, begin with God, primarily who He is!

I. God is Perpetual (vv. 1-2)

Dwelling In All Generations

Deuteronomy 33:27 “27 The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, ‘Destroy.’”

Security

Provision

Now nomads in the Wilderness

Before Creation

God alone as NOT created. Eternal and immortal.

Deuteronomy 33:13-16 “13 And of Joseph he said, “Blessed by the Lord be his land, with the choicest gifts of heaven above, and of the deep that crouches beneath, 14 with the choicest fruits of the sun and the rich yield of the months, 15 with the finest produce of the ancient mountains and the abundance of the everlasting hills, 16 with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness and the favor of him who dwells in the bush. May these rest on the head of Joseph, on the pate of him who is prince among his brothers.”

Everlasting to Everlasting

God is constant, stable, immovable.

Thou ART God, everlasting and sovereign!

II. Man is Passing (vv. 3-11)

Sentence of Death

Genesis 2:7 “7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”

Genesis 3:19 “19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.””

Severity of Judgement

Matthew 7:24-27 “24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.””

Provoking God to anger in Sinai Wilderness

Kadesh Barnea Numbers 13-14

Hebrews 4:13 “13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

Shortening of Life

Genesis 5 vs Modern Life-Spans

Numbering years rather than days.

Man has earned this life in the fall, and can not redeem himself!

Spending vs. Investing

III. Time is Precious (vv. 12-17)

Salvation as Necessary

Romans 5:8-9 “8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.”

This Life is Brief, so Teach Us To Number Our Days!

Heart of Wisdom

Source of wisdom, applying knowledge and experience rightly in every circumstance.

This Life is Difficult, so Satisfy Us With Your Mercy!

Numbers 20:2–13 ESV

2 Now there was no water for the congregation. And they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 3 And the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Would that we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord! 4 Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle? 5 And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them, 7 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8 “Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” 9 And Moses took the staff from before the Lord, as he commanded him. 10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. 12 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” 13 These are the waters of Meribah, where the people of Israel quarreled with the Lord, and through them he showed himself holy.

Matthew 17:1–8 ESV

1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

This Life is Futile, so Establish The Works Of Our Hands!

1 Peter 5:10 “10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”

May God make use of us as we abide in Christ!

Conclusion and Application

Seek God in His eternal majesty.

Number your days, in light of eternity.

Share the heart of wisdom, gained by a life lived.

Abide in Christ, free from guilt to pursue remaining days.

“O God, stamp eternity on my eyeballs!” - Jonathan Edwards

Let us pray for and pursue these things as Moses did!

Prayer

Cause us to invest our lives wisely, according to eternity.

Prevent us from squandering the time you have left for us.

Free us from the bondage of guilt and failure.

Show us your mercy and teach us to number our days, that we may be used for your kingdom purposes.

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