INTRODUCTION
Opening Statement: I’m reminded of the sign that was posted on the land of an Indiana farmer who had a problem with people taking a short-cut by cutting across his land. The potential trespasser would read: “If you are going to cross this field, you had better do it in 9.8 seconds; the bull can do it in 10!”
There will come a time for you when God drops a sign in your life that causes you to seriously question your life-path, your priorities and be forced to deal with your dreams and aspirations. It is a defining moment when you see life screaming by, you question the past, you evaluate the short-cuts taken, and you’re not sure if you’re prepared for tomorrow. This crisis moment involves intense introspection. “Is this all I am going to do the rest of my life? Is this all I am going to achieve?”
Background: Our text today was written by a man who had reached a life crisis. Moses is the author of this psalm and it was probably written in connection with Israel’s failure at Kadesh-barnea (Numbers 13-14). Remember what happened? The people (excepting Joshua and Caleb) refused to follow Moses into the Promised Land. Consequently, they had to wander in circles for 40 years in the wilderness until all those who rebelled (over a million funerals) had deceased. For Moses, things looked pretty bleak, having witnessed this incredible death toll (an average of over 80 funerals a day). By any reckoning when Moses wrote this psalm he was not young. He was eighty during the exodus, and he lived to be 120, so he may have written this when he was a hundred years old or so--we don’t know precisely. But here is someone who has put off the rosy spectacles of youth and now is reflecting upon his life’s work. Psalm 90 is Moses’ midlife crisis. He was questioning his role, his mortality. He had had his culminating event and was intensely introspective. He was uncertain about his legacy. He wanted to know that his life meant something. He did the only thing he could do: he turned to God in prayer and sought an eternal abiding place in the Lord. This man of God then took out his journal and began to pour out his prayer to the Lord. If you’re feeling disoriented with life and the passage of time…
Series Title: Finding Sanctuary in Psalm 90
Sermon Title: Psalm 90 – A Passion for the Present Moment
Theme: Human Mortality and the Present Moment
Sermon Review: The Book of Psalms went through several editing phases and is actually a collection of collections spanning a thousand year period. The book is subdivided into 5 separate books. Psalm 90 is a Psalm of national lament (note the “we” in v. 7, “our” in v.8, “us” in v. 12, and “our” in v. 17). More than likely the community of Israel prayed this prayer on special fasting days after some tragic event in their journey back to wholeness.
Chiasmus of Psalm 90
Chiasmus (a crossing or intersection of two tracts) is concentric parallelism whereby an author shapes his literary work in order to accentuate the main idea or theme he wishes to convey to his readers.
A The Lord is both the believers’ Protector and Creator (vv. 1-2)
B The Lord’s authority over man (vv. 3-6)
C Believers’ iniquity brings forth the Lord’s anger and wrath (vv. 7-9)
X THE BREVITY OF LIFE (v. 10)
C’ Believers are to contemplate the Lord’s anger and wrath (vv. 11-12)
B’ The believers’ appeal to the Lord’s covenanted mercy (vv. 13-15)
A’ The believers’ request that their works be confirmed by the Lord (vv. 16-17)
Proposition: In light of the brevity of life, Moses and the community of Israel ask for wisdom, the restoration of God’s favor, a fresh revelation of his power, and his blessing upon their labors.
Key Word: While this passage explores many themes, the key theme according to the chiasmic structure is the brevity of life, the passage of time and how that should lead us to have a passion for the present moment. This can be drawn out by a series of contrasts.
Psalm 90 - A prayer of Moses, the man of God.
God’s Eternality and Man’s Frailty (1-6)
90:1 O sovereign master, you have been our protector [dwelling place] through all
generations!
90:2 Even before the mountains came into existence,
or you brought the world into being [you gave birth to the earth and
world], you were the eternal God.
Comment: Moses was worn out. After a 38 to 40 year camping trip, you would be too! He delighted in the fact that God was home to him. If you are a believer, your home rests in the arms of God, not on this earth. You’re a pilgrim. Sometimes pilgrims need reminded where home truly is.
Quotation: C.S. Lewis has a timely reminder, "Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home."
Exposition: How do we know that God is capable and will always be there as our dwelling place? Moses has one word: mountains. One reason I think people like the mountains is that they seem old and steady -- something not easily removed. Yet God pre-dates them all. If you want to find out what to do with your time, look to the one who is not time-bound. God is not a recent invention -- he’s been there from forever and will be around forever.
Illustration: I saw Norm Leitch the other day and he had a shirt on that said “Older than Dirt.” God made the dirt, the mountains and it was the biggest thing that Moses could conceive of when trying to communicate God’s eternality. He transcends us. Now the contrast. Watch for the metaphors that picture our frailty:
90:3 You make mankind return to the dust,
and say, “Return, O people!”
90:4 Yes, in your eyes a thousand years
are like yesterday [24 hours] that quickly passes,
or like one of the divisions of the nighttime [not even 24 hours, but 3!].
Comment: The ancient Israelites divided the night into distinct periods,
or “watches” about 3 hours in length.
90:5 You bring their lives to an end like a flood and they fall “asleep.”
In the morning they are like the grass that sprouts up,
90:6 in the morning it glistens and sprouts up;
at evening time it withers and dries up.
Comment: When frail human existence is measured beside of God’s sovereign eternality, one word picture came to Moses’ mind – dust.
Summarization: We are like dust; a watch in the night; a flash-flood; a blade of grass. These are pictures of brevity, underscoring our need to make the most of the present moment. With each image, human mortality becomes more and more terrifying to us. Ultimately, these images explain why we need an Eternal Refuge. Unless we are rightly related to God, we are nothing and without a sure hope of immortality. God is our stronghold; He is Who we run to as we consider our human frailty and our inability to get life right. Time is elusive.
Quotation: “When as a child I laughed and wept, time crept. When as a youth I dreamed and talked, time walked. When I became a full-grown man, time ran. And later as I older grew, time flew. Soon I shall find while traveling on, time gone.” All of this makes moments more precious.
Comment: Scholars tell us that Moses and the children of Israel could have been into the Promised Land in two weeks or less. Instead, disobedience prompted 40 years of missing out on God’s plan. Moses realized the importance of time. Moses was convinced of God’s protection and His presence in the passage of time.
God’s Holiness and Man’s Sins (7-12)
Comment: These next few verses need to be understood in the context of Numbers 14. They had experienced the Exodus with Moses. They saw all that God did for them. Yet, they refused to obey. This was a very specialized judgment. It does not reveal the basic nature or essence of God toward people in general. He loves us. His wrath is in the service of his love. Sometimes that love expresses itself in discipline. And that discipline can seem like “fierce anger” as it did to Moses. Wrath happens but it does not abide. It’s not something that God delights in.
90:7 Yes, we are consumed by your anger,
we are terrified by your wrath.
90:8 You are aware of our sins,
you even know about our hidden sins.
Comment: Everyone who lives a double life pays for it in some way.
Pretending and putting up a front sucks the spiritual vitality right out of you. Inside, we know we may be able to fool others, but we can’t fool God. A life spent like that is trouble and sorrow. Life lived outside of God’s purposes wears you down. You begin to feel apathetic, tired, and unmotivated.
90:9 Yes, throughout all our days we experience your raging fury,
the years of our lives pass quickly, like a sigh.
90:10 The days of our lives add up to seventy years,
or eighty, if one is especially strong. But even one’s best years are
marred by trouble and oppression. Yes, they pass quickly and we fly
away.
90:11 Who can really fathom the intensity of your anger?
Your raging fury causes people to fear you.
90:12 So teach us to consider our mortality,
so that we might live wisely.
Comment: The Psalmist is saying that in light of the eternal God- the God who has existed from everlasting to everlasting - from the vanishing point to the vanishing point and in light of the fact that we have three score and 10 (70) or if we are lucky four score (80) years and in light of the fact that those are filled with labor and sorrow and will pass as the morning mist - we need to learn to number our days and give ourselves to wisdom. I think that Moses is telling us that life is short and it’s short due to our own sinfulness many times. These verses can be terrifying, especially to those who do not have God as a point of reference. The beauty found in all of this for the believer is that God’s wrath does not rest on those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 5:1). His wrath will only finally rest on those who want separation from Him. But even those who love God and follow God can make mistakes that will incure His discipline. Because life is so short, God is so holy, and we are so sinful, Moses says: So teach us to consider our mortality, so that we might live wisely. Don’t waste time needlessly like the children of Israel in their wanderings. Be aware of how few our days really are and how we must live in the present moment. Maybe that’s what Jim Elliot meant when he wrote: “Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God (Swindoll, Growing Strong… 318).” That is living wisely.
Observation: Though these thoughts may seem gloomy, they are also honest. Relevant. For beneath the achievements, attainments, and blessings of life, there is a subtext called Time and It’s Passage. Life and time are rushing on but we’ve been given a gift; it’s called the present moment. We are to be fully alive in this moment and seize it with passion.
Illustration: I remember the testimony of an anonymous friar in a Nebraska monastery. He wrote it in a letter late in his life. He says some surprising things and admits the need for being in the present moment. Remember, he’s lived an entire life of rigorous self-discipline in such a way that he feels he’s been cheated out of his present moments, and this is what he says:
“If I had my life to live over again, I’d try to make more mistakes next time. I would relax, I would limber up, and I would be sillier than I have been this trip… I would be crazier. I would climb more mountains, swim more rivers, and watch more sunsets. I would do more walking and looking. I would eat more ice cream and less beans… You see, I’m one of those people who lives…sensibly hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I’ve had my moments, and if I had to do it over again I’d have more of them. In fact, I’d try to have nothing else, just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead each day. I’ve been one of those people who never go anywhere without a thermometer, a hot-water bottle, a gargle, a raincoat, aspirin, and a parachute. If I had to do it over again I would go places, do things, and travel lighter than I have. If I had my life to live over I would start barefooted earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. (Swindoll, Three Steps…).
Explanation: By facing that which our culture urges us to deny, namely our finitude, our God-ordained human limits on time and life, we get wise, we have the possibility of walking through a door into a place called wisdom. We learn to value life’s precious moments and we learn to live in light of reality.
Application: Life is beautiful, even more beautiful for its brevity. Don’t waste much time in second-guessing or remorse. Having numbered your days, savor, risk, and delight in the gifts and precious moments that God gives. Love like you’ve never loved before. Enjoy the people near you, for people are frighteningly fragile. Cultivate those relationships. Go home and hug those kids. Nothing reminds me of the need to capture the present moment like my children. Have you ever encountered a parent who would give their right arm just to have their kid back? They mismanaged their present moments and now their kids are gone. Someone asked me on my candidating sunday, "what makes you cry?" I replied: “Family hurt.”
Quotation: There are two pieces that inflict a kind of immortal wound from which I have never recovered when I think about the importance of my present moments with my children. A poem entitled “No Time to Play”.
My precious boy with the golden hair
Came up one day beside my chair
And fell upon his bended knee
And said, “Oh, Mommy, please play with me!”
I said, “Not now, go on and play;
I’ve got so much to do today.”
He smiled through tears in eyes so blue
When I said, “We’ll play when I get through.”
But the chores lasted all through the day
And I never did find time to play.
When supper was over and dishes done,
I was much too tired for my little son.
I tucked him in and kissed his cheek
And watched my angel fall asleep.
As I tossed and turned upon my bed,
Those words kept ringing in my head,
“Not now, son, go on and play,
I’ve got so much to do today.”
I fell asleep and in a minute’s span,
My little boy is a full-grown man.
No toys are there to clutter the floor;
No dirty fingerprints on the door;
No snacks to fix; no tears to dry;
The rooms just echo my lonely sigh.
And now I’ve got the time to play;
But my precious boy is gone away.
I awoke myself with a pitiful scream
And realized it was just a dream
For across the room in his little bed,
Lay my curly-haired boy, the sleepy-head.
My work will wait ‘til another day
For now I must find some time to play.
Quotation: Many of you remember the song, “The Cat’s in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin. Part of it says,
“My child arrived just the other day.
He came to the world in the usual way.
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay.
He learned to walk while I was away.
He was talking before I knew it, and as he grew He said, “I’m going to be like you, Dad.
You know I’m going to be like you.”
My son turned ten just the other day.
He said, “Thanks for the ball, now come on let’s play.
Can you teach me to throw?” I said, “Not today, I’ve got a lot to do.” He said, “That’s OK.”
And he walked away and he smiled and he said “You know I’m going to be like you, Dad, You know I’m going to be like you.”
The final verse says:
I’ve long since retired and my son’s moved away.
I called him up just the other day.
I said, “I’d like to see you, if you don’t mind.”
He said, “I’d love to, Dad, if I could find the time.
You see, my new job’s a hassle and the kids have the flu, But it’s sure nice talking to you, Dad.
It’s been real nice talking to you.”
And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me, He’d grown up just like me.
My boy was just like me.
This is why I am passionate about the present moment.
Illustration: Only yesterday, your parents were pushing you out the door toward Kindergarten full of anxiety. Only yesterday, you graduated from High School full of anticipation. Only yesterday, you married the love of your life with excitement. Only yesterday, you heard that baby’s first cry and you cried too. Only yesterday, you proudly attended your child’s graduation from college of all places full of wonder “how did they ever make it.” Only yesterday, you gave that daughter away and something within you broke. Only yesterday, you retired wondering what life’s next step would be. While yesterday is important, we must remember what Vivian Laramore said: “I’ve shut the door on yesterday and thrown the key away – Tomorrow holds no fears for me, Since I have found today (Davidoff, Pocketbook of Quotations).”
God’s Blessing and Man’s Yearnings (13-17)
Comment: Imagine facing 40 years of constant wandering and death, burying hundreds of people day after day. One author has called this the world’s longest funeral march. No wander that Moses went into midlife crisis and prayed in verses 13-17 a series of prayers or priorities for those in crisis (midlife or others) that we should all have in light of the swift passing of time. As you go out the door today, say this prayer with the Psalmist.
90:13 Turn back toward us, O LORD!
How long must this suffering last?
Have pity on your servants!
90:14 Satisfy us in the morning with your loyal love!
Then we will shout for joy and be happy all our days! The Message:
Surprise us with love at daybreak; then we’ll skip and dance all the day
long.
90:15 Make us happy in proportion to the days you have afflicted us,
in proportion to the years we have experienced trouble!
90:16 May your servants see your work!
May their sons see your majesty! [A more accurate translation from the
Hebrew is this: "May your deeds be shown in your servants... your
Splendor in their children."]
90:17 May our sovereign God extend his favor to us!
Make our endeavors successful!
Yes, make them successful!
Key Word: I see THREE PRIORITIES in Moses’ words for the person in some kind of life crisis who is missing out on their present moments:
FIRST - Get passionate about building and deepening a relationship with God today. After wrestling and meditating on how short life was... Moses gets passionate about getting right with God... about experiencing His unfailing love and compassion though a deepening relationship with Him in this life. Moses knows that God is his only hope for joy and gladness in this life and he knows that it will come only through a relationship with Him. If you’re in transition, you will have a daily battle with your thoughts, but don’t stop acquiring new skills and new insights in your walk with God. Some of you are going through a major crisis. Can I encourage you to “stop worrying about how everything is going to turn out. Live one day at a time… It’s good to have big-picture outlook, to set goals…make plans, but if you’re always living in the future, you’re never really enjoying the present… (Osteen, Best Life…270).”
SECOND - Developing Christlike Character counts! Seeing how short life is and how long eternity is, Moses also gets passionate about wanting God’s character to be seen in him and in his children. God’s purpose for each and everyone of us is to have us become like Jesus in our character. It’s one of few things that will go with us into eternity! So anything we do in this life to develop Jesus’ character qualities is an investment in eternity! Let Him walk on the chaos of your life and speak order.
THIRD - Do something that will advance God’s redemptive purposes for the world. Your opportunity is now! We are not just an animal that lives and dies. We are made in the image of God, and we yearn for our lives to accomplish and mean something. Moses prays that our lives might not be wasted. What is really important in life? When we are young we think puppy dogs, dolls, Play Station, and bikes are important and they are. When we get older we think money, boats, computers, and homes are important and they are. But what is most important in your life? What is it that you live for? Successful resolution of crisis comes when we bring all the tattered fragments of our thought-life, our possessions, our dreams, under the command of one voice – God. Obey that voice above all in this present moment. A vision is going to be cast for Stones Hill Community Church. This is a pivotal moment, a present moment for an impact to be made. Do something that will outlast you! Since life is so short and our sins are so many and our days can be so empty, our hope must rest in the Eternal God. Having placed our hope in Him, let us go on to enjoy life’s precious moments.
CONCLUSION
Quotation: Where are you living today? Younger people live in the future. Older people live in the past. Wise people live in the present (Maxwell, Success…, 97). There’s another quotation that has a similar message. The author is anonymous. The title – Life But No Living.
First, I was dying to finish high school and start college. And then I was dying to finish college and start working. And then I was dying to marry and have children. And then I was dying for my children to grow old enough for school so I could return to work. And then I was dying to retire. And now, I am dying…and suddenly I realize I forgot to live.
Illustration: If you knew your time was short, would you do things differently? In a song written by Tim McGraw for his dying father, he describes how his impending death caused him to reevaluate his life. After learning the bad news, he “went sky divin’, went rocky mountain climbing, went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fu Manchu. I loved deeper, and I spoke sweeter, and I gave forgiveness I’ve been denying, and he said someday I hope you get to live like you were dying.” (from “Live like You Were Dying” by Tim McGraw). Don’t forget to live.
Exhortation: Enjoy the present rather than hurrying on to the next thing. Don’t allow your present moment to be stolen from you. It’s a gift! Satisfaction is not just ahead; it is now.
Quotation: I came across a piece some time ago entitled “Present Tense” by Jason Lehman (Swindoll, Tardy Oxcart, 38, 39).
It was spring but it was summer I wanted, the warm days, and the great outdoors. It was summer, but it was fall I wanted, the colorful leaves, and the cool, dry air. It was fall, but it was winter I wanted, the beautiful snow, and the joy of the holiday season. It was winter, but it was spring I wanted, the warmth and the blossoming of nature. It was a child, but it was adulthood I wanted. The freedom and the respect. I was 20, but it was 30 I wanted, to be mature, and sophisticated. I was middle-aged, but it was 20 I wanted, the youth, and the free spirit. I was retired, but it was middle age I wanted, the presence of mind, without limitations. My life was over. But I never got what I wanted.
Quotation: I’ve got a quote that I carry in my wallet. It reminds me of how I should think about the present day on this side of heaven. Here’s what it says: “Do not fear death; but rather the unlived life. You don’t have to live forever, you just have to live.”
