Beacon Sunday Service: July 28th, 2024

Lord, we just thank you so much for this amazing, wonderful opportunity to come before you to worship you. Lord, we don't take this time lightly, Lord, but we understand that this is a time to just come before you to give you all the worship, to give you the glory. I just pray that just through the songs that we sing through the word that is preached through the fellowship that we have together that you would be just honored and glorified, and Lord, that we would just be blessed by that, Lord God. And so I just pray that you would just use this time to just bring worship to your name. We thank you for all that you do. We love you, and it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Psalm one seventeen says this.

It says, Praise the Lord, all nations, extol him, all peoples, for great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Come, let us praise the Lord. Amen. And may we do that this morning just in song as we uh lift up a voice together, and may we all rise and singes of heaven star reads, lights of the easy dancing inside skies, brilliance of morning breaking.

His name No prais me Oh praise Let all his one trust works praise Oh praise name Oh praise name Let all his works praise King thrones King thrones in my sea all things made by his decree here creation melody Praise him Everything with life and wrath Everywhere from his choice Every heart raise from the dead praise him praise him Angel refrain Jesus Lamb for sinners Name above all other names praise him Oh praise Oh praise Let all his works praise Oh praise name Oh prais name Let all his trust works praise Oh praise him Praise name Oh praise Let all his works praise Oh praise His name Oh praise name Let all his words praise in this next song Let's just declare to the Lord together that we are not our own but we truly belong to God The one who made the heavens name my heart and so before I drew a breath I was loved and I am his creation the Maker's masterpiece and all that He designs will be done in me My body is a temple, my body is a temple of the living God.

I'll worship in this house that his blood has bought, and as I bear His image. Oh, may I not profane the holiness I hold in this earthly? I belong, I belong to the Lord. Oh I am not my own. I belong to the Lord, I am not, I will honor him for this I know. I belong to the Lord, I am not, and if he has redeemed me, and if he has redeem me, I am not my own.

Is his love.

And he declares my state. So I will know myself by the name.

Oh I am not my own. I belong to the Lord. I am not I will honor him for this I know. I belong to the Lord, I am not my own.

And I am not my own, and now my heart is free. Oh Maker, come and make what you will love me. There is nothing broken that you cannot repair. So Lord, I leave my life in your loving care. I belong to the Lord. Oh I am not my own, I belong to the Lord, I am not my own, I will honor him for this I know, I belong to the Lord, I am not mine, I will honor him for this I know, I belong to the Lord, I am not mine.

Amen. What a great truth we proclaim there that we are not our own, but God is the one who truly holds us and cares for us. And this morning we will confess our faith using a catechism for Christian growth. In this question and answer, we will confess about the mercifulness of God. And so here is the question. But isn't God merciful withholding his wrath? And together, yes, he has mercy on who he wills, is slow to anger and abounds in steadfast love. His mercy is a common grace, a gift to humanity, as he allows the rain to fall on the just and the unjust, patiently withholding his wrath until the due time. Amen. What a merciful God that we worship. Praise the Lord.

His mercy is more. Stronger than darkness, new every morn. Our sins, they are many. His mercy is more. What love could remember no wrongs we have done. Omnis and all knowing he counts not their son, thrown in to a sea without bottom or shore. Our sins, they are many.

Stronger than darkness, new every morn. Our sins, they are many.

As we constantly roam. What Father so tender is calling us home. He welcomes the weakest, the vilest, the poor. Our sins, they are many, his mercy more.

Stronger than darkness, new every morn. Our sins, they are many.

What riches of kindness he lavished on us, his blood was the payment, his life was the cost. We stood neat the death we could never afford. Our sins, they are many, his mercy is more.

Our sins to the Lord, can we do that together now? O Lord, turning aside from the great and awesome God. You keep covenant and steadfast love with those who love and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against you. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. Oh Lord, hear. Oh Lord, forgive. In Jesus' name, amen. And at this time, let us just confess our sins to the Lord. May take your seats.

And hear now the assurance of pardon. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. But the Lord Jesus has laid upon himself the iniquity of us all. Amen. At this time, uh let us have a time of prayer for um. So we all know somebody in our lives that uh just may not know the Lord. It could be a family member, could be uh a coworker, just somebody in your life uh that you may uh encounter on a daily basis or just here and there. But uh let's take this time now to pray for that person by name, uh, that uh that one that you would have that we would have the boldness to just preach the gospel to them. Um and then two, just that God would grant salvation to them. And so uh may we just pray for that person, that person that we have in mind, uh just take some time now to pray.

God, we just want to pray for um the unsaved, uh, people in our lives, Lord God, that don't know you. Uh I just we know, Lord, that you've placed these people in our lives uh so that we can um be used by you to just preach the gospel and to just share uh your word to them. And so I pray for um just boldness for uh each and every person here uh that we would be able to live lives uh that would reflect who you are, and God, from that, would you just give us opportunities to just simply share your gospel? And would you just do your work through that? Um I even think of um people in my own life, um, my friend AJ, who I've been sharing for the past year. Uh I just pray for his salvation. I pray that you would um just open up his heart and his mind uh to who you are, to his own sin, and that he would be able to turn uh away and follow after you, that you would allow him to have that saving faith.

And we pray that same prayer, Lord God, for people in our own lives, in the circles of influence that we have, Lord God, that we would be able to do the same. Just be able to share your love and your gospel to those around us. And Lord, I pray that ultimately that it would not be for our glory, but for yours alone that we would do so. And so, Lord, we just thank you for all that you do. We love you, we thank you. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Um just have a few announcements for this week. Um, next week we are going to have uh another uh guest speaker, Pastor Peter Chung, who's who we've all voted for to be our next pastor. And so next week, we all actually have an opportunity to hear him preach and then also just interact with him.

So next week, I think we're gonna have lunch together with him here, and you'll be able to ask him just questions and things that um pertain to him, his family, ministry, all of those things. So we're really excited for that next week. Um, our offering options uh our Zell, Venmo, Cash and Check. Um, you know, if you're visiting here, please don't feel obligated to give. But if you guys are members or longtime attenders, uh please give as the Lord um allows you to. Um and so with that, uh Pastor Ian, uh, we have uh will be preaching for us, um, who's always who's preached for us multiple times, just a good dude from uh Emmaus Church, and um yeah, let's just give him a warm welcome. Hello, hello, hello.

Is this on? Hello. Alright. Well, again, it's always a privilege to come to Beacon, and man, uh just hearing the news that you guys have finally voted in a pastor is such a joy for me to hear, just to see you guys finally have a shepherd, but also thankful just for you guys, for the members who have just been so faithful for the men who stepped up as well, for Howard, for Phil, for Stephen, and so uh Matt, when I just think about being, I just think about God's faithfulness and really the timing of everything is just so amazing. And so uh, but again, I'm it's just a privilege for me to bring God's word with uh for you once again. Today I'm gonna look at Psalm 90. If you have your Bibles with you, turn there with me.

Psalm 90. And this is a psalm that you might be familiar with, and if you are not, I'm excited to get into this psalm with you. Uh but once you're there, I do believe you guys normally stand. So why don't you stand for the honor and reading of God's word? We're gonna guess Psalm 90. Psalm 90. It's it says, a prayer of Moses, the man of God. Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were born, or you gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God. You turn man back into dust and say, Return, O children of men. For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it passes by. Or as a watch in the night. You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep.

In the morning, they are like grass which sprouts in you. In the morning it flourishes and sprouts in you. Toward evening it fades and withers away. For we have been consumed by your anger and by your wrath, we have been dismayed. You have placed our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. For all our days have declined in your fury. We have finished our years like a sigh. As for the days of our life, they contain 70 years, or due to strength eighty years. Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for soon it is gone. We fly away. Who understands the power of your anger and your fury according to the fear that is due to you? So teach us to number our days, that we may present to you a heart of wisdom.

Do return, O Lord. How long will it be? And be sorry for your servants. Oh, satisfy us in the morning with your loving kindness, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days you have afflicted us, and the years we have seen evil. Let your work appear to your servants and your majesty to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us. Confirm for us the work of our hands. Yes, confirm the work of our hands. This is the word of the Lord. Let me just pray for us real quick. Father, we ask that as we have opened your word, and as we sit under it, Lord, give us a greater perspective of you, and that Christ would be magnified, and that our hearts would be drawn and also sanctified by the preaching of your word.

Teach us, O God, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. You guys can be seated. Well, the psalm before us has been called by many commentators over the years as a mournful composition. In fact, this passage has been read at many funerals, many burial sites. And the reason for this is because this passage teaches us of the sober realities of life and death. As you and I know, death is that constant teacher in life, the teacher that reminds us that we are not going to live forever.

That our time upon this earth is very limited. And I do believe we all need those constant reminders of life and death, because to not live in light of this truth is to live foolishly.

That they know their own destinies, that they are promised the next month or the next year. People also make the mistake that they think that this life is all there is, that their primary residence is here, and the eternity is not at hand, and there is no God that they will one day stand before. And so again, praise God for passages like this one that are meant to wake us up, to cause us to not merely look at how temporal our lives are, but as we will see, it will cause us to turn to the one that we all need. To the one who alone is everlasting and eternal, and that is God. And that's the title for this sermon. It's the everlasting God, the everlasting God. Now, as you notice, at the top of this Psalm, there is a superscript there that reveals to us the author of the psalm.

As it says there, it is the prayer of who? It says, Moses, the man of God. Which tells us that Psalm 90 is actually the first Psalm ever written. And what's amazing is that even when reading this Psalm, we see parallels of Moses' writings from the book of Genesis. Now we need to recognize that if there was anyone qualified to write about life and death, it would be Moses.

He saw one of his Hebrew brethren being beaten by an Egyptian. What did Moses do? He killed that Egyptian and buried him in the sand, and then he fled. It was in Exodus 11, the last plague that God would afflict Egypt with.

Everything was good. They saw God's power on display that was culminated when the Red Sea was parted. And the people of God were able to safely make it to the other side. But despite God's faithfulness to deliver them and to sustain them, what did the people of Israel do? They complained. They grumble. They were ungrateful. They even said things like, It would have been better, God, if you just left us in Egypt to be slaves. And in God's judgment, while the journey to the promised land should have just taken a few months, it took them a whopping 40 years. Forty years in the wilderness.

They were just going on in circles, not knowing where this journey would end. And due to their sin and constant grumbling, what did God say in his judgment? That an entire generation of the people of Israel will die. That that generation will not see the promised land. It would have to be the generation after them. And so listen, when Moses was there in the wilderness leading this people, he witnessed the death of an entire generation. Death after death, burial after burial, funeral after funeral. In fact, the commentator tells us that an average of about 15,000 adults must have died there in the wilderness every year. 15,000 adults. And so is Moses qualified to teach us about life and death.

Absolutely. Not only because he was always confronted with death, but as a superscript also tells us, he was a man of what? Of God. In light of all of this, Moses always had a high view of God. And so with that being said, what we will see in our time today is that if I can give the outline for today, it's very simple. First, we will see man before an eternal God. Second, we will see man before a holy God. And third, we will see man's need for God. So man before an eternal God, man before a holy God. And third, we will see man's need for God. So let's begin with the first point. Man before an eternal God. Look me at verse 1. Moses begins the psalm by saying, Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.

Now, right away when Moses says Lord here, he doesn't use the covenant name of God, which is Yahweh. But rather he uses the word Adonai, which is not a substitute for the name of Yahweh, but rather it is a title that indicates his Lordship. It is saying, God, you are Lord over all. That everything in this world happens by your sovereign decree. The point being, by calling upon God as Adonai, Moses recognizes that even in this wilderness, God, you are sovereign. But in light of this, notice Moses also says, Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. The word therefore dwelling place can also be translated as our refuge, our abode. He is the one our souls find rest in. Now consider with me where you might find your dwelling place today.

It might be your house. Maybe after a long day of work, we just want to get to our beds, or maybe turn on the television, or look at our phones. It's in these places where it seems we cannot wait to find rest in. But Moses recognizes that for the people of God, our dwelling place is not found in a place or a home or a gadget, but it's in God. It's in Adonai. In fact, this is why, guys, even when we try to find rest in these things, we don't get true rest. But true rest is found in God, the sovereign Lord over the universe. He is our refuge. And what a statement to say when we consider the context of which Moses writes this. Again, they are in where? The wilderness. They're walking in circles for 40 years.

They've not yet entered the promised land, as they really have been on the go, constantly moving. Moses reminds his audience in this Psalm that for the people of God, Adonai, Lord over all, is our dwelling place. That he is Lord over our lives. So even when we're in times of difficulty or in times of joy, in times of sickness or in health, God is our dwelling place. And notice Moses also says that God is the dwelling place of his people, not only for his people or his audience, but in all generations. So that even includes for us today. For us as the church, the people of God have always found their dwelling place in God. This is why in the New Testament, even for us, that we might be living in this world, we might have houses, we might have families, but first Peter tells us we're not citizens of this world.

Rather citizens of a kingdom that is to come. In fact, this is what makes heaven heaven, guys. Heaven is when we will be with who? With God. To dwell with him. Moreover, this is why the gathering of the church is so sweet. It doesn't matter how many people are within the church, the gathering of the church is always sweet because this is where God's people are. Where God dwells within them, and we dwell within God. We find rest in him. In an eternal God. In fact, speaking of eternity, look at verse 2. Notice Moses speaks of the eternality of God, and he does so by creation. He says in verse 2, before the mountains were born, or you gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.

Last year I had the privilege to go to Zion Canyon. I don't know if you guys have been there before. Have you guys been to Grand Canyon? Maybe Grand Canyon. Well, when you go to these sites where these crazy mountains are, it's just amazing, right? Because it's in these sites where we feel so small. And these things are so grand. But I do believe that this is not only a majestic experience of this grandness of these mountains, but there is also a sense of permanence about mountains. That we know that they've been here for thousands of years.

I mean, my in-laws live in Cape Town. It's so sad because sometimes we'll see a restaurant and we're like, oh, nice. And then we come again after a month. It's not there, right? There's no permanence about them. Sorry if that strikes a chord to you, because there's been many good restaurants that have passed through to COVID, but when it comes to mountains, there's a permanence about them. But notice Moses even highlights here that mountains have a beginning. That they find its origin in a creator who is God. The point of why Moses is saying this is that even before the foundations of the earth, there existed God. You see, God alone is outside of time. Time is something created by God. In fact, when it says from everlasting to everlasting, you are God, this is to say, God, you have existed from eternity past to eternity future.

Time is something you've created. In fact, this is what makes God God. My children, right now, they often ask, Daddy, who created God? And it's such a simple question, but it's a hard question often. Well, friends, we know God has no beginning. He has no end. God is not limited to any time or space. In fact, us, the created beings, it only points us to an everlasting God. There is a God who exists. But speaking of people, in light of this God, notice he continues in light of who God is, he now turns to the attention of the frailty of man. Look at verse 3. He says, You turn man back into dust and say, Return, O children of men. What a way to speak about death. Like this is reminiscent of Moses' writings in the book of Genesis, because it tells us in the creation account that God formed man out of what?

He formed us out of dust. Which is why, even when God told Adam the consequence of his sin, he told him, For you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Listen, we all want to preserve our flesh and our bodies. We work out, we take supplements, whatever you do. But when all is said and done, the reality is we are but dust and ashes. That's how fleeting our lives are. That's how sobering this picture is. That while death can come in all kinds of ways, we're all dust. Notice Moses says here that God is the one who turns man back into dust. Or in other words, Moses is saying, God alone determines life and death. The God knows how many days we have.

He knows the exact time of when we will die. He has ordained every number of our days. And so while we might be afraid of accidents or unexpected diseases and deaths, we have to recognize God, who is eternal, is sovereign over these things. I mean, who could fathom that? But this is what makes God God. There is no accidents with God. God is not learning as time is going. In fact, time is his creation. And so look at verse 4, he says, For a thousand years in your sight, or like yesterday when it passes by.

Meaning, yes, a thousand years is a long time. Even ten years is a long time, but a thousand years is what in comparison to eternity. It is literally a drop of water in a vast ocean. It's to highlight the eternality of God and how frail we are in comparison. Moses gives us three different pictures about death. To speak about them. In fact, let's look at them quickly first. Look at verse 5. He says, You have swept them away like a flood. Or in other words, just as floods would come down violently and drive out what's in front of them. This is what happens with every generation. One generation comes and is swept away, and another generation comes and is swept away. That is life and death. Second, notice not only Moses mentioning the flood, he also gives the picture of sleep.

He says, They fall asleep. And that's a good picture of what death is like, because just like when we sleep, we are in a place where, of course, just rest, but the next thing that happens is we wake up. And that's kind of a picture of death because when we die, we will wake up and step into eternity. And we will either go to one of two places, either in heaven by God's grace, or in hell by God's just holy wrath. But third, Moses gives us one more picture, and that is of grass. It says, in the morning they are like grass which sprouts in you. In the morning it flourishes and sprouts in you. Toward evening, it fades and withers away. And the point is clear, grass is here one day. In the same day, it looks all nice, but in that same day, even, whether it's due to the scorching sun or to a lack of moisture, it dies.

That is how fleeting we are. We are here today. We are gone tomorrow. But the question now is this what's the point of this? Is this to make us depressed about life? No, Moses teaching us in light of these truths how important it is for us finite, limited creatures, to find our refuge in God. Why would we not turn to God? Why would we seek to find refuge in anything else that is but passing away? Church, ask yourself, where is your dwelling place? Where is your security? Where is your hope and your trust? Everything else is fleeting. We as God's people must find our dwelling place in the everlasting God. But this then leads us to our next point.

From considering man before an eternal God, our second point is this man before a holy God. Man before a holy God. Look with me at verse 7. Moses continues, he says, For we have been consumed by your anger, and by your wrath we have been dismayed. So we have to recognize that God is not only eternal and everlasting, but that same God, friends, He is holy. That He is a just God. He cannot tolerate any sin or any evil. And listen, God being God, there is no sin that goes unnoticed in his sight. Every thought, every whisper, every deed is a direct sin and rebellion against God, and he knows it all. And Moses understands this in the context of this wilderness. As the people are whispering and grumbling and say all saying all kinds of filth against God.

Again, make no mistake, God knows and sees it all, which is why, look at verse 8. Moses understands this. He says, You have placed our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. In other words, God, you see it all. Which is why, as they are facing the hand of God's judgment and the discipline of God, Moses recognizes, God, you are justified. Your anger is clearly upon us. Now let's pause there for a second. Because as new covenant believers, we understand that in Christ, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. That when we believe in Jesus, we understand that He took the wrath of God fully on our behalf. So the wrath of God was fully satisfied on the cross.

However, we need to recognize that this does not mean for us believers, God has a blind eye when it comes to our sins. Yes, God is no longer our holy judge. He is now our heavenly Father. And yes, in Christ we have been forgiven of all of our sins, but make no mistake, we can still disappoint our Father. We can anger him when we continue on in our sins. Which is why Scripture also makes clear that for those whom he loves, he disciplines. That there will be times in our lives, guys, where God's heavy hand of discipline will be upon us. Now we don't know how that will take place. Sometimes it might just be out of God's sovereignty. Some trial happens, but there are times it is by God's discipline.

Because just as a father disciplines his child out of love for the child, so too God will discipline us out of love. In fact, uh, right now, uh, my third child, she's almost two, and uh, I don't I don't spank her like I spanked my first two, because she's so young, but I still spank her. And even in that light tap, when I when she knows what she did was wrong, um, she will cry, and she will look at me, knowing full well what she did, and what she'll do is she'll cling to me and hold me close. Uh this is such a picture of discipline because, you know, there are times we know what we did was wrong. And when God disciplines us, it's not that he does it so that we would feel unloved, but that we would draw closer to him, that we would cling closer to him as our Father, and depend upon him.

And as for the people of Israel, listen, as this is before the new covenant. It's for them, they are, yes, God's chosen people, though, but they were feeling, in a sense, a weight of God's discipline and also his judgment. As God was faithful to deliver them out of slavery, to keep his promises. As they were in a place of unbelief, God was placing his hand of judgment upon them. And they would suffer the consequences of their sin. But God does this so that they would see their need for God. Look at verse 9. Moses says, For all our days have declined in your fury. We have finished our years like a sigh. And listen, this is not a sigh of relief, right? We're after a long day of work where we sigh.

This is a sigh of disappointment. A sigh of grief. I think I could say this because I think is everyone Korean here. It's like a sigh of taptape. You know what I'm saying? I can't say that my truth. We have a lot of non Koreans now, but it's like so hard to describe that sometimes. But it's like, man, what is going on? And when we consider Israel and God's amazing deliverance for them from Egypt, what a sad picture. To see them start so well. But turn against God and suffer under his hand of judgment. You can't help but sigh. If you read the Old Testament, you can't help but sigh. God is so faithful. They are so unfaithful. But if that were not enough, Moses seems to take us more on this downward spiral of sin, causing us to see again the brevity of man's life, but in light of their sin now.

Look at verse 10. It says, as for the days of our life, they contain 70 years, or if due to strength 80 years, yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for soon it is gone, and we fly away. Simply put it, our life is so short to live 80 years at best. And what's so foolish is that even this mankind was so limited. It's so foolish when man boasts in self. When man pridefully looks at that which he has, that which he cannot even take away with him. As Job says, naked we come and naked we go. Man does this rather than humble himself before a holy God. That man pridefully looks at himself and smiles and lives as if God does not exist. What foolishness is on display before the eyes of God to see temporal, fleeting, and sinful men boast in self.

This is why verse 11, Moses writes, Who understands the power of your anger and your fury according to the fear that is due you? Who understands God's anger towards sinful men? But here now is what many call the climax of this song. The prayer request in light of God being God and man before a holy and eternal God. When we consider how temporal we are and so small and so sinful, Moses, verse 12. So teach us to number our days that we might present to you a heart of wisdom. What is this saying? There are times when the kids uh they want a new toy, and I'll often look at my wife and will scoff and will get mad. Why? Because they got so many toys already. And what I'll often tell my kids is, hey guys, be grateful with what you have.

Stop complaining about what you don't have. If you're a parent, you can use that. Uh it's a line I use all the time. Be grateful of what you have, stop complaining about what you don't have. But there will be times where even that statement is not enough, and I will have to ask them the question, hey, how many toys do you have? And when I ask them this, I'm not literally saying, give me the exact number and leave it at that. In fact, I'll be kind of funny if they actually counted all of the toys, but by numbering their toys, I want them to value what they already have. And you see, this is what Moses is requesting to God, that God, you would teach us to number our days. He's not saying give us more days or give us less days.

But teach us to number them to value every day that God has given us. We would see how precious time is in light of your wrath. In light of your eternality. Listen, time is so it's so precious, is it not? Time continues to move forward. Once it's lost, we can't gain it back. We don't know the numbers of days we will live. In fact, we live in a time that loves to waste time. That is foolish when we do so. Doesn't mean you can't have times of rest. Of course you can have that. But how are we stewarding our time? To not steward it is foolish. Which is why verse 12, he says, so teach us to number our days that we may present to you a heart of wisdom, not foolishness. Moses asking God that God make us a people.

Who would be wise, who would live in a sense of fear and reverence for you in light of eternity, in light of our sinfulness. That we wouldn't steward our time, not wasting our time on fleeting things, but to use our time for you. Again, what a lesson this was for the people of Israel as they're wandering in the wilderness. I'm sure they feel like they're wasting time. What they needed was a sense of conviction. They must use their days to know God, to live for Him. And church, this is what we must be reminded as well. Not only is God the one we need, but He is the one we must live for with our time. Speaking of need, this leads us to our last point. We consider man before an eternal God, man before a holy God.

We now turn to man's need for God. It's that simple. We are so small before God. We are so sinful. We need God. We need this eternal and holy God. Look at verse 13. It says, Do return, O Lord. How long will it be? And be sorry for your servants. What we see in this section is Moses recognizing their greatest need. He doesn't pray, get us out of the wilderness. He doesn't say, get our circumstances to be better. He says, God, you are the one we need. He recognizes that as their sins are ever before God, as their sins have caused them to feel distant from God.

You see, yes, we recognize that God is always with us, with his people. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. His presence is everywhere. But as you and I know, you know, there are moments in our times of our Christian lives where due to sin, we feel what? Distant from God. And we often call those dry seasons, or maybe even wandering in the wilderness. But it's in these moments where often God reveals to us a certain kind of sin that now causes us to repent and cling closer to God. As we mentioned regarding discipline, we see our greater need for God. And as the people of Israel were exposed in their sins, Moses is pleading to God, God, return to us. Be sorry for us. In fact, look at verse 14.

He says, Oh, satisfy in the morning with your loving kindness, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days you have afflicted us and the years we have seen evil. In other words, the only thing that can satisfy us at this point is you, God. We can resort to leisure or hobbies or relationships. The only thing that can satisfy right now, due to our sin, is the mercy of God. That God would no longer look upon them in judgment, but in his kindness, he would withhold his wrath and show favor to worthless, sinful people. This is the plea for God's mercy. In fact, I do believe this plea for God's mercy is the plea of the true believer. In fact, that's a good place for us to be in.

Even when difficult times arise, when we are dependent upon the mercy of God, that is a good place for us to be. Because listen, for the true believer, we understand we don't deserve anything from God. We're not entitled before a holy God. There's nothing we can boast in of ourselves. We are completely at the mercy of God. And praise God, we have a God who is merciful. As we have just sung, you know, our sins, there are many. His mercy is more. That God is a God of mercy. In fact, friends, we are here today because of the mercy of God. The gospel shows us just that. That as helpless and hopeless sinners who deserve only but his wrath and judgment, God has in his mercy sent his son to bear the wrath of God on our behalf.

To crush his own son, and three days later for him to rise again, so that for any sinner who would repent and trust in him, we can receive his mercy. We can know God. We can have forgiveness in God.

And looking at our passage, I do believe Moses knew this about God. God is holy. God is eternal. Praise God. He is a merciful God. And for the believers here today, we need to be reminded of this again and again. That true joy and rest for our souls is not found until it's found in Him. So ask yourselves again, who are you abiding in? Who is your greatest need today? What is your greatest need in life today? Is it a house? Is it a relationship? Or do you see your great need for God? And praise God, he is merciful to receive us and to show us and pour out upon us his loving kindness.

I love this because he doesn't just end it with just saying, We need you. But we see a greater desire now in Moses to be faithful to God. But listen, even that great desire, he understands that in order to be faithful to God, we need God. Isn't that funny? It reminds us what Jesus says that apart from me you can do what? Nothing. So even if you want to be faithful to God, you need God. You cannot do it in your own strength. In fact, that's the failure of Israel. Every time they relied on their own strength, they would fail again and again. And that's our testimony as well. We need God in order to be faithful. And so look at verse 16. It says, let your work appear to your servants and your majesty to the children.

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us. In other words, Moses is saying, God, we need a higher view of you, a higher view of your work in our lives, a higher view of your majesty for all generations. The point being, we need you. We need you, God. And so he ends the psalm by saying, twice stand for emphasis. Look at the end of verse 17, it says, and confirm for us the work of our hands. Yes, confirm the work of our hands. Moses understand has learned the great lesson that we always need God. What a humble. A humble place to be in. To have a higher view of God and realize we are so small. We are but dust.

And everything in life points us to our great need for you. So as Moses started this psalm, recognizing man before an eternal God. He then showed us who we are before a holy God, that we are sinners who deserve nothing. He ends by saying, God, we need you.

That we might use our lives for your glory. So as we come to a close. I know there's so much in this psalm, so much to just take in, and maybe it's hard to digest. Maybe you're asking, what are some truths here we can apply right away? And so I have just three truths I want to just highlight here in light of this, really it's just a review to take home with us, just real quick. First, again, I do believe this psalm demands of us today that we humble ourselves before God. That if there's any pride in us that thinks we're in control, that we we have lives under control. We need to realize we are but dust, that we are sinful, and we're just like Israel, that even in God saving us, we will fall.

We must humble ourselves and cling to God who is merciful. As God's word says, God opposes the proud but gives grace to who? The humble. Second. Second, we must praise God for his mercy. I don't know about you, but when I think about this passage, I marvel at God's loving kindness. I mean, we don't deserve anything from God. But we know that God is merciful. He is a God who loves to forgive sins, to show his mercy.

And we are dependent upon his mercy even today. And that's that's us today, right? We're here by God's mercy. If it weren't for his mercy, we would be long gone. Praise God, he continues to show his kindness to us. But lastly, a lot of psalm. We must steward our time wisely. Stuart our time wisely for the glory of God. Again, time is so precious. Our lives are so fleeting. And we must pray what Moses prayed. Lord, teach us to number our days, that we might present to you a heart of wisdom. And so, guys, let's do that. Let's not waste the days that we have. Let's value each moment. And with the strength that he provides, let us use it for God and His glory. Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for this Psalm that gives us the right perspective of who we are. Lord, how foolish it is when we boast in ourselves, in our strength, in our riches. How foolish it is when we think we are in control of our lives. Thank you, Lord, for passages like this that wake us up, and sober us up. That also remind us, Lord, that you are a God of mercy. And we praise you for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who has saved us to forgive all of our sins and to reconcile us to you. But we pray, Lord, that we would not use this and abuse your grace. But we would steward our lives and our time to live for you and your honor and glory. So help us, Lord, as men, to serve you for your glory and for your purposes.

We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Let's all rise and respond and worship.

Let's just uh thank him for his great mercies and just ask that we would just bide our time well for the Lord and just live out our lives for him. Let's sing together.

O days of ring and summer filled thee never lasting, we dwell beneath the stars and ancient skies a thousand years are nothing in your sightlasting. You are God, and all our days are held within your hands, your perfect love and favor have no end.

Everlast God, oh God, oh God, when joy and tragedy and loss reminds us life is but never lasting our God all our days, and all our days are held within your hands, your perfect love and favor have no end.

Ever last of light, oh God of light, our ways are known to you, but by your grace, your making all things new, so satisfy us in our number days, establish every effort while we wait from never lasting our God, and all our days are held within your hand.

Oh we rest within the wisdom of your plan everlasting, and all our days are held within your hands, your perfect love and favor have no end oh we rest within the wisdom of your plan ever.