“Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
“You return man to dust
and say, ‘Return, O children of man!’
For a thousand years in your sight
are but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a watch in the night.
“You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning:
in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.
“For we are brought to an end by your anger;
by your wrath we are dismayed.
You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
“For all our days pass away under your wrath;
we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
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.
Who considers the power of your anger,
and your wrath according to the fear of you?
“So, teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
Let your work be shown to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
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!” [1]
“Teach us to number our days.” I turned seventy years of age this past week. “Seventy” is just a number by which one can count the years of his pilgrimage. Accomplishments, the fulfilment of dreams is not measured by the number of circuits around the sun. A life can be defined by a hyphen. One day, should Christ tarry, each individual listening to this message will draw his or her final breath. After that final breath, a granite slab or a bronze plaque, will likely be placed in some prominent place as a memorial to the individual’s life; or perhaps it will be a line in a journal or an electronic entry on some data base. The plaque, or data entry, will have a date stating when that person began this life and a date stating when the last breath was drawn. Between these two dates will be a hyphen. Our days, and all that we did between the first and the last breath, will be reduced to a hyphen.
We are experts at counting our days, but the challenge of the Psalm is for us to live our days in such a way that they count. This particular Psalm is often read at funerals. It is appropriate to do so since the minds of the mourners are open to thinking of the brevity of life at such times. Listening to the Psalm, hearers are compelled to think of the impact we may have during the few days we live on this earth. This is a Psalm written by Moses—not someone we normally associate with the writing of the Psalms. It appears it was written near the end of his days, a time when he reflected on the brevity of life and weighed how to make the days count.
My prayer as I deliver this message is that you, the people of God, will be encouraged to arrange your lives in such a way that your life will count for Christ’s sake, that your life will accomplish something far greater than the mere passage of time. Perhaps God will graciously permit my words to somehow penetrate the darkness that now obscures the path of some individual who has never walked in the light of the Risen Saviour. I pray that the Jesus our Master is glorified through granting new purpose to lives that have perhaps lost the joy that comes from pursuing the Christ and His righteousness. I long to learn that the Living God has been exalted through opening hearts to know Him and the power of His resurrection.
THE STRUGGLES OF LIFE — “Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life.” Though he had lived 130 years, this was Joseph’s assessment of his life. He spoke a great truth in giving his review of his days. There are high points to any life—moments that bring pride and joy. Nevertheless, it seems that struggle and difficulty is the primary memory we hold of our journey. It requires effort to recall the joyous and fulfilling occasions; but the dark days seem to overshadow our lives, stealing joy and plaguing our walk.
Let me speak very pointedly to God’s holy people. When we are honest, each of us has failed at some point, and our failures plague our lives. Many Christians experience moral failure. Tragically, we live in an era when opportunities to sin are ubiquitous; we cannot turn on the television, listen to music or surf the net without being confronted by temptations—and the temptations are powerful. Perhaps it was a lapse in our personal interaction with another—we were needlessly rude, or we deliberately sought to embarrass another or we spoke without thinking. Though the incident is in the distant past, the memory of our action distresses us to this day. We try to shove the memory of our sin to the dark recesses of our mind, but like some monstrous apparition, it rises to condemn us. This is what the Psalmist is saying when he writes,
“You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.”
[PSALM 90:8]
A dreadful truth concerning the past is that it does not remain in the past. With alarming regularity, noted political leaders or stars of film and stage are shamed by revelation of some past indiscretion. This is especially true for the child of God. What we imagine to be private sin never remains private—God will not permit His child to harbour private sin. A spiritual principle is at work in the life of the follower of the Risen Son of God; that principle ensures that we will inevitably be confronted by past acts until we have dealt with them. One theologian has stated perceptively, “We do not break God’s rules—we break ourselves on God’s rules.” [2]
Why do I raise this matter? We are useful to God to the degree we are usable by God. Things are useful to the degree that they can be used for the intended purpose. My truck is useful to me when it provides dependable transportation, allowing me to drive into the mountains to pursue the activities that I love. When the truck no longer fulfils the purpose for which it is intended, it has lost its immediate value until it is restored to the purpose for which it was built.
The same is true of believers. We were created to know God and to enjoy Him forever. However, sin separates us from God; unconfessed sin contaminates the life of the child of God. Most of us will agree that openly sinful behaviour keeps us from being used by God. However, private sin sullies the child of God every bit as much as public sin contaminates the child of God. The tragic truth too often ignored is that private sin debars us from being useful in God’s service. This is one reason Satan tempts the believer: he wants to keep us from helping other people to become followers of the Christ. When we succumb to sin, we are sullied, we are contaminated, our life is soiled; and the Holy Spirit is unable to use a dirty vessel.
The evil one also tempts Christians because he knows that sin grieves the Father’s heart. Satan cannot harm God, but he can and does attack God’s children. Any parent can relate to the sense of grief experienced when his or her child is threatened—the welfare of our children is perhaps our greatest concern as parents. In the same way, our welfare is critical to the Father. Satan knows this to be true; therefore, he uses this knowledge against us to strike at the Father.
When we stumble into sin, and each of us has stumbled, the knowledge of our failure plagues our memory. Perhaps we are reading the Word, trying to have time alone with God, trying to obtain spiritual nourishment; however, as we read it seems as if every sentence exposes sin that was far in the past. It is painful for us to read because we are constantly confronted by what once happened. We may decide we will pray, but we soon give up because we realise we are tossing a word salad toward God without actually communicating. We grow frustrated because we are reduced to saying prayers without actually praying. Our sinfulness keeps rising up to condemn us and continually we are driven from intimacy with God.
We have sinned, giving in to the temptation that was so attractive, resulting in lost intimacy with the Father, loss of spiritual power and loss of effectiveness with those we love. The remedy for how we fell is simple, though difficult for us to employ. What happened? Satan tempted us, as he did our first mother; we saw how attractive the temptation appeared and we grabbed hold of what was otherwise forbidden. In effect, we ceased worshipping God and began to worship our own desire.
Perhaps you will recall Jesus’ response at Satan’s final temptation. Having tempted Jesus on several fronts, at last Satan offered the Master all the kingdoms of the world and their glory if Jesus would give the evil one His worship. Jesus responded by quoting from the Word of God. Matthew’s account records that Jesus said, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’”
[MATTHEW 4:10]
Now, note what DEUTERONOMY 6:13 actually says. “It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.” Did you notice something missing from the verse? Neither in the English translation nor in the Hebrew is the word “only” found in the verse. God makes it obvious that “only” is the proper understanding when He says in the following verse, “You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you” [DEUTERONOMY 6:14]. Jesus, however, emphasises the restrictive nature of the divine commandment by stating that God alone is to be worshipped.
Okay, so worshipping God is necessary to put the past where it belongs, which is in the past. However, to worship God means that I approach God on His terms; and He demands holiness. Thus, I am compelled to confess my particular sin and turn from it. We are taught, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” [1 JOHN 1:9].
We often forget that confession always entails willingness to forsake the particular sin that contaminated us in the first place. The Wise Man observed,
“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper,
but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”
[PROVERBS 28:13]
“But, what if I fail again?” some will ask. Then, we must again confess our particular sin, turning from that sin and seeking His strength to walk away. Let me suggest some practical help at this point. It isn’t original with me; it is adapted from another follower of the Christ. [3] You sinned; now what? Know Your Enemy. Having turned from a particular sin, you are still in the middle of your fight. You must never ignore the fact that Satan is at work in your thoughts, your hatreds, your impulses, your emotions, your plans, your ideas. After you turn from your sin, you are still mid-battle with a tenacious, evil being bent on stealing your life.
Fight Self-Hatred. Having sinned, we want to punish ourselves because we betrayed our Saviour and our own intentions. “I’m a terrible Christian,” we will say; “I’m unfit to be called a child of God.” It is a difficult truth to admit, but none of us are paragons of righteousness. Instructing His disciples, Jesus said, “When you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty’” [LUKE 17:10]. That puts matters in a different perspective.
All that is accomplished when we allow ourselves to wallow in self-loathing is that we warp ourselves more, deforming ourselves psychologically as we descend into self-hatred and self-disgust. When we wallow in our self-loathing, our hatred of the sin is twisted to become self-hatred. God received me as His child knowing who I am and knowing my weakness and giving His Son because of my proclivity to the most despicable sin. Christ has not forgotten you, He came that you may have life and have it abundantly [see JOHN 10:10].
Fight the Haze. After confronting our sin, we are often dazed, our vision of God is obscured as though we are looking through a spiritual haze. At such times, above all else we must struggle to re-establish intimacy with the Father. We do this through prayer. Prayer becomes our air, allowing us to again breathe in hope. Prayer is an act of hope. A statement in the Lamentations speaks to this matter when Jeremiah writes, “The LORD is my portion … therefore, I will hope in Him” [LAMENTATIONS 3:24]. As I pray, I am taking steps forward, away from the sin and toward God. My spiritual cataract that has dulled my vision is being removed so that I again see Him in all His purity.
Guard Others. Because dealing with the sin is so recent, assume that you are vulnerable. Assume that you are prone to project your sin onto others, or that you are prone to use others rather than ministering to others. Rather than focusing on your own failure, refocus on building others, on glorifying the Saviour. Ruthlessly reject even the suggestion that you will tolerate anything less than honouring the Master who loves you and gave Himself for you.
This is a good time to put into practise the instructions Paul provided to the Galatians. “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” [GALATIANS 5:16]. Remember what is said of the fruit of the Spirit and cultivate that fruit in your life. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” [GALATIANS 5:22-24].
Confess to a Friend. The purpose of confession is not so much to unburden ourselves as it is to enable spiritual healing. Recall the truth that James provides when he writes, “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed” [JAMES 5:16]. Confessing to a friend is a major step toward healing, toward fixing the brokenness. Let me caution that this should be a friend of the same sex; we must not open ourselves to failure in an area that has not seen us fail in the past.
Modern Christians are often friendless. We have acquaintances, but too often we don’t have friends. What is needed after we have turned from a besetting sin is a friend who will not excuse us, but neither will our friend crush us. We are looking for someone who will protect us in our vulnerability by keeping our confidence, but a friend who will not shove us away or push us down in disgust. We are looking for a friend who will not “crush the afflicted at the gate” [PROVERBS 22:22b]. Equally important, we do not want a “friend” who will excuse our sin by “call[ing] evil good and good evil” [ISAIAH 5:20a].
Use Your Clarity for Good. Your sin has been exposed in your own sight, you have confessed your sin, and though there is a spiritual haze, there is a hindsight of regret. Don’t waste your regret! Because you are horrified at what took place, erect barriers now. Set a guard on your tongue. Get rid of every app that served to open you to temptation.
We live in the age of the Internet with unimaginable opportunity to sin. Pornography draws us in because we imagine that the anonymity will permit us to peek just a little. Sarcastic, cutting comments are easy because we believe we can maintain anonymity. We may find it necessary to quit using our computer altogether, asking a trusted friend to lock down all apps, restrict our browser and even surrender our passwords. What we are doing is taking advantage of our horror at what we have done to erect barriers to keep us from going back.
Know Your God. Above all else, remember that God loves you. He loves you so much that He gave His only begotten Son because of you. His heart is broken with us, but He is powerfully committed to being glorified in us. He does not abandon the sinner. Therefore, build yourself up in this holy faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, keep yourself in the love of God.
THE DAYS OF OUR LIFE —
“For all our days pass away under your wrath;
we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
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.
Who considers the power of your anger,
and your wrath according to the fear of you?
[PSALM 90:9-11]
Moses began the Psalm by looking at God. Moses saw God as sovereign; he marvelled at God’s might and power. In VERSES THREE THROUGH SEVEN, the man of God is comparing man’s strength and grandeur to God’s might and majesty; in these verses, Moses confesses there is no contest. Then, he looked at one great disappointment in a man’s journey through this life—our inability to move beyond our brokenness. Our sinful condition leads us to dishonour our Creator, and we are powerless to move beyond our sinful condition. With Paul, we cry out, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death” [ROMANS 7:24]?
I’m currently reading Numbers from the Pentateuch during my daily devotions. For forty years Moses, assisted by Aaron, led Israel through the trackless wilderness. The nation was always moving with the promise of rest in the Promised Land [e.g. DEUTERONOMY 7:1; 11:10, 29]. Moses inspired the people to look forward to what God was providing. Yet, neither Aaron nor Moses would be allowed to enter into the land God was giving Israel. These brothers had dishonoured the Lord at Meribah, incurring God’s anger. Therefore, the LORD said, “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” [NUMBERS 20:12].
Shortly, we read of Aaron’s final day in the flesh. “The LORD said to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom, ‘Let Aaron be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land that I have given to the people of Israel, because you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah. Take Aaron and Eleazar his son and bring them up to Mount Hor. And strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron shall be gathered to his people and shall die there.’ Moses did as the LORD commanded. And they went up Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. And when all the congregation saw that Aaron had perished, all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days” [NUMBERS 20:23-29].
Later, we read of the death of Moses. “Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. And the LORD said to him, ‘This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, “I will give it to your offspring.” I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.’ So, Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD, and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day” [DEUTERONOMY 34:1-6].
Consider this, Aaron was well advanced in years when he died. Moses also was well advanced in years; he was one hundred twenty years old when he climbed Mount Nebo to die. At his death, God says of Moses, “His eye was undimmed and his vigour unabated” [DEUTERONOMY 34:7]. We might well envy these brothers! Both of these men exceeded by at least fifty percent the lifespan of most people. Even with our advance systems of medical care, few of us will live this long or come to the end of days with eye undimmed and vigour unabated. Despite a long and a productive life, Moses compares life to a dream [VERSE FIVE] and mourns that “we bring our years to an end like a sigh” [VERSE NINE]. Despite living well beyond the number of years we would normally anticipate, this man of God considers the years of life to be defined by toil and trouble, he considered life as gone too soon, before at last flying away.
Looking back, Moses sees life played out against the backdrop of God’s wrath toward sin. This is not the caricature so often seen of an angry God just looking to destroy people who displease Him; this is a statement of God’s character seen in the divine light! Sin, both overt sin and secret sin, is an offence to Holy God. Sin is so offensive that it cost God the death of His Son in order to redeem fallen mankind. Sin is horrible in the sight of God. The old man is reviewing his life only to draw these conclusions. Our life is short in comparison to God’s eternal presence. Moreover, our life is defined more by our sinful nature than by our walk with God. We spend more time dealing with our brokenness than we do in communion with God!
Rather than seeing the Psalm as a lament of lost opportunity, I believe it is meant to be encouragement for those with days yet before them to consider how to maximise the quality of life! Moses is challenging readers to think carefully of how they can make the days count. That is precisely how Moses will conclude the Psalm, pleading with God to instruct His people to make life count and pleading with God to remember mercy by showing His favour toward those who know Him and who are called by His Name.
RESPONDING TO THE CHALLENGE OF LIVING —
“So, teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
Let your work be shown to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
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!”
[PSALM 90:12-17]
We count years; Moses is urging us to count days. What did you do yesterday that will make a difference for eternity? What are you doing today that will transform a life, whether yours of the life of another? What is taking place in your heart, in your life, as this message is delivered? As result of decisions you are making in terms of your relationship to God, whose life will be transformed today? Tomorrow? “Lord, teach us to number our days.”
Some have suggested that Moses may have written this Psalm after God’s judgement at Kadesh-barnea [4] [see NUMBERS 13:1-14:38]. God’s judgement was that the nation would wander in the wilderness for forty years—one year for each day the spies had spent in the land. If this is the case, it is no wonder that Moses prayed, “Teach us to number our days.” It is good at this date early in the new year to remember that we live one day at a time. If Moses wrote this after God’s pronouncement of judgement, it would mean that a twenty-year-old would know that he or she would live forty more years at most! That twenty-year-old would die at age sixty! There would be no appeal from the sentence. Israel was sentenced to a forty-year funeral march.
However much we may accomplish, life will prove to be far too brief. In light of eternity, life is more than brief—it is fleeting. If we will make our days count, we must rest on the Lord our God. To live life with wisdom, we need the wisdom of God. To live the few days of our pilgrimage, we must have the joy of the Lord. Only in fulfilling the will of God will we find true satisfaction. Finding satisfaction through fulfilling the will of God, His glory will be revealed in us and we will grow in His beauty. This is precisely what Moses seeks from God.
Moses prays for wisdom:
“Teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.”
[PSALM 90:12]
Moses speaks of divine wisdom, not wisdom as the world understands wisdom. This is the wisdom of which James wrote. “Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” [JAMES 3:13-18].
Next, Moses prays for joy:
“Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.”
[PSALM 90:14, 15]
“Rejoice always” [1 THESSALONIANS 5:16], is the apostolic command. In a later letter, Paul would write, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” [PHILIPPIANS 4:4]. The Thessalonian Christians had “received the Word in much affliction,” but they had also received that Word “with the joy of the Holy Spirit” [1 THESSALONIANS 1:6]. Opposition, pressure, reversal of fortunes can be reasons to rejoice. Just because we experience hard times does not mean that we are deserted. We are confident that Christ is ever with us.
I draw great encouragement from the apostolic assessment of life. Paul surmised, “We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” [2 CORINTHIANS 4:7-9]. It is impossible to defeat the individual who has committed all to Christ and walks with Him in joy!
Is it possible to face reversal and opposition with joy? An incident during the first missionary journey teaches that it is possible to experience joy—real joy—even when persecuted. In Pisidian Antioch, the Jews were adamantly opposed to the missionaries. Seeing the crowds Paul was attracting, they were jealous and so they began to slander the missionaries. Paul and Barnabas responded by asserting, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,
“‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
[ACTS 13:46b, 47]
Note the impact on the Gentiles who were listening to this exchange between the missionaries and the Jews. “When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region” [ACTS 13:48, 49].
The Jews were not finished with their determined opposition, however. “The Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. And ‘The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit’” [ACTS 13:50-52].
Note, also, that Moses prays for satisfaction:
“Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love.”
[PSALM 90:14a]
Jesus has taught us, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” [MATTHEW 5:6]. On another occasion, the Master promised, “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied” [LUKE 6:21a]. The great deficit of our generation is that we seek the wrong things, and thus we are never satisfied. When we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, all we could imagine will be supplied—we will be satisfied.
Moses prays for God’s glory to be revealed in God’s people:
“Let your work be shown to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.”
[PSALM 90:16]
The missing component of contemporary churches is the unveiling of God’s power among the saints. For many of us, we have lived so long with faux glory generated through rite and ritual that we would be nonplused at the unveiled glory of the Christ seen in our service. We have claimed that our enthusiasm and entertainment is power for such a long time that we are uncertain what the power of God is.
Jesus’ promise to the disciples creates a longing in the heart of every true disciple. Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses” [ACTS 1:8a]. Our children need to see God’s power revealed in His people; and they shall never see that glorious power until it is revealed through us.
Moses prays that the people will grow in God’s beauty:
“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!”
[PSALM 90:17]
How wonderful it should be if we, as was true for David, should begin to pray thusly,
“One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to inquire in his temple.”
[PSALM 27:4]
This life is the anteroom to Heaven. What we do here is preparing us for eternity. Failure? Each of us have many failures that reflect the broken condition of our life. What will it be? Will we continue to give the devil power over our lives as we beat ourselves up? Or will we again turn to the Lord who loves us and gave Himself for us? Will we disqualify ourselves from pursuing His glory? Or will we seize the glory that is even now being held out to us? It is time for each Christian to pray, “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Let each of us determine that we will appropriate God’s wisdom, His joy and the satisfaction that is ours in Christ Jesus. Let each of us pursue God’s glory and His beauty in our own life and in the life of the congregation. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers, 2001. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] J. V. Langmead Casserley, quoted by Jim Denison, “Should Prince Charles be the next king?” January 6, 2017, https://www.denisonforum.org/columns/cultural-commentary/prince-charles-next-king/, accessed 6 January 2017
[3] Paul Maxwell, “Seven Things to Do After You Look at Pornography,” March 16, 2016, http://churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/275553-seven-things-to-do-after-you-look-at-pornography.html, accessed 7 January 2017
[4] E.g. Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Exultant: “Be” Commentary Series, 1st ed. (Cook Communications Ministries, Colorado Springs, CO 2004) 11; William Varner, Awake O Harp: A Devotional Commentary on the Psalms, First Edition (Kress Biblical Resources, Woodlands, TX 2011) 231-231
