Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

grass appears in the morning as a result of the heavy dew and by late afternoon it is withered into straw. Our lives are similar to the lowly grass of the field.

“We wither beneath your anger; we are overwhelmed by your fury. You spread out our sins before you–our secret sins–and you see them all. We live our lives beneath your wrath. We end our lives with a groan.” (7-9) Moses may have been recounting his own sin and failure at the waters of Meribah where he struck the rock instead of speaking to it as God commanded him. Because of this failure he was not allowed to enter the land: “At that time I pleaded with the Lord and said, ‘O Sovereign Lord, I am your ser- vant….Please let me cross the Jordan to see the wonderful land on the other side, the beautiful hill country and the Lebanon mountains.’ But the Lord was angry with me because of you, and he would not listen to me. ‘That’s enough! He ordered. ‘Speak of it no more. You can go to Pisgah Peak and view the land in every direction, but you may not cross the Jordan River.”(Deut. 3:23-27) There is triumph and tragedy in the life and ministry of Moses as an entire generation of people experienced the anger, fury and wrath of God ending their lives in groans of unbelief. “Seventy years are given to us! Some may even reach eighty. But even the best of these years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we are gone. Who can comprehend the power of your anger! Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve.” (10,11) Moses microscopes his view of life from eternity, through a millennium, down to a shortened lifes- pan of 70 to 80 years. Before the flood, the lifespan of mankind was nearly a thousand years. After the flood, it was shortened to less than two centuries; Abraham lived 175 years and Moses lived 120; “Moses was 120 years old when he died, yet his eyesight was clear, and he was as strong as ever.” (Deut. 34:7) The lifetime of mankind was shortened to less than a century with the giving of the law. With the institution of the law came the revelation of his wrath against sin. Moses is watching an entire generation perish under the wrath of a holy God as the New Testament observes: “…God was not pleased with most of them, and he destroyed them in the wilderness.” (1 Cor. 10:5) It is no wonder he appeals for all to fear God in proportion to the wrath he has shown. At this point on the top of Mount Pis- gah, we could think that Moses is a vengeful, bitter religious figure but he looks beyond his circum- stances to the tender mercies of God and prays a prayer that every believer has a right to claim. At this point in Moses’ song he focuses on our only hope; God must come to us with pity and unfailing love and fill our lives with gladness and good by his miraculous power. The stern judge of Is- rael knows that God’s mercy and love is the only solution to the catastrophe of human failure exhibited through the millenniums and life times of history. Moses submits 10 petitions to God that reveal his deep understanding of grace and mercy and leads us into an intimate worship prayer of hope and renewal. He is no longer thinking in terms of eternity and lifetimes, he is asking God to appear in the very day in which we live. 1. Teach us- “Teach us to make the most of our time,[to number our days NKJV] so that we may grow in wisdom.” (12) Each day is as important as 1,000 years in the sight of God and he will help us to prioritize our life around that which is eternal. Moses, the great worship leader sets an example for us in prayer and we have the right to sing these magnificent petitions every day. 2. Come back to us- “O Lord, come back to us! How long will you delay?” (13) The people that focus upon God’s purpose will enter the Promised Land! 3. Take pity on us- “Take pity on your servants!” (13) Only his mercy will make us worthy of the great things he has planned for our future. 4. Satisfy us- “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.” (14) He calls attention to the most important part of our day, the morning, when we must experience his unfailing love that will be translated into joyful song lasting a lifetime. The worshiper must discover the power of the morning and the importance of beginning the day in faith! IV YOUR UNFAILING LOVE - 12-17 Daily Perspective III SEVENTY YEARS - 10-11 Lifetime Perspective

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