New Year’s Meditation
Bible Text: Psalms 90:12 | Preacher: Alan Conner | Series: 2004
INTRO
I. THE UNCERTAINTY OF LIFE.
Ps. 90:12 – “So teach us to number our days.”
1) It is a difficult request.
No one knows the total number of days of their life except God. Job 14:5; Ps. 139:16.
Only in a general sense can we number our days. In Ps. 90:10 “As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, of if due to strength, eighty years, yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; for soon it is gone and we fly away.
Life, at best, is brief. Ps. 39:4-6.
2) It is a prudent request. Moses says that it is the key to wisdom (v. 12b). Those who do not number their days will live under the curse of a heart of folly. Those who do not think of death will not be prepared to live. Those best prepared to live are those who are best prepared to die.
But why is it so important to number our days and gain this heart of wisdom?
II. THE CERTAINTY OF JUDGMENT
Ps. 90:7-11 gives us the context of judgment.
vv. 3-6 Man’s life is short
v. 7 God’s anger and wrath are real.
v. 8 all our sins, even our secret sins, are known to God
v. 9 –10 our days are short and end sooner than we think
v. 11 God must be feared for His anger and fury
Also compare 2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 10-12; Heb. 9:27.
Sobering thoughts indeed. Yet for all those in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation (Rom. 8:1). But the Christian is not satisfied just with knowing that they will not be condemned on the day of judgment, we want our life to count for the glory of Christ. There are rewards in heaven that come to all of God’s faithful servants.
So here are some thoughts to equip us to live wisely in the coming year.
III. WISDOM FOR 2004 AND BEYOND.
Look to the brevity of your life. If we should die this year, any regrets? Would we have wished we would have lived more consecrated lives for Christ? I’m sure we all would have wanted that, but why not take it to heart now?
Adolphe Monod, A Dying Man’s Regrets.
1) More sensitive to God’s will.
2) More study of the word of God.
3) Better use of time.
4) More prayer.
5) Less pre-occupation with petty interests.
CONCLUSION
Let us live BOLD Christian lives in the year to come and present to God a heart of wisdom as we grasp the uncertainty of life and the certainty of judgment.