In the Year of Our Lord, 2006 – Psalm 90

 

Introduction – Time. It is a paradox. Time is necessary to make sense of life, and yet it is a strange, nonexistent reality. You can’t box up time. You can’t slow it down, speed it up; the more you think about it the more anxiety it seems to produce (Matt 6:34). Yet, Moses warns us to “number our days.” Time always dissolves life into memories of a past which no longer exists and, at the same ‘time,’ points to a future which is not yet here and ultimately leads to death. Happy New Year.

Moses’ Situation – Moses writes this Psalm, it appears, during the years in the wilderness. Mortality and time are the issues, for Israel has been told that she will wander in the wilderness for forty years, until all of the generation of adults coming out of Egypt had died. He is also shepherding the upcoming generation who will go into the Promised Land after those forty years.

 

The Soberness of Time – All religion is, in one sense, an attempt to solve the problem of time. One author mused that time is like a line on telephone poles strung out into the distance. At some point we connect on, and at some point we simply disconnect.

Home is only in God (vv1-2) – Sometimes it takes a time of wilderness wandering to learn that, apart from being right with God, there is no home for us here on the earth. Israel had been promised a Land, but because they had not found home (a place of faith) in God, they found there was no Land for them at all – no home. Everything else eventually withers away. God is our dwelling place in all generations. Ultimately, there is no other home.

Security is only in God (vv3-11) – Upon this earth still afflicted with the final enemy, death, we cannot escape the flood of destruction, decay and ruin. Death will come. There is no escaping it. And when it does, it doesn’t matter how long we have lived, it always feels wrong – because it is an aberration of God’s original design. 1000 years from now, no one will remember you, but God will have not forgotten each and every one of your sins against His holy Law, if they were not dealt with in Christ. They will seem as real to Him as though they had occurred today. Those in the wilderness of life ‘in the flesh’ have no ultimate hope for 2006, for it is just 365 more days of time ticking toward death, judgment, and wrath. Those in the wilderness of life ‘by faith’ are the only ones who can make sense of all that will take place in 2006 – their sure security is in the God who “from everlasting to everlasting” is God.

 

The Delight of Time – The Psalm is not one of despair, although it is one of sober reality. But for the generation who will believe, who will hold onto His promises, who will trust His faithfulness, time is the outworking of God’s great plan and the ‘space’ in which it is experienced in reality.

Satisfaction is only in God (vv12-15) – There is wisdom to be gained in understanding time in light of faith in God. In Christ, regardless of the circumstances He ordains for us, there is compassion, mercy, rejoicing and satisfaction to be found in the life He has planned for you (Eph 2:8-10). This wisdom and satisfaction is often found through the afflictions and cross-bearing He gives us in order that we might be reminded and taught afresh how dependent we are upon the Lord for every grace we receive (“Give us this day our daily bread…”)

Significance is only in God (vv16-17) – My life only matters in Christ. But in Christ, it does really matter. Time is not an illusion of reality. It is the working out of God’s plan of redemption – it is the True Story and the Ending is real and promised. Everything we do, therefore, has ultimate and eternal value and meaning. And in Christ alone, our industry brings blessing and glory and the beauty of what we do brings gladness, joy, rest, and life to the world around us.

 

More on “Why this is so” – Consider this miscellany of thoughts regarding time.

Who Is Lord of Time – Jesus did not distance Himself from time. Not only did He come at the appointed “time,” (Gal 4:4-5), He calls Himself the Lord of all time. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, who is and who was and who is to come (Rev 1:8). He is the Lord of the Sabbath, a particular marking of time appointed by God for man (Mark 2:27-28).

Seasons and Times – God structured the Creation to mark time (Gen 1:14-19). Evening and then morning were to mark a day (i.e. Gen 1:19). And God set aside the seventh day of Creation as a special day for delighting in God and in His work (Gen 2:1-3, Isaiah 58:13). This “good” world, however, after the fall was a world full of sin and revolt against God, and early on God began to point to a whole new day, an eighth day in which the old world would be transformed into something new. Israel’s male children were circumcised on the eighth day, Solomon’s temple was consecrated on the eighth day (2 Chron 7:9), and new born animals were sacrificed on the eighth day (i.e. Lev 22:27). The promise of the Messiah was to be a day “the Lord has made,” (Psalm 118:22-24, Acts 4:10-11). That day was Sunday, the “eighth day” – the day of the week on which the Holy Spirit fell upon the church as well (Acts 2:1). This New Day declared the New Creation through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, head of the New Humanity. Our Lord’s Day service is a constant memorial and renewal of this true occurrence in space and “time.”

The Kingdom and “Time” – The kingdom of God is described in terms of time and not abstract spiritual principles. The promises are to you and to your children – to a thousand generations (over time – Deut 7:9). The kingdom grows over time, like leaven in a lump or like a mustard seed in a garden – it transforms over time. There will be a day when the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea (Is 11:9).

Consecrating Your “Time” – There is no vanity in our lives if we live according to the God who is at work in us, completing that which He has begun (Phil 2:12-16). And having a faithful understanding of our time, our days, we can join with Paul even in our imperfect lives, looking forward to a crown, a reward, for how we spent our “time” (2 Tim 4:6-8).

Dave Hatcher – January 1, 2006