In the Year of Our Lord, 2002 - Psalm 90

Introduction – How much we are like the people of Israel in the days of the wilderness. The church wanders aimlessly, receiving the discipline of the Lord for having not trusted Him against ‘the giants’ in the land. She has no influence upon the culture, but is made constantly a laughingstock by the gods of this land. Moses offers up this prayer representing his people as we should learn to do as well. Another year has passed. “Return, O Lord. How long?”

Contrast of the Eternity of God and the Mortality of Man (vv1-6) – Hope placed in God is hope that never dies. Hope placed in the State, in homeland security forces, or in mankind’s goodness, will always turn to dust.

Where Is Home? – Be careful, American Christian. You are easily tempted to think you can make yourself at home here. We are to be in this world but not of it. Our home, whether in times of comfort or not, must be in God who is from everlasting to everlasting.

How Fast a Year Goes By – ….and then its gone. Everything about time, because of our sin, truly points to one thing – our death and our judgment. As hard as you try to be significant, who will remember you 1000 years from now? Only One. For to God, when those thousand years are gone, it will be no different for Him than if it was yesterday.

The Curse Upon These Days (vv7-11) – In the affliction of God, the travels of Israel were to teach them of His anger. An entire generation was consumed in it. And what of our generation?

Consumed by Your Anger – We are a nation under the judgment of God. The church is under the judgment of God. We must acknowledge – He is angry with us.

Our Iniquities in Full View – There are our countless individual sins; and the corporate sins of the church are just as evident.

Egalitarianism – Man’s view of fairness was determined to be ‘more fair’ than God’s.

Evolutionism – The world can be studied without regard to God, as though only the data of matter and force were important.

Humanistic Relativism – in all its forms, it basically teaches that there are no absolutes (except that one), and that man is basically good (except those who hold to intolerant views).

Statism – Our ‘savior’ now owns the most land, is the largest employer, the largest distributor of welfare, and is presumed to be the responsible party for educating our children.

Promises to the Faithful (vv12-17) – God’s chastisement is good and efficacious. This means that tough times for the faithful produce good fruit. We are told to make this our plea before our Father.

“Teach us” (v12) – “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov 9:10). Pray that God would teach us. Numbering our days means more than ‘making each day count’, although every idle word will be judged. We must also garner the wisdom that only ‘today’ is guaranteed, and we must live like it. Have you closed with Christ? Have you repented today of all your secret sins?

“Return O Lord!” (v13) – We pray for reformation and revival in our land. But no more of the man-made stuff. We want the Spirit of the living God to fall again upon our land and turn hearts to Himself. In this sense, God has been gone for a long time.

“Satisfy us” (v14) – This is our prayer, and our prayer for our children. So much less has to be ‘unlearned’ when our children are satisfied in the mercy of God early. The measure of that satisfaction will not be in the emotions. It will be measured in glad obedience.

“Make us glad” (v15) – We are all under the discipline of the Lord as His church today. Many are also facing hard trials and afflictions. Once you understand and submit to the full sovereignty of God in all these things, you can make this your prayer. This is the weight of glory which far exceeds these trials (2 Cor 4:17).

“Show us Your glory” (v16) – The work of cultural reformation is the work of God, not of man. This is why our work must begin with the recovery of the worship of God, according to His Word. Our liturgy must be bathed in scripture like a torch dipped in oil. Anything we do will not have any lasting effect unless we first win our children and grandchildren to the faith.

Reestablished Beauty and Authority (v17) – We have lost our saltiness (Matt 5:13) and with it our effectiveness in the world. Only God can grant us saltiness again, and He has chosen to keep us in the wilderness of ineffectiveness until now. Most of the church is really quite happy to be there, entertaining ourselves, making our religion as ‘culturally relevant’ in a culture of death and unbelief as possible. What will a beautiful and powerful church look like?

Unity – No church, no denomination, is allowed to have unbiblical traditions or creeds. God’s Word must be our only ultimate standard. The church must return to a proper and honest interpretation of the scriptures. Only then will we be able to speak with one voice.

Calvinism – The church must return to preaching the doctrines of grace; man’s depravity, God’s exhaustive sovereignty, Christ’s efficacious atonement, and, I would add, the full expectation of the evangelization of the world.

In the Culture – God’s people will again see that the labor of their hands, in whatever vocation God has called them, is a holy work, extending the kingdom and the influence of our priestly dominion over all the earth. In art, in poetry, in homemaking, in house-building, in medicine, in education, in business, and in government, our theology must flow out of our hands.

Love One Another – What will make the church truly beautiful? Husbands who love their wives, wives who respect their husbands, children who gladly obey their parents, parents who train up their children in the fear of the Lord – people who truly consider one another more important than themselves. If we do not look radically different than the relationships of the heathen, it won’t matter what we say.

Dave Hatcher – December 30, 2001