Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vols. 13–63

Psalm 90 is entitled "A Prayer of Moses, the man of God," and it furnishes a suitable prayer for every man of God. Any men of God who have had experience as deep, trying and varied as that of Moses will be the better able to enter into the spirit of the Psalm.

Psalm 90:1. LORD You have been our dwelling place in all generations. [See Sermon #46, Volume 1—the glorious habitaTION.] "This world in which we live is no home for our immortal spirits. You give us habitations for our bodies, but there are no dwelling places for our spirits that are of a nobler order. We dwell in You, O Lord; You are our home. Beneath Your wide wings we find blessed shelter and in communion with

You our hearts are kept in perfect peace. Lord, You are the home of Your people in all generations—not only in the generations that are past, when Noah, and Abraham and Moses, and David, and all Your ancient servants found a refuge in You, but even to this day You are still our strong castle and our high tower, our refuge and place of defense, our dwelling place even in this generation."

2. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. When compared with God, those hoary hills are but as infants of a day, and the whole round world itself is but as a new-born child. "From everlasting" has He existed—when all created things slept in His Infinite mind like unborn forests sleep in an acorn cup and so on forever, "to everlasting"—when all created things shall have dissolved, when back to nothing this fair world shall have gone—God shall still be the same. He is a rock that cannot be removed. There is no terra firma upon this earth, but while all things are whirling around us, we find a firm dwelling place beyond the stars in the ever-living and Immutable Jehovah. No man's home is safe unless it is built on something more stable than this poor trembling earth, but he who rests on God and lives in God has the best of all habitations wherein to dwell in safety forever.

3. You turn man to destruction; and say, Return, you children of men. Man is mortal, conspicuously so. As we walk about our streets, how we miss our old companions, one by one! They have returned to the bosom of mother earth from where they first sprang. The inhabitants of this world seem to pass in procession before our eyes—those who were here a few minutes ago are gone and another rank has come, and another, and another and they will soon all be gone—and we shall be gone too. He, then, who hopes to find a home among the sons of men will miss it, but he who makes the eternal God his habitation shall still be at home in the Lord even when wife, and child, and brother, and friend all sleep in the silence of the sepulcher.

4. For a thousand years in Your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. Our measurements of time are nothing to God. There is nothing past and nothing future with Him—all things are present in the eternal NOW of God. What a wonderful Truth this is of the eternal existence of God—and what boundless comfort it brings to the man who feels that this God is his God, his Father, his Friend and his All-in-All!

5. 6. You carry them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep in the morning; they are like grass which grows up. In the morning it flourishes and grows up; in the evening it is cut down, and withers. Such is the best estate of man—a field bedecked with daisies, kingcups and other frail flowers, but the mower's scythe is near—you may hear him sharpening it! And soon along the sward, all the sons of men shall fall—and you who have found your hope, your Heaven, your confidence here—how poor will you be in the end thereof! But O you who have sent all your heart's desires upwards to your God, you who are living in the future, living in the infinite, how secure are you, for no rust shall fret your gold, no moth consume your garments! You are blessed indeed.

7. For we are consumed by Your anger and by Your wrath are we troublet. Yes, if the Lord lets even a little of His wrath out for a while against His servants, how greatly do we suffer! Blessed be His name, it never is real anger against His own chosen people. He does but hide His love under the form of wrath, just as a father never really hates his child, and even though he is angry with him for his faults, and chastises him, yet there is more love than wrath in every blow of the rod. Still, it is a sad thing to lose the sense of God's love in the heart—it consumes us and troubles us. We could bear sickness, we could bear slander or persecution, or almost anything but the absence of the Light of God's Countenance! That is the worst of trials to His children.

8-10. You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the Light of Your Countenance. For all our days are passed away in Your wrath; we spend our years as a tale that is told. The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they are fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off and we fly awaj. A long life or a short life, what a little difference it makes when the last hour comes! The patriarch as well as the child descends to the grave and all, as they sleep in their separate graves, seem only to have lived for a little moment and then to have passed away.

11. Who knows the power of Your anger? Even according to Your fear, so is Your wrath. God grant that none of us may ever know experimentally the power of His anger! But may we know it, as a matter of faith, so as to tremble concerning it, and so as to flee to Christ to be delivered from it! But what must it really be to feel the power of God's anger? I implore you never to believe any teaching that seems to make God's anger less terrible than you thought it to be. It is not possible to exaggerate here—the power of God's anger is immeasurable, and that is why the power of Christ's Atonement is infinite!

12. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. That is the great matter, after all, to get the heart applied to wisdom, to learn what is the right way and to walk in it in the practical actions of daily life. It is of little use for us to learn to number our days if it merely enables us to sit down in self-confidence and carnal security! But if our hearts are applied to true wisdom, the Lord's teaching has been effectual.

13, 14. Return, O LORD, how long? And let it repent You concerning Your servants. O satisfy us early with Your mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. [See Sermons #513, Volume 9—THE YOUNG MAN'S PRAYER and #2987, Volume 52—THE "BEAU IDEAL" OF LIFE.] Dear young people, here is a suitable prayer for you to present to God—"O satisfy us early with Your mercy." Believe me, there is no joy for a lad like that of loving the Lord Jesus Christ while he is yet young! And O you maidens—there is no fairer jewel that you can ever wear than that of love to Jesus Christ—

"'Twill save us from a thousand snares To mind religion young! Grace will preserve our following years, And make our virtues strong."

And each one of us may pray this prayer. "Lord, now give us Your mercy! If we are unsaved, let us not remain so! If we have lost the comfort of Your Presence for a while, restore it to us now! Leave us not long in darkness, but satisfy us early with Your mercy!"

15. Make us glad according to the days wherein You have afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evi. [See

Sermon #1701, Volume 29—GLADNESS FOR SADNESS.] It is right, then, to pray for joy. Indeed, joy is so conspicuous a blessing to a Christian—it is so closely connected with the healthfulness of all his virtues that he should seek after it until he finds it!

16. Let Your work appear unto Your servants, and Your glory unto their children. "Lord, let us see Your work here! Oh, for Your name's sake, take Your right hand and work mightily in our midst! Withdraw not the working of the Holy Spirit from us, Your people! Let Your work of conversion, Your work of edification, Your work of the conquest of the world appear unto Your servants!"

17. And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hand. "Let not what we do for You fall to the ground like a badly-built wall! Let not our work be consumed in the great testing fire, 'but establish the work of our hands!'"

Acts 27:1-3. And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus' band. And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia; one Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us. And the next day we touched at Sidon. And Julius courteously entreated Paul, and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself Even a Roman centurion could see that Paul was no ordinary prisoner and that it was quite safe to allow him privileges which others might have abused.

4-12. And when we had launched from there, we sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. And when we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing into Italy; and he put us therein. And when we had sailed slowly many days, and scarcely were come over against Cnidus, the windnot allowing us, we sailed under Crete, over against Salmone and, hardly passing it, came unto a place which is called the Fair Havens; near whereunto was the city of Lasia. Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them and said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives. Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more that those things which were spoken by Paul. And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart there also, if by any means they might attain to Phenice, and there to winter; which is an haven of Crete and lies toward the south west and north west. It was quite natural that the centurion should think that the master and the owner of the ship knew more about seafaring matters than Paul did, but the sequel proved that the Apostle knew more than they did, for he had access to information that was hidden from them.

13. And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete. That was not the only voyage that commenced favorably and ended disastrously.

14. But not long after that arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive. Apparently that was the only thing they could do. And, at times we may find that it will be well to follow their example. When we have done our best and can make no headway, we had better commit our vessel to the care of God and "let her drive" wherever He wills.

16-19. And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat: which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, struck sail, and so were driven. And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; and the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. They used all the means in their power and evidently Paul and his companions took their full share of the work that had to be done— "we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship."

20-22. And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete, and incurred this disaster and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. Paul might well remind the officers of the wise advice he gave them in Crete, but he did not rest content with that, but went on to cheer them as far as he dared, though he again warned them that they would lose their ship. To prove that he was not speaking without due authority, he added—

23-20. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God has given you all them that sail with you. Therefore, Sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was toldme. Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island. The next Chapter tells us that the "certain island was Melita, or Malta, as it is now called. In that respect, as in all others, Paul's prophecy was literally fulfilled, for the ship was lost, but all on board were saved.