Title: New Year's Prayer
Contents
Psalm 90:12-17 New Year's Prayer
People who believe in God are those who pray to God every day to have fellowship with God. Moreover, in the new year, we pray to God with new dreams, goals, and resolutions. In particular, Moses, a man of God, is a man who prays very earnestly. Today, we look at Psalm 90, Moses' prayer, and think about how to start the new year with the same prayer subject as Moses.
1. Grant me a heart of wisdom (verse 12)
Especially in the text, the heart of wisdom means the ability to count the days of our lives. In verses 1 to 11, we confess that life is very short. In verse 9, he confesses, “Our whole life was spent in one eclipse.” In verse 10, he confesses, “We go quickly, and we fly away.” And even this short life may end tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. And he confesses that the only thing left in this empty life is toil and sorrow. In other words, life is a series of hardships.
Everyone, think about it. As we start the new year in 2006, have all the troubles and problems to be solved in the past year been resolved and a fresh start? no. I have come with those problems. I go out with that pain as it is. So, if our life is just toil and sorrow and a series of torments, does that mean that we have no hope? Does 2006 mean giving up hope altogether? I don't mean that. Although life is a series of sorrows and sufferings, in the midst of it, do not become discouraged and live with hope. And since life is so short, don't regret it and live meaningfully.
Everyone, think about it. If today is the last day of your life, wouldn't you do your best to make this day the most meaningful? Of course, in the case of a lively young man, he doesn't think too much about the end of his life. As a result, the most precious days of life are often wasted. But Moses, the gray-haired man, is counting the days of his death. You hear a voice calling you to come quickly from the grave. In other words, there is a lot to do, but life is too short. So, I will do the most important, most meaningful work. You have to be able to see your short life right like this in order to live your life correctly. Therefore, Moses is praying for us to give us such a heart of wisdom.
One of the most foolish people is a person who does not know that he will die tomorrow, lives a wicked life today, and is greedy today, grabbing money and wasting time today. But we are not. We know well that we will be leaving this world in a little while. And at the end of our lives, we know well that we will have to stand before the judgment seat of God over our lives. Therefore, we are not conceited because we are going to die tomorrow. Because it is a life that will die tomorrow, we do not continue to harbor evil and poison. Because our lives are too short to waste time on such things.
I sometimes pray while driving in my car. And one of those destinations is Eden Brook Cemetery, at the western end of Calgary. There is the grave of Deacon Bae Jeong-ok, who served as the first president of our church. There I said, “Bae Butler!” I feel once again the impermanence of life. And I think, "Oh, I'll be buried in the ground in a little while..."
Thinking like this calms the mind. There is nothing to hate, nothing to be greedy about, and moreover, I think that we should not live in a wicked way. Isn't this the wise mind? Now, as we welcome the new year, we eat rice cake soup and are one year older. That is, the day of death is nearer. In a little while, you and I will enter the grave. Isn't recognizing this the wise life? Like Moses who prayed to gain this kind of wisdom, I pray that we will pray like this in the new year.
2. Have mercy on us (verse 13).
The meaning of the phrase “have mercy on us” is to ask for wrath to be put away. Ladies and gentlemen, no matter how hard we try, if God turns His wrath upon us, we can do nothing. Everything ends in tragedy. But we are all full of sin. They were the children of perdition who had no choice but to receive the wrath of God. But God had compassion on us who would be destroyed like this. He made us believe in Jesus so that we would not perish.
Therefore, no matter how bad we are, God has mercy on us, so we have hope. We have happiness. And when our lives in this foreign land suddenly become difficult, we pray to God like this. “Lord, have mercy on me.” Gentlemen, our God is merciful. As a father has compassion on his children, so God has compassion on those who trust in him. In particular, Moses prays, “Have mercy on your servants.” I'm not asking you to have pity on me, I'm asking you to have pity on that person as well. And to have pity on all of us. And I ask you to have pity on your servants who do the work of the Lord.
Ladies and gentlemen, we live in a foreign land with many sorrows. Moreover, when we suffer that sadness, and when no one can comfort us, our life becomes more and more exhausting. Sadness produces more sorrow, and sometimes even life becomes difficult. When tears cover our eyes like this, we can pray to God like this. “Lord, have mercy on us.”
3. Let our lives be joyful (verses 14-15)
Everyone wants to live a happy life. Moreover, who wants to live sadly from the beginning of the new year in a foreign land? However, in order to live happily for the rest of your life, even when you encounter difficult situations, you must be able to find the subject of gratitude in them and realize God's blessings in them.
In verse 15, Moses prays, “Make us rejoice according to the number of days of distress, What does this mean? For example, if you have been miserable for 5 years, do you want me to please you only for 5 years? It's not like that. This means that I have been in trouble for 5 years, and I want you to be happy in the midst of hardship. If the difficult days are 10 years, it means that I want you to be happy even in the difficult years of those 10 years. In other words, I want you to be happy at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of a difficult day. In other words, he asks for strength so that he can live a life of joy no matter how difficult life abroad. We pray that this prayer will become our prayer.
4. Reveal Your works and glory (verse 16)
Gentlemen, what does 'exercise of the Lord' mean? It is the history of God. When the Israelites came to the Red Sea, there was the sea in front and the Egyptian army behind them. What was the Lord's event at that time? It was the Lord's work that parted the Red Sea. And because of that, God was glorified. And when the Israelites were thirsty and hungry, God quenched their thirst by bursting water from a rock. He sent manna and quails to feed their hungry stomachs.
Ladies and gentlemen, when I am having a difficult time right now, pray to God like this. “Show us your works and your glory.” In this way, I want my problems to be solved, diseases to be healed, to experience the miracles of God, and to make our lives a life that shows the glory of God. Rather, we want the problem to be changed and become an opportunity for God to receive greater glory.
5. Strengthen our hands with your grace (verse 17).
In verse 17, the phrase “strengthen our hands” occurs twice. To strengthen your hands means to make sure your toil is not in vain. To give a simple example, I worked hard and sweat for a month and got paid. But all of them were pickpocketed. If you do, your hard work for a month will be in vain. If so, how heartbreaking would you be?
Ladies and gentlemen, being able to reap the rewards of your hard work is also a blessing. Toil for a month was made to die, but if someone else takes the price, it means that there is no benefit to the hard work done by hand. Psalm 127:1-2 says: “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps watch in vain. It is in vain that you rise early and lie down late and eat the bread of toil.”
Ladies and gentlemen, no matter how much money you make without God, if that money does not protect your life or bring you happiness, that money is meaningless. All the hard work you put in will be in vain. We must not come to this foreign land and work in vain. However, if God does not protect our hard work, all our hard work will be in vain. Therefore, we pray like Moses. “Strengthen our hands by your grace.”
conclude the word. As we approach the new year of 2006, we pray with Moses. “Lord, give me a wise heart to count the years. Lord, have mercy on us. Lord, make our life enjoyable. Lord, Lord, reveal Your works and glory. Lord, by your grace strengthen our hands.” Amen