Sermon Outline - Psalms 90
Only Psalm written by Moses.
The phrase “the man of God” is given to Moses in several scriptures (Deut
33:1, Josh 14:6, Ezra 3:2). Not “A man of God”
Discuss the nature of God (Verses
1-4)
Verse 2-Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting
to everlasting, thou art God.
Before all that we know existed, God existed! All that we know, is just a “part” of His world
(if you will) Discuss examples
of his power and the intricacies of creation: The fly’s eye- (the common house fly has compound
eyes. Each eye of this fly contains about 4,000 image-forming elements) The human body-consists
of an estimated 20 to 30 trillion cells, each of which is made up
of billions of nucleotides, part of the DNA structure. As little as 5 nucleotides
forming incorrectly can result in such drastic consequences as Cystic Fibrosis. The
atmosphere-The atmosphere is divided into
several layers. In the lowest one, the troposphere, the temperature
as a rule decreases upward at the rate of 3° F per 3000 ft. This is
the layer in which most clouds occur. The troposphere extends up to about
10 miles in tropical regions, to a temperature
of about-110°
F. Above the troposphere is the stratosphere. In the lower stratosphere
the temperature is practically constant or increases slightly with altitude.
Within the ozone layer, the temperature rises more rapidly, and the temperature
at the upper boundary of the stratosphere, about 30 miles above sea level,
is about the same as the temperature at the surface of the earth. The layer
from 30 to 50 miles, called the mesosphere, is characterized by
a marked decrease in temperature as the altitude increases. Beginning
at an altitude of 50 miles, ultraviolet radiation, X rays and showers of
electrons from the sun ionize several layers of the atmosphere, causing
them to conduct electricity; these layers reflect radio waves of certain
frequencies back to earth. Because of the relatively high concentration
of ions in the air above 50 miles, this layer, extending to an altitude
of 400 miles, is called the ionosphere. It is also termed the thermosphere,
because of the high temperatures in this layer (about 2200°F). The
region beyond the ionosphere is called the exosphere, which extends
to about 6000 miles, the outer limit of the atmosphere. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- God “spoke”
all of this into existence. Verse 3 – The word rendered destruction, is dakka;
which
literally means “anything beaten or broken small or very fine”, such as
“dust”. The idea here is that God causes individual man, classes of men,
even generations of men, to die and return to dust; yet He remains the
same. Verse 4-For a thousand years in thy sight, are
but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. When we recall any single day of life in our past,
regardless of how long it may have seemed when it was passing, seems short
when it is called to remembrance. Such is the brevity of our lives, and
even such an amount time as a thousand years, to God. Discuss the
nature of man (Verses 5-10) Verse 5- Thou carriest them away as with a flood.
The idea is that every day that passes, multitudes of people, of every
age, sex, condition, & rank, are swept away and consigned to the grave:
just as they would be if a raging flood should sweep over the land. (Fact: Every year, approximately 2 million people
die in Verse 5-They are as a sleep; The idea here
is that human life resembles a sleep, because it seems to pass so swiftly;
to accomplish so little; to be so filled with dreams and visions, none
of which remain or become permanent. Verse
10: The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason
of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow;
for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Our years, when gone, can no more be recalled than
the words that we have spoken. Our whole life has its toils and troubles; and
perhaps, in the midst of the years we count upon, it is cut off. We often have a view of the world in which we just
can’t see the world without “us” in it. Unfortunately, that is not the way the world views
us. As an illustration, let me ask the following. What
do the following people have in common? (Martha Lorene Atchley, James E.
Willis, Lonzo Davis, Josephine Coker) They are all people that are buried right here
in Allen. They walked and talked and lived just as we, for many years,
yet now they are gone and for the most part forgotten. If the world continues
on, the same will be true of you and I.
The Lesson of this Psalm (Verses 11-17)
We are taught by all this to stand in complete
awe of God, to recognize our frailty, to number our days and to understand
God’s anger and wrath against those that refuse to turn from sin (verse
11). The angels that sinned know the power of God's anger (II Peter 2:4-6);
sinners in hell know it (just as the rich man in Luke
Yet…Few seriously consider these things, as they
ought. They instead concentrate on God as being a “God of love”, only.
And for those who make a mock at sin, and make light of Christ, surely
they do not know, or have not truly considered the power of God's anger. 12-17 Those who would learn true wisdom, must continually
pray for Divine assistance, must beg for God’s grace and mercy; and for
comfort and joy in the returns of God's favor. And we must never plead
any merit of our own, for we will never be “worthy” of God’s grace. We can never earn salvation from our Maker, but
we can enjoy it, thanks be to God, through
the plan He has laid out before us. If you believe and are ready to confess
with your mouth, that Jesus…. That same great and powerful God that made the universe we live in, that continues to remind us of our frailties, that is to be feared and revered, that is longsuffering, not wanting any to perish, calls to you tonight. |
