the Word of God to the book of Psalms and to Psalm number 19. where they're turning the place, I want to again remind you of the Let the Bible Speak booklet that's free of charge and available sitting on the table in the foyer, free to take. And then also there is a book that's been written by our brother Dr. John Douglas, a minister in our Lisbon congregation on the land and the book, subtitled God's Future Dealings with Israel. And if you like that book, then you can I speak to our brother Paul Haffey in relation to that, and the price is five pound. Psalm number 90, we're going to read verse 12 again. And here, after 11 verses, into his prayer, Moses makes his first petition. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts onto wisdom. Amen, and may the Lord bless that message and that passage to us tonight. Let's just bow briefly in prayer. Our gracious God and our Father in heaven, this is a prayer that I want to make for my own heart tonight, that thou wouldst teach me to number my days, that I apply my heart unto wisdom. Pray, Father, that before this meeting is over, that it be the prayer of each one that is at the age of understanding, that has the ability to understand thy word. Father, may we cry sincerely, honestly, wholeheartedly, teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Father, I'm nothing in and of myself. I've got no power, I've got no strength, no ability. I pray, Lord, that therefore thou wouldst take me up. I thank thee for the promise that thou hast given. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. If we, being evil, know how to give good gossom to our children, how much more, Father, will thou give the Holy Spirit to them that ask? So fill me now with the Holy Spirit. Bring my mind to words I was having to say. Lord, this could be the very last opportunity I have of resenting Christ in the gospel. Lord, help me to do it. in my strength for thy glory, according to thy will, for thine honor and my kingdom. Purify us who are saved, and Father, be a witness especially to those that are lost, that Lord saved them tonight. Show them the brevity of life. In Jesus' name we pray it all. Amen and amen. I have before mentioned to you as a congregation that there's been different times in my own life that the Lord has laid passages upon my heart and impressed those passages on my heart that I have not forgotten them, but indeed greatly desired to preach them. However, as has happened on previous occasions, the Lord has never led me to actually preach that passage. Well, the verse before us is one such passage. The Lord impressed this upon me a number of years ago, and I've desired to preach it on a number of occasions, but yet the Lord has never led me to do that until I believe now. Teach us to number our days. that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. If you listen to the prayer that I just prayed, it is the desire of my own heart that I would not only pray that, but I would receive from God the answer to that prayer. That God would teach me to number my days. The Lord would incline my heart unto wisdom. And it's my desire tonight that every one of us, from the young to the old, would hear this message from God and would indeed pray this verse to God and even receive an answer from God before it is too late. The first thing I want us to note tonight regarding perhaps what is a verse in the oldest of Psalms, because it is not a psalm written by David, or indeed by Esau, or by Ethan, but it is a psalm written by Moses, the first author of Scripture, the first one who wrote books in the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. This passage teach us to number our days, and the first point I want us to note is this. the certainty in life. There is an old saying that two things are certain in life, death and taxes. But what I can definitely say is that Scripture certainly owns the first of these certainties. In 2 Samuel 14, verse 14, we read, we must needs die. It doesn't say that Some must needs die, but we must needs die. In Hebrews chapter 9, verse 47, we're told, it is appointed unto men once to die. A certainty in life is this, that unless the Lord returns, you and I will die. That is a certainty. One hundred out of one hundred people die. Now within this certainty of death, there is an even deeper certainty, namely that there is an appointed day in which we will die. In Ecclesiastes chapter 3, the wise preacher Solomon said, to everything there is a season. and a time to every purpose under heaven. While he goes on to list a number of things, the very thing that he puts at the commencement of the list is this, a time to be born and a time to die. There is a time, a season, in every one of our lives to die. In fact, if you want to turn with me please to the book of Job, just before the book of Psalms, the book of Job, And the chapter 14. Look at Job in the chapter 14. And here Job is speaking to the Lord regarding man. And says these things in verse 5. Seeing his days, that is man's days, are determined. The number of his months are with thee. Thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass. Speaking about the number of months in which a man lives, Job declares that God has appointed the bounds of those months. A man cannot pass beyond that appointment. There is a time to be born and there is a time to die. There's a boundary placed on my life and on yours. We do not know what that boundary is, but it's a boundary that you and I will not pass and cannot pass. Sadly, today there are many people who want to ignore this. They want to deny this. They want to run away from this. Some even want to rebel against this. But it does not negate the reality that there is an appointed day in which you and I will die if Christ has not returned beforehand. There's an appointed day in which God will no longer give us strength. to live, that strength from us will be taken and we will die. Now there's a number of parts to Psalm 90 that highlights the reality of all of this. In verse 2 of Psalm 90, Moses speaks to the Lord and says, Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hast formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Not only does Moses declare that the Lord is eternal, that is, he has had no beginning and will have no ending, he is from everlasting to everlasting, And He alone is God. Yet in verse 4, Moses declares that God is actually transcendent. He is outside of time. He says in verse 4, For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday. A thousand years, as another writer put it, is like one day to God. And one day to God is like a thousand years. God is outside of time. Often in our Western mindset, we see time a bit like a horizontal line, and you and I are at a point in that line, and we can look back on the line that we're on, and we can see the past, and we can look ahead in that line, and we can see what, in the will of God, will be our future. But we can only see so far on either sides of the line, backward or forward. Whenever God looks at time, he doesn't look at it in such a way. He, as it were, sees time as a whole, and he's not on the line, he's outside the line. He can see all of history in one glance, at one moment, and it's all as present to God as any other moment. God is the one who's not merely from everlasting to everlasting. God is the one who is transcendent. He is the one who is outside of time. Moreover than that, God not merely being outside of time and can see the end of our day as clearly as the beginning of our day, as well as our present moment today. He is also the one who's in control of our day. Because in verse 1 of the Psalm, Moses speaks to the Lord and gives him not the name Elohim, not the name Jehovah, but the name Adonai. The term Adonai in scripture refers to one who's sovereign, one who's Lord, one who rules over all. And in Proverbs 16, verse 33, we read that the Lord is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. So without doubt, there is a certainty in life, and it's this, that unless Jesus Christ returns, you and I will die. The Lord is the one who sees that day in which we will die. He will see we cannot pass that day. We will not pass that day. It's a boundary that he has set as sovereign God. We will one day die. He sees it just as clear, just as vividly as he sees this very present moment. But as I said, there are many in this world today and they ignore this certainty. They ignore this reality. Some even try to run away from it. In Psalm 49, verses 10 and 11, we read these words. The fool and the brutish person perish and leave their wealth to others. But listen to this. Speaking about the fool, the British person, the Sama said, their inward thought is that their houses shall continue forever and their dwelling places to all generations. They call their lands after their own names. The fool lives like he will live forever. He thinks in a manner in which he never dies. He never thinks that his life's going to cease. He doesn't live with that perspective in mind. He names his lands, his dwelling places. He builds his houses, thinking that he's just going to be able to sit back, enjoy them forever. He ignores, he neglects the certainty in life that there is an appointed day for us to die. And it's often said that many young people think they will live forever. But it's also true of older people. Many elderly people play the lottery. And you ask the question, why? Well, is it not, in part, if not significantly, that they want to win the lottery so they can enjoy the money? And while they're elderly, and while their days are few on this earth, Yet they are still seeking, advancing, spending their money, spending their focus, spending their time, trying to earn money, that they may enjoy money. And their focus, therefore, is enjoying life, not preparing for the end of life. Moses was a man who was very aware of death. You see, the context of the psalm is very helpful for us whenever we look at verse 12, and Moses' petition, his request, Lord, teach us to number our days. You see, Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Most commentators will understand that he wrote those books after he had left Egypt and, of course, before the Son of Israel entered into the Promised Land. So he wrote those books in the wilderness. Now the likelihood is, given the verses in this psalm, the language and the content, and even the fact in verse 1 that the Lord is described as their dwelling place, a very common thought for people who have no dwelling place in the wilderness, and how the Lord is that, that Moses himself is writing the psalm in the midst of the wilderness. Now you think about it. Numbers chapter 1 tells that whenever Moses left Egypt, and had arrived at Mount Sinai, and was leaving Mount Sinai to go toward the Promised Land, with the children of Israel along with him, there were 600,000 males, age 20 and upward, who were fit and able to fight. Now, outside that 600,000 are, of course, those who were younger than the age of 20. Also those who are older than the age of being able to fight. This number 600,000 also does not include the tribe of Levi, one of the 12 tribes of the nation of Israel. And this 600,000 does not include women either. The likelihood is that If you take that there's similar amount of women to men, 600,000 men multiplied by two is 1.2 million. Add those who are a little bit older than the age of being able to fight, of men and women, and add in the 12th tribe, the tribe of Levi, and you'll get around about 1.5 million, perhaps even more. But let's just go for 1.5 million people aged 20 and over. They're with Moses. But we're told that whenever God brought them to the promised land, Within two years of leaving Egypt, that, due to their unbelief, they didn't obey God, they didn't go in the promised land. And as a result, God chastised them, he punished them, that they would wander for 38 years in the wilderness. And in those 38 years, every single person, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, every single person of that one and a half million would perish in those 38 years. I did a little bit of multiplication and division and addition this afternoon. That would average 108 people dying every single day. That's multiple times more than the average death rate today, given similar numbers of people. 108 people dying every single day before the eyes of Moses. 108 people on the Monday. 108 people on the Tuesday. Another 108 people on the Wednesday. Another 108 people on the Thursday. By the end of the week, there were 750. By the end of the month, three and a half thousand and then the next month another three and a half thousand all dying before the very eyes of Moses and dying that month after month after year after year for 38 years on average 108 people every single day. One person has put it that nobody was more aware more sensitive to death than Moses was. He saw it continually multiplied intensely for 38 years. And therefore, do you understand this petition? Lord, you're transcendent. Lord, you're eternal. You're outside of time. But Lord, we are dying. Teach us, Lord. Teach us to number our days. That we will apply our hearts onto wisdom. Let me ask you this evening, are you one who is acknowledging this certainty in life? Acknowledging the fact that you will one day die. Acknowledging this fact, 2 Samuel 14, 14, that you and I must needs die. Acknowledging the truth of Hebrews 9, 27, it is appointed unto men once to die. You see in verse 3 of Psalm 90, why God is the one who's from everlasting to everlasting, and he made man immortal. Moses says in verse 3 of Psalm 90, thou turnest man to destruction. Why? Because man sinned. And most men love to say, return ye children of men. Return what? Return to the dust from which you've been made. You and I will one day die because of sin. Are you acknowledging this reality tonight? Or are you running away from it? Are you ignoring it? Are you neglecting it? Refusing to think upon it? Dear believer and unbeliever, you and I will one day die, and there's a point today in which you and I will die. We cannot pass beyond that boundary. God knows that day. The certainty in life, but notice with me the second point, the brevity of life, the brevity of life. In Psalm 90 verse 12, Moses cries to God, so teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Moses did not ask God to teach him to number his decades. Moses led a long life. Many decades, but Moses doesn't teach and ask God, teach me to number according to my decades. Nor does he request, Lord, teach me according to my years or even my months or even my weeks, but Lord, teach us to number our days. It's interesting that multiple times in the Psalm, lives are measured in days. For example, in Psalm 90 verse 9, Moses says, for all our days are passed away. In verse 10, the days of our years. Oh yes, the typical average age of a man may be 70, three score years and 10, and even perhaps by reason of God's grace and strength, it could be 80 years, but it's still measuring days. Because life is brief. In fact, there's four images that Moses uses here in this psalm. I wonder if you noticed them whenever we read them earlier on. Five images that Moses puts before us in relation to the brevity of life. If you look with me there at verse four. God, Moses says regarding God, for a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday, when it is past, and as a watch in the night. Thou carryest them away as with a flood, they are as asleep. In the morning they are like grass which groweth up, in the morning it flourisheth and groweth up, in the evening it is cut down and withereth. And then in verse nine, for all our days are past, and when thy wrath we spend our years as a teal. That is ho! Oh yes, the context, respect the fears of God. But yet the still reality is that in comparison to one who is eternal, and in comparison to eternity itself, our lives are short. They're brief. A year or a thousand years isn't compared to a single day. Have you ever reached the end of a day and thought, why is it wise? Where did that go? I had a list of 10 things to get done, and I've only got two of them done. Where did the time go? Days fly through, don't they? That's one illustration that's used of our lives, like a day flies through so quickly. The second illustration is of a flood, a fast-flowing flood. I wonder, boys and girls, have you ever stood upon a bridge and looked over the bridge, and there you've seen, with so much rain having fallen over the night before, and you've seen the river with rapids flowing very quickly, very fast, down. And there you see how quickly drops of water are in your sight, close to you, and then way on past you. That's our lives. The third illustration, our lives are like a sleep. Have you ever been so tired, knackered, as the expression would be, that you put your head on the pillow, and then you woke up, alarm went, And you thought, oh, I could not do that time. I literally just put my head in the pillow. Literally just put my head in the pillow. That's how our lives are described, like that. And then, indeed, the fourth illustration, our lives are like grass. Ancient eastern grass is a bit different to ours today in Northern Ireland. Whenever the spring rains would come, the grass would sprout rapidly in the morning, being blessed by the rain. But yet, because of the scorching heat of the sun, it would be scourged and devoured. By the evening time, it rose so quickly, it was scorched so quickly, all in a day. And then in Aidan verse nine, the fifth illustration, our lives are like a tale that is told. The purpose of a master tale teller, storyteller, is to be able to captivate your attention. And that by the end of it, you'll be like, whew, didn't even see the time go in there. That's what our lives are like. Five different illustrations. And all those five illustrations are compared to 1,000 years, not to 70 years, not to 80 years, not to whatever life God gives you and I and myself. How much more brief. is our time. The reality about the brevity of life is even more highlighted outside of Psalm 19. In James 4, verse 14, the question is asked, what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for little time and then vanishes away. In Job 7, verse 1, we read, is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? Are not his days also like the days of an hireling, i.e., one that looks for work, longs for work, pleads for work and then eventually gets work for a single day they may feed his family and then by the end of the day, boom, it's all gone and he hasn't got any more work anymore. He has to wait for the next day. This day just went so quick. His opportunity to gather in all that he could in the harvest, to earn what he could, just gone. Job 7 verse 6, Job says, My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle. You ever seen an ancient weaver's shuttle? Boys and girls, go onto YouTube, ask your parents to help you with it, and see if you can find a weaver's shuttle, and you'll see how quickly it goes forward and back. That's what our days are like. Job 9.25, Job says, my days are swifter than a post. The idea there of a postman, one who is on a swift horse, delivering a message, perhaps from a battle, running away from the battle, running away to the king to give the message, either of victory or of defeat. And there the horse, taking the postman, running, running, running, not ceasing, not stopping, no hesitation, running, running, running in the distance. or a laser light. Or in Psalm 39 verse 5, Behold, David says, Thou hast made my days as an handbreadth. Many ways in which the ancient world would measure distances, whether it be by furlongs or even by spans, but yet the shortest would have been, or certainly one of them would have been by the handbreadth. And yet that's how the psalmist measures his days, a handbreadth. Men, women, this evening, and young people, do you see that your life is brief? You may be young tonight, and you may think, you know what? If I get to 70 years of age, trust me, 70 is an old age, really, really old. I've got a long life to live. If you do reach 70 years of age, you'll have lived 25,550 days. You may say, wow, that's a lot of days. Well, if you're 15 already tonight, you've already spent 5,475 days. Let me ask you, look back over those days and ask yourself, did they go through quickly? Can you think what you've done for all those 5,475 days? If you're age 30 tonight, you've spent already 10,950 days. Can you think back all that you've done regarding those days? Or have they just gone like that? Let me tell you, the older you get, I find this by experience, indeed by all the people I visit, life gets quicker, time gets shorter, life moves faster. And if our days have gone through quickly already, how much quicker will the remaining days be? There was a survey done of the average American life. And said this, the average American will spend six months sitting at red traffic lights. How depressing. Six months opening junk mail. One year looking for misplaced objects. Some of us may spend more than a year looking for misplaced objects. Two years unsuccessfully returning phone calls. Five years waiting in line. Six years eating. Twenty years sleeping. We add this up. Not to mention the many other aspects of life that seem just to go past, like unnoticed. In 70 years, you will have already way less than half of those years remaining. Men and women, life is brief. It's like a vapor. It's like that fast flowing river. It's like that tale that's told. We get captivated, caught up in the moment, and by the time we know it, it's gone. Do you see tonight your life as that rapid river running away? Do you see your life like that sleep that's just like a blink? Do you see your life even like that postman that's running, running, running, running without hesitation, without stop, running away from you? Do you see your life even as a single day? Because in some respects, even the Lord Jesus saw his life like that. In John 9, verse 4, he says, I must work the works of him that sent me. Why this day? The night cometh. He saw the entirety of his life as a day, and the night's coming, he says. It's coming, and keep coming, when no man can work. In Psalm 19, verses 2 and 3, we are told that the daytime and the nighttime speak to us. Every daytime, every nighttime, it's speaking to us, communicating us a message, and the message is simple. Along with many other lessons, it's teaching us this. Life is passing. Life is passing. Life is passing. I wonder tonight, will you pray like the psalmist? In Psalm 39, verse 4, Lord, make me to know my name and the measure of my days. What it is that I may know how frail I am. Will you pray that? Will you pray like Moses here? Lord, teach us to number our days. We may apply our hearts on the wisdom In Jeremiah 32, verse 29, the Lord said to those in Israel, Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end. The certainty in life. There's a day appointed in which we will all die. The brevity of life. But notice with me then thirdly, the uncertainty of life. In Psalm 90, verse 2, Moses cries to God, So teach us to number our days. While I've already addressed those who think that, well, you know what, if I get to 70 years, you know, I've got a long time left. I've already addressed that and how quick those times can pass. Yet the reality is, I want to highlight now, is that life is uncertain. We do not even know if we'll get 70 years. Some are over that tonight. And praise God for his grace and for his strength. But for those that are under it, we're not guaranteed it. Many examples could be given of this, but take one. an American basketball superstar called Kobe Bryant. In high school, Kobe Bryant broke Pennsylvania's state record of 2,883 points, the best that the state had ever seen. He was one of the top in the NBA draft in 1996. He was the youngest player to enter an all-star basketball game in NBA history. He won the NBA All-Star Game Award four times. He was ranked third on the NBA list for career points. He was dubbed, quote, the closest thing to Michael Jordan. He had everything. He had theme. He had position, popular, prominence, preeminence, skill, talent, money, possessions, property, houses, family. He had it all. And he had youth. He was only just 41. And yet, in January of 2020, it was over three years ago, he got on the helicopter, and he never got out of it. Traveling from one place to the next, the helicopter crashed. All gone. 70 years of short men and women. But you and I are not guaranteed 70 years. In 2020, those who are aged 15 to 19, over half a million of people in that age group. 569,000 people died aged 15 to 19. A further 762,000 people died aged 20 to 24 in 2020. David himself said in 1 Samuel 20 verse 3, there is but a step between me and death. In James chapter 4, we read in verse 13 of those who say, today or tomorrow, we'll go into such a city and continue there a year and buy and sell and get gain. And yet the apostle says in verse 14, you know not what shall be in the morrow, for what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanish away. You ought to say, if the Lord will, We shall live and do this or that. In Proverbs 27, it's perhaps even more clear. In the opening verse, we read these words. Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thy knows not what a day may bring forth. In Luke chapter 12 we read about a farmer, a rich farmer, a blessed farmer. He had been given so many gifts temporally by God, and there as his crop multiplied, and he built barns, and he built bigger barns, and better barns, and more barns, expecting to live for so long. And yet the message comes in tonight, thy soul shall be required of thee. Let me ask you this evening, are you one who acknowledges the certainty that's in this life, that one day you will die? Do you think about that? Do you meditate upon it? Do you live in light of that? Do you also acknowledge and accept tonight that there is an appointed day in which you will die, whether it's after 70, at 70, or before 70? That's a day you cannot pass. That's a day that's been ordained from before the foundation of this world. God knows it, and you cannot change it. Do you acknowledge the certainty in this life? But do you also notice the uncertainty of this life? That we do not know what will be on tomorrow. We just do not know. Let me ask you tonight, are you one believer or unbeliever? Are you one who's boasting yourself of tomorrow? Are you just assuming tomorrow's going to come? Are you just expecting that you're going to have one tomorrow? Proverbs 27 verse 1 says, But I knowest not what a day may bring forth. James says in James 4 verse 15, The uncertainty of life, the certainty in life, but notice with me a fourth point, the certainty after life. The certainty after life. Moses cried, so teach us to number our days. In Hebrews chapter 9, 27, we're told, as appointed unto men once to die, but after this, the judgment. Revelation chapter 20, verse 12, John said, and I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged out of those things which are written in the books according to their works. Men and women, after we die, we will stand before God. We will stand before His great white throne. Turn with me, please, to Mark's Gospel, chapter 9. Mark's Gospel, chapter 9. Jesus Christ speaks about the certain day after life here in these verses. Speaking about the two types of people in verse 40, those who are against Him or those who are for Him. And there being no neutrality, no middle ground, you're either against Christ, living for anything but Him, or you're for Christ, living for Him. Speaking in verse 41 about the reward of those who live for him, that whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name because you belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. The certainty after life for those that live for Christ, even in the tiniest, tiniest things of giving a simple cup of water that even cost us nothing apart from a little bit of effort, there will be an eternal reward. The Lord says in Matthew's gospel, will be a hundred times greater. and what we ever do on this earth, and what we ever have to sacrifice for the Lord on this earth. But notice with me verse 42. And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off. It is better for thee to enter into life, ma'am, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched. Where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off. It is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched. Where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out. It is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. Where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. Three times Christ repeats it. If you're saved, you live for Christ, you enter into life, eternal life, abundant life, the kingdom of God life, and you'll receive a reward a hundred times for all you've ever given up for God. But if you enter into life, you enter into death, sorry, and you will enter into hell. If you've used your hands and your feet and your eyes for lust and for self and for promotion of self and for advancement of self and according to your own desires and your own whims and your own pleasures and your own lusts, without ever being forgiven, you will go into hell. And you'll be tormented for every single time you've ever rebelled against God with what he's given. The certain day after, like So many people today, they are just living. Living in sin, not caring about sin. Even among professing believers, so many just happy to use their eyes and to use their hands and use their feet just whatever way they like. They may not do some grievous and moral sins that others do, but they're still happy enough to use their eyes and their hands and their feet for certain things. Moses says, Lord, teach us a number our days. Christ says it's better to cast out your eye, to cut off your hand, to cut off your foot, to turn away from that sin and to enter into eternity. An eternity you could enter into tonight. Better to die to that sin now than to enter into eternity and be damned for never getting right with God. You see the importance of this prayer, Lord, teach us the number of our days here. We cannot play with sin because of the certainty after life. And for those that are saved this evening, Christ, the one who has declared that for all the works that we do for him, that it will be rewarded by him a hundredfold. You put something in the bank and you'll get 5% perhaps interest for it. You give it to Christ and you get 10,000. Living for Christ is worth it. Christ himself said in Matthew 6, 19, Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust are corrupt, where thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust are corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal. 1 Corinthians 3.13, Apostle Paul says, In the great mystery, C.T. Studd said, only one life, yes, only one. Soon will its fleeting hours be done, that in that day my Lord to meet and stand before his judgment seat. Only one life. The still, small voice gently pleads for a better choice, bidding me selfish aims to leave and to God's holy will decleave. Only one life, yes, only one. Now let me say, Lord, thy will be done, and when at last I'll hear the call, I'll know, I'll say, it was worth it all, only one life, till sin be passed. Only what's done for Christ will last, and when I am dying, how happy I'll be, as the lamp of my life has been burned out for thee. Lord, teach us the number of our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Let me just notice briefly the fifth point, the irreversibility of life. In Psalm 90 verse 2 we're told, teach us to number our days. Turn with me please to 2 Samuel 14, the last place I'll ask you to turn to. 2 Samuel 14. A very vivid description is given here of our lives. I'd heard of this before, but it never impacted me, just like it impacted me in the past week in preparation for tonight. 2 Samuel 14. In verse 14, we've already quoted the first part of this, but there's so much more to this verse. 2 Samuel 14, verse 14. For we must needs die and are as water spilt in the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Boys and girls, you go home and you take a glass of water and you go outside, don't put it in the kitchen floor, but you go outside and you throw water in the ground and you try and pick all the water up again. You try it. You try it and see if you can do it. That's what our lives are like. Once they're poured out, once they're finished, once it goes on the ground, that's it. We're not getting it back again. There's no second chances. There's no gathering it up. The life spent is gone. Our lives are irreversible. We'll see how you and I live will determine how you and I die. In Revelation 22 verse 11 and 12 we're told, he that is unjust, whenever he dies, let him be unjust though. He that's filthy and living in his sin, well let him remain filthy. But he that's righteous, let him be righteous still when he dies. He that's holy, let him be holy still when he dies. Whenever we die, how we've lived, We can't change that. If we die in our sin, we die with our sin on us, never being forgiven. We die a living and loving sin. We will remain in that state for all eternity. Let it remain filthy still. But if you and I come to Christ and ask forgiveness, and we cry for the Lord to change our hearts and change our lives and we live for him, when we die, we will remain righteous. When we die, we'll be made perfectly holy forever. If you were to die before this meeting was to conclude, if you were to have no more breath given to you, tell me tonight, how would you die? How would you be for eternity? Would you be filthy or would you be clean? Would you be unjust or would you be holy? Would you be in hell or would you be in heaven? Are you loving your sin, dwelling in sin, or are you hating your sin and loving Christ? You're either for him or you're against him. There's nothing in between. The final point tonight is this. the possibility in life. You see, Moses here in Psalm 19 doesn't just teach us about life, he prays a prayer to God. Teach us to number our days, we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. And you see, here's the possibility in life. It is possible to be taught by God. You see, in light of what Moses says in the opening 11 verse about the eternality of God, and the transcendency of God, and about, therefore, the brevity of man's life, and the certainty of his death, because he will return to the dust from which he came. He says, in light of all this, in light of the certainty in life of death, of certainty after life of hell or heaven, of the brevity of life, and the uncertainty of knowing when I will die, and of its irreversibility, Lord, teach us to number our days. Lord, help me to see it. Help me to remember. Help me live every moment of my life in light of it. Teach me to number my days. And here's a possibility in life. It's possible to be taught this, not simply academically, but spiritually, with sight, with vision, always before our minds, that our lives are brief and uncertain. One day we will then face the one who made us, and send a son to die for us. It's possible to be taught tonight. Will you cry for God to teach you? It's impossible to be wise tonight. Lord, teach us to remember our days, that for this purpose we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Two types of wisdom in the world. Luke 16, you can look it up. There's an unjust steward, and there his wisdom was worldly wisdom. It was to live for self. It was to live for time. To benefit himself. That's worldly wisdom. But then godly wisdom is the opposite. Godly wisdom is to live for God. It's to live for eternity. To set your affections and things above. To live for the one who made you. You may ask the question, why would anybody want the godly wisdom? Why did everybody want to apply their hearts to wisdom? Well, because the godly life satisfies. You can look at the life of Solomon and how in Ecclesiastes chapter 2 he tried laughter and amusement, he tried wine and alcohol, he built great works, he tried nature and hobbies, he tried in vengeance, he multiplied to himself possessions, the servants of animals, silver and gold, he tried music and entertainment, and yet he said, that even though he kept not his heart from anything that this world desired, or indeed that his eyes desired, he said, I've searched it all, I've labored in it all, and it's all vanity, it's vexation, it's torment of spirit, it's like chasing after the wind. You'll never get it, and you'll never be satisfied. Only frustrated and tormented. But yet, the godly life, Christ describes it, not only as the eternal life, but the abundant life, the satisfying life. And it's the life that only satisfies, it's the life that lasts. Because the rust doesn't destroy it, the moth doesn't eat it, it doesn't corrupt, it can't be stolen. It's not like the money, it's described in scripture, it takes wings and flies away, or indeed that you put it into a bag filled with holes and you've got nothing left. No, you live for God and it lasts forever. But not merely is it the sensible life, it is the reasonable life, because God is the one who made us. And more than that, God is the one who sent his son to die for us. And let me tell you, there is nobody more worthy of you and I living for than God, and God the son. Jesus Christ is king tonight, and he commands you to yield your life to him because he's worthy of it. He's worthy of it. That's godly wisdom. But how do we do it? We apply our hearts onto wisdom. We give ourselves to wisdom. We seek wisdom. We treasure wisdom. We value wisdom. We commit ourselves to wisdom. We dedicate our lives to getting it, and to having it, and living in light of it. And who is that wisdom? 1 Corinthians 1, Christ, the wisdom of God. We seek Christ. We treasure Christ. We love Christ. We consecrate ourselves to Christ. We commit our all to Christ. We live for Christ, our Savior, our God, and our King. Lord, teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts onto Christ. Wisdom, godly, true, lasting, satisfying, eternal wisdom. But will you? Let's just pray. Our heavenly Father, may this be the prayer of every one of us. Lord, it's so easy to just go through the routine, to finish here in a word of prayer, and Lord, then just to begin talking with those beside us, and just to get up and to leave and to get in the car and all the rest of it, and just to go home and forget all we've heard. But Lord, really impress our hearts with this. Lord, we do not know what will be on tomorrow. Help us, Lord, to make sure we're right with thee tonight. Now is the accepted time. Now is the day. Lord, may we apply our hearts to Christ. Give our lives to him who loved us and sent his son for us. Turn from our sin. Live for him, not for self. Dedicate our lives to him. Yield it all to him who's worthy. He is our God, our creator, and our savior. Lord, forgive me for my own sin. Take my all. And give me grace to live for thee. In Jesus' name we pray it all. Amen.