The 90th psalm, and we read all of this psalm together, a prayer of Moses, the man of God. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations, before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God. Thou turnest man to destruction, and sayest, Return, ye children of men. For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. Thou carriest 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. For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled. thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. For all our days are passed away in thy wrath, we spend our years as a tale that is told. The days of our years are three score years and ten, and if by reason of strength they be four score years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow, for it is soon cut off and we fly away. Who knoweth the power of thine anger. Even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Return, O Lord, how long, and let it repent thee concerning thy servants. O, satisfy us early with thy mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish thou the work of our hands upon us. Yea, the work of our hands, establish thou it. We know God will bless this reading from his own inspired and infallible word. I don't have to remind you that the titles of the Psalms contained in our scriptures are inspired as well as the Psalms themselves. And you will observe that we have a most interesting title to Psalm 90 because it says a prayer of Moses the man of God, a prayer of Moses, the man of God. So, this is a very old psalm. In fact, it's probably the oldest psalm among all the psalms having been written by that man of God, Moses. Now, of course, we should like to know when Moses wrote this psalm. He lived for 120 years, as you know, and it would be a most interesting question to ask ourselves When in his life did he pen it? And I think those commentators are right who say that he penned these words during the wilderness years, during those last years of his life, whenever the children of Israel were dying in the wilderness through unbelief. Those words then are very appropriate in Numbers chapter 14 and the verse 33. and your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your hoardings until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness." A terrible judgment is bestowed upon Israel. Those five words are horrific words, shall wander the wilderness whoredoms, carcasses, wasted. And it was during this period, we believe, that the man of God penned this psalm. And as you study that psalm, I think that you would agree with what the commentators say concerning this period when it was penned. It was then a period of ugliness, a period of waste, a period of horrific tragedies, a period of death, a period of despair, a period in fact the very opposite to beauty, the very opposite to beauty, a period of great ugliness. And so in that light I draw your attention to the last verse in this psalm, Psalm 90, because you will see that even in this period of ugliness There is one who is altogether lovely, whose beauty does not change, and whose glory is not tarnished. And Moses refers to that. And so in this period of ugliness, carcasses, a period of waste, the wilderness years, he says these words, let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. and establish thou the work of our hands upon us. Yea, the work of our hands establish thou it. So, a period of ugliness, a period when there's not much very attractive around about, but Moses looks up to the Lord and he says, Lord, let thy beauty be upon us in these days, and the work of our hands establish thy wit. So I want to think about these words this morning, especially the first part of the verse. Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. We have here, first of all, the portraying of the Savior. The portraying of the Savior. The beauty of the Lord. The beauty of the Lord. You know there's a beauty about the Lord. We see that in creation. We don't have to look very far. We like to walk. We like to admire the scenery. We like to go up the mountains and down to the valleys and we like to be by the river and by the stream. We like to see the lakes, to feel the air, to look up into the stars. And in creation we see much beauty. And that causes us to think how much more attractive and how much more beautiful must the maker thereof be. So we see something of the beauty of the Lord in creation. And then we read in the Bible about the beauty of holiness. And that's one of the Lord's great characteristics. It's holiness. In fact, all His attributes are characterized by holiness. His justice is a holy justice. His love is a holy love. And His mercy is a holy mercy. Thus, the angels, they sing above all else, they sing, holy, holy, holy, Lord of hosts. So, there is the beauty of His holiness, and that's manifested particularly in the law. And whenever you read all those commandments, where God commands us to be pure and holy, that causes us to think of the giver thereof, who himself dwells and abides in the beauty of holiness. But you know the great revelation of His beauty, the most marvelous revelation of the attractiveness of God, is found in His Son Jesus Christ. That's where we behold the beauty of the Lord, The glory of God, the Bible tells us, is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. And it's in the face of Jesus Christ that we see all the beauty of the Lord, the portraying of our Saviour, the beauty of the Lord. Now, we're not talking about anything physical. We're not talking about the mere outward appearance of the human nature of our Lord Jesus Christ when we talk about the beauty of the Lord. The Bible, in fact, whenever it talks about beauty in that respect, says it's vain. It's just a temporary thing. And we all get older, and we get wrinkled, and all the rest, and we go grey, and we lose our hair, or men lose their hair. And the beauty fades. And that's why we're not speaking about anything physical, because the Bible hasn't really much to say about physical beauty, except to say that it is a rather vain thing. And if you study the Scriptures, there is no indication that the Lord Jesus Christ was outwardly beautiful as far as his appearance as a man was concerned. In fact, the Bible would cause us to think otherwise. The Scripture says, when we shall see him, there is no beauty in him that we should desire him. His visage was so marred more than any man's. So the outward appearance, every indication in Scripture seems to be the Lord Jesus was unattractive. He wouldn't have appealed to people. There was no beauty about his outward facial features that would have drawn people. So we're not talking about outward physical beauty, and if the Lord Jesus did have any outward physical beauty, that certainly was marred in the agony of Calvary and in the torture that took place prior to that. So we're not talking about anything physical when we talk about the beauty of the Lord. One can be physically attractive and yet wholly repugnant Because that which is really beauty is not physical at all, it's moral. It's to do with the beauty of the heart. Beauty is vain, but a woman that fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Because moral beauty, as far as God is concerned, and as far as the Holy Scriptures are concerned, moral beauty, It's a great thing in the universe, the beauty of the life and the beauty of the heart and the beauty of the mind. And that the Lord Jesus Christ had to its fullest extent. And that's what we're speaking about this morning, the beauty of the Lord. Now, what is attractive about the Lord Jesus Christ then? Well, here we really have to say that words fail us. Who can describe the beauty of the Lord Jesus? I don't pretend to be able to do that. It would be easier to describe the sun and the light of the sun. It would be easier to describe the whiteness of the snow. It would be easier to describe the beauty of a physical scene than to try to describe the attractiveness, the all-powerful and all-glorious attractiveness of the Lord Jesus Christ. The preacher is more likely to mar the beauty of the Lord with words. But there is an attractiveness about the Lord Jesus Christ. And nonetheless, we still must make some effort to describe something of the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I think the place where we particularly see the beauty of our Savior is in His sacrifice. He is most attractive in His priestly garments. He's most attractive in the sharing of His blood. He's most attractive in His giving Himself a ransom for us. And I think it is in this sacrifice of the Lord Jesus that we begin to see some of the depths of the beauty of His character and of His nature. You know, we particularly admire in people self-sacrifice, don't we? I'm sure you read biographies. And of course, Those biographies which make a great impact upon us are the biographies of people who have made great sacrifices. People like Florence Nightingale, people like William Carey, who went out, those early missionaries who went out and practically they were going out to a certain death and to certain greats, but they went out nonetheless. And the martyr trail, it was in that self-sacrifice that we particularly find them attractive, those people who burn with compassion and love, both to God and to men. But you know, there's no sacrifice like the sacrifice of Christ. There's nothing to be compared unto Him giving Himself a sacrifice for our sins. No one bore a cross like the Lord Jesus. He carried our sins. He bore our shame. He endured the divine wrath that was due to us as sinners. What a great heart that was that allowed Him and caused Him to do that for us. I think it is at the cross saying, that we begin to see something of the beauty of the Lord Jesus, the beauty of the Lord. That's the first thing, the portraying of the Savior. But I want you to observe, secondly, that the privilege of the saints is alluded to here in this portion as well, because Moses says, the Lord our God, the beauty of the Lord, the Lord our God. And there's a great privilege in those words referred to because this beautiful Lord, this altogether lovely one, this attractive Saviour is our God. That's a privilege. That's a privilege. We as believers are married to Jesus Christ. We are married with a faith that unites us to our Savior Jesus. We're the bride. He's the bridegroom. We're married to the most attractive one in the universe, the beauty of the Lord our God. You remember the words of Thomas. Whenever he It really occurred to him about the glory of his Saviour for the first time. And he broke out in those words, my Lord and my God. And we often emphasize the words Lord and God, and rightly so. But there are the times when we ought to emphasize mine. And that's what Thomas was taking up, not only with the attractiveness of the Lord Jesus as one divine, but with this thought. He's mine. He's mine. And what a privilege it is to belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, that's not the state of us all in this house this morning, I don't think. It's only the state of those who have made Him their dwelling place. You'll see in verse 1, Lord, that has been our dwelling place in all generations. Can that be said of you this morning? Have you made the Lord Jesus your dwelling place? Is he your refuge? You know, your dwelling place is something you abide in day by day. You're never far away from your dwelling place. And if you are, it's an unusual thing. You might go away on holidays. But the Lord Jesus Christ is the dwelling place of his people. What's the Lord Jesus to you this morning? Is he like your home? Is he your dwelling place? Are you familiar with him? Are you acquainted with him? Do you love him? For those who have faith in Him and belong to Him, they have this great privilege. He's our Lord. He's our God. I suppose I should bring a word of the Gospel here at this point to those in the gathering who don't know the Lord Jesus. He's never been your dwelling place at all. There's other places where you dwell. They're not attractive at all. Why don't you come into the presence of the Lord Jesus? Why don't you, as it were, leave the world and leave sin and flee into the embrace of Christ and be joined to Him and enter into a saving covenant in union with the Lord Jesus, our God, our Saviour? It's a wonderful thing, isn't it? to be the property of the Lord Jesus, to belong to Him, to be able to say, the Lord, our brother spoke about the shepherd this morning, to be able to say those words, the Lord is my shepherd. That's a wonderful thing. It's also a very humbling thing as well, isn't it? Because while the Lord Jesus Christ is so attractive, we are so unattractive, aren't we? We're sinful, we're shameful, we know so little, yet nothing about cross bearing in comparison to Christ. We're nothing. We're nothing. We're ugly. We're ugly. And yet he wants us. And yet he delights to be married to us. Isn't that an amazing thing? Who would want to be married to someone who's ugly and deformed? It would only be love that does that. Many of our emotions are superficial in this day of abounding sin. There is few that seek out moral worth and value in the hearts of people. It's all outward appearance. But we are ugly, that's for sure, as far as the Lord is concerned. He sees through us. He sees what we really are. There's nothing good about it. All our righteousness is as filthy rags in His sight. And yet He loves us. And yet He's married to us. And yet He takes us into a covenant union with Him. Isn't that a humbling thing? Shouldn't we love that Lord? Shouldn't that humble us that are rich? glorious, attractive prince, should look down in love and take us into marriage union, us ugly paupers. This is a privilege. But I want you to notice, thirdly, the petition of the soul in this verse, because I remind you it is a prayer. In fact, doesn't the title say that? A prayer of Moses, the man of God. He wrote this prayer. He prayed it from his heart. And in that light, particularly, we draw attention to the last verse. Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. Perhaps he's buried some loved one. Perhaps another hundred carcasses have fallen in the wilderness. Perhaps there's death and decay all around him. But he looks up and he looks beyond and he says, let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. It's a prayer. It's a petition. We should pray that too, you know. We should pray that often in these days of ugly sin and abounding iniquity. Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. What then does this petition mean? If we are to pray this, we want to pray with understanding. We don't just want to repeat words. We want to know what we're asking when we say, let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. I think it means at least two things. I think, first of all, it means that we might see more and more of the Lord's beauty. And I suppose then we could look upon the interpretation of the words Let the beauty of the Lord our God be before us. Let it be hanging over us. Let us see it. I think it's a request to see the beauty of the Lord. The bride eyes not her garment, but her dear bridegroom's face. Let the beauty of the Lord be before us. We sometimes look at the glorious gifts We sometimes look at the attractive blessings the Lord has for us, eternal life, the forgiveness of sins. They're glorious. We see them, we look at them, we're drawn to them. But the bride dyes not her garment, but her dear bridegroom's face. Moses wants to see the beauty of the Lord. He knows he has eternal life. He knows he has the forgiveness of sins. He knows he has many beautiful and glad things in his life. but he wants to see the face of the Lord. And you know, I think that's what we should be in this day and generation. We need to be taken up with the Lord. We need to be able to pray often. Let the beauty of the Lord be before us. Let us be ravaged with the sight of the Saviour. Isn't that what the psalmist David asked in that great psalm, Psalm 27? In Psalm 27 verse 4, one thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. Now why does David want to do that? Why does he want to spend his days and his hours in the house of the Lord? What's so special about the house of the Lord? What's he going to see in the house of the Lord? Well, we don't have to really ask that question, do we? Because he tells us, he says that I might dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. Why, David? To behold the beauty of the Lord. Is that why we're here today? We don't dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of our life? We come every Sabbath, midweek perhaps. Do we come to see the Lord? Do we come to inquire and to obtain some new sight and glimpse of that gloriously attractive Lord Jesus Christ? Do we come to see Christ? You know, that's why there is ministry in the house of God. That's why there is a preaching of the Word of God. Because it is a task of the minister to draw from the Scriptures the glory of the Lord Jesus. Do you come to see Christ? David wanted to see the beauty of the Lord. We need to behold more of the Savior. We need to see more of Christ, particularly him dressed up in his priestly garments. Our glorious Lord, the beauty of the Lord our God, be upon us, be over us, be before us. But I also think it means not only seeing new aspects of the attractiveness of Jesus, but I think it also, and we can keep the words as they are in our translation, be upon us. I think he also is saying, let the Lord's beauty be upon us. literally upon us as a covering, as something over our legs. And what he is asking then for is that he would reflect something of the beauty of the Lord. Remember again, it's a period of ugliness. There's little by way of encouragement. And so Moses says, let the beauty of the Lord be upon us. So that even in this generation of terrible ugliness, there may be some beauty, some moral beauty standing out. There may still be some beautiful souls. Moses says, let that beauty be upon us, Lord. In other words, he's praying, brethren and sisters, that we might be Christ-like. Christ-like. Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. Let us be clothed, as it were, with His glorious garments. Be clothed with Christ. I suppose those words of the Apostle Paul are very appropriate when he says, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus had a beautiful mind. And again, Paul is bringing out their self-sacrifice, the sacrifice, the condescension from heaven to the foot of Calvary. It's particularly in that sacrificial name that he says, let that name be in you. That's a beautiful name. We're very proud today, brethren and sisters, aren't we? It's hard to be humble. We're so often taken up with ourselves, with our own egos. Let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus. I think John the Baptist had something of it. When he could say those words, not just his words, but with all his heart, he must increase, but I, I must decrease. So the petition of the soul then, let this beauty of the Lord Jesus, Be upon me. I want you to notice finally the priority in our service. I'm not going to preach on the second half of the verse. I only draw attention to it and the connection that it has with the first part. But you will see there is a petition here also about service. And twice the free as the work of our hands occurs. So he wants something else done. As well as the beauty of the Lord upon him, he wants the work of his hands, for Moses is a worker for God, but he wants the work of his hands to be established. It's falling apart at the minute, Lord. But the work of our hands, establish thou it. Now, as I said, I'm not going to expound on that part of the verse. I am only drawing attention to the priority in our service, and by that I mean this prayer for our service comes after. It comes after this prayer for the beauty of the Lord our God to be upon us. The order is important. Moses doesn't pray about his work first. Moses didn't say, the work of our hands, Lord. The work of our hands, establish thou it. And then add, as a kind of appendix, let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. His order is very important. He says, let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. And then he prays for the work. And why is that, brethren and sisters? And this is the reason why the Lord must be first, and not the work. The Lord must be first. There must be the priority of the Lord in our life. God first wants us to be holy, and then he wants us to be holy workers. So there is a priority. Really, the desire to be Christ-like is better evidence of sincerity. After all, any selfish person can want their work to prosper. You don't have to be filled with grace to want your work to prosper. You don't have to be filled with grace to want to do well in your job and advance and be promoted. That's not an evidence of grace. But it's an evidence of grace. When a man has a hunger and a thirst to be like Jesus Christ, that's an evidence of grace. And so that's the most important thing of all. And thus he prays for that first of all. And it also is a lesson here that the Lord wants devotion. And not just service. He wants devotion. He wants a heart. He wants to be loved. He wants us to be taken up with Him. and not just to be taken up with the work. And so Moses gets the order right. That's always the true order, brethren and sisters, in any work of God. The Lord comes first. And the reason why the Lord comes first, there's another reason, and it is this. Those are most effectual workers who give the Lord first place. And so then, I trust that this will be a prayer that will often be upon our lips, in our own hearts and lives, in the midst of an ugly world when we are surrounded with so much ugly sin. Let this petition be offered upon our lips. Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. Amen. Let us pray. We'll stand together, I think. We'll just close the meeting in prayer. Our Father,