Psalm 89 “Lord, you have been our refuge throughout generation and generation.”

Psalm 89

Lord, you have been our refuge throughout all generations. Before even the mountains did not exist and the earth and the universe were created, and from eternity to eternity You are. Do not turn a person into humility, and say: turn, sons of humanity. Like a thousand years are before Your eyes, O Lord, like yesterday, like the past, and the watch of the night. The humiliations of their summer will be. The morning, like grass, passes by, the morning flourishes and passes away: in the evening it falls away, becomes hard and withers. For I have vanished by Thy anger, and have been troubled by Thy wrath. Thou hast laid down our iniquities before Thee: our age is for the illumination of Thy face. As all our days have become impoverished, and by Thy wrath have disappeared, our years have become like a spider. The days of our years, in them are seventy years, and if we are able, eighty years, and multiplying their labor and illness: as if meekness has come upon us, and we will be punished. Who knows the power of Your wrath, and out of Your fear destroys Your wrath? Thy right hand tell me this, and my heart is bound in wisdom. Turn, Lord, how long? And beseech Thy servants. In the morning we were filled with Thy mercy, O Lord, and we rejoiced and rejoiced, all our days we rejoiced, for the days in the Lord you humbled us, we saw the evil years in the Lord. And look upon Thy servants and Thy works, and instruct their sons. And may the Lord our God be upon us, and restore the work of our hands to us, and restore the work of our hands.

Moses' Prayer (Psalm 89:1-17)

Psalm 89:1-17 Key Verse 89:12
“Teach us to number our days in this way, that we may acquire a wise heart.” To be honest, I never expected to see a psalm of Moses in the book of Psalms. But it turns out he was also a good poet. And even in Heaven they sing his songs.

In Revelation it is written that those who overcome the beast sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb (Rev. 15:3). But today's psalm is not only a song, but it is a deep prayer of Moses.

This prayer is a good opportunity for us to learn to pray so that our Christianity is not superficial, not just some deeds, but has depth in its relationship with God, is alive and devoted to God.

I. The Lord is my refuge (1-3)

Look at verses 1 and 2. “Prayer of Moses, the man of God. God! You are our refuge forever and ever.” These verses are especially interesting to look at given Moses' circumstances. He was now not in the palace of the pharaoh, but in the desert, where there were only stones and sand.

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Perhaps, looking from the hill at the people rising from their place and packing their tents, he thought: “What unfortunate people, they do not have a permanent place to rest, equipped houses and reliable walls for protection.” But when he raised his eyes a little higher, he said: “Lord! You are our refuge forever and ever.”

“Lord, You are our dwelling place and our home.”

We all want to have some kind of foundation, stability in this life. At the very least, a good job or a personal apartment so that they can be our refuge. We need some kind of refuge where we can just relax and be ourselves, where we can rest from fatigue and hard work, where we feel protected from danger.

But our life is very similar to the life of the Israelites in the desert. There is no stability - today the Israelis are in one place, tomorrow in another, the day after tomorrow in a third. They want to rest longer in the shade of the oasis - but the trumpet is calling and they need to pack up their tents and all their belongings again and set out on the road.

It is also impossible to feel safe in the desert - there are many snakes and scorpions, as well as the surrounding peoples constantly want to attack.

In such a life, the Lord does not deliver us from all difficulties, but He teaches us to find true refuge in Him. God was the true refuge for the Israelites - He kept them, fed them, protected them, taught them, cared for them.

He led with His hand more than one generation, but was a refuge for generations and generations. We must look not at ourselves, at our problems, at the apartment or at other people, but we must raise our eyes a little higher - and look at God.

Using the example of Moses' prayer, we see that our prayer must begin with a look at God, at His greatness, His power, His glory. Moses said: “Lord! You are our refuge throughout all generations ,” and then he continues in verse 3: “Before the mountains were born, You formed the earth and the universe, and from everlasting to everlasting You are God .

I was once in the mountains. Even on a not very high mountain, the beauty and grandeur will take your breath away. But God, Who created these mountains, Who created the Earth, Who created the entire vast Universe - how much bigger and more majestic He is. Moses says: “from everlasting to everlasting You are God . Even immovable mountains change.

Important

And in our world we see many changes - nature is changing, governments, countries, economic and political situations are changing. But God never changes. He is taller than anything on earth. He is not even subject to time, because He created and controls time.

Probably everyone dreams of managing time, especially before an exam, adding at least a couple of hours in order to finish studying. Unfortunately we are not able to do this. But for God this is not a problem. Verse 5 says that to God a thousand years are like yesterday. There are even a lot of days, so the clarification is like a guard in the night (the night was divided into 4 guards).

It is even written in Revelation that a time will come when there will be no more time (Rev. 10:6). I can’t imagine this, but I believe that it will happen.

II. “Teach us to number our days” (4-12) After Moses looked at God and His greatness, he turns his attention to himself. Look at verse 4.

“You return man to corruption and say: “Return, sons of men!” This verse reveals how great the contrast is between the great God and the little man. We are in the hand of God, our lives are in His complete control. Moses could see the people turning to corruption every day.

Over 40 years, about 1 million people died in the desert - that’s at least 50 people every day. That is, every time they got up and set off, they left behind a cemetery.

The person looks strong, capable, especially young - it seems that the whole world lies at his feet. But just a little bit God allows it - and it becomes corruption. Therefore, turning to God in prayer, we must appreciate everything that God gives us - our life, health, appetite, the air we breathe, etc. - and understand that all this is only His mercy.

Look at verse 6. “You carry them away like a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that grows in the morning, blooms and turns green in the morning, is cut down in the evening and dries up.”

Our years are like a flood, a raging river that rushes without stopping. We are constantly in a hurry, giving all our strength and abilities, building our kingdom - but nothing will remain of this.

It's all like grass - it blooms and turns green in the morning, and in the evening it gets cut down and dries up.

Indeed, in comparison with God, we are pitiful and insignificant. A proud person who thinks he is someone, in fact, simply does not know God. Therefore, the more we know God, the more we humble ourselves before Him.

In verse 7, Moses says, “For we are destroyed by Your wrath, and by Your wrath we are dismayed . No man can withstand God's wrath.

Advice

Every person who has not received redemption and forgiveness faces God's wrath and wrath. The Old Testament reveals this very well. In order to come to God, any person first had to wash himself.

Then, first of all, he offered a sacrifice of propitiation. And only after that could he participate in Divine services, make sacrifices, etc.

Some people may imagine God as a kind old man who is so fascinated by us that he turns a blind eye to all our pranks. Yes, God loves man. But whenever a person sins, God cannot help but be angry with us.

God's Holiness and Justice demand it. Romans says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:18).

When we stand before the Holy God, we clearly see our weakness and infirmity, our evil and sin. We are unable to stand before Him. Therefore, we need to seek His mercy. Therefore, we need the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Only he can feel safe who has taken refuge under the protection of the righteousness of Christ, which protects us from the righteous wrath and wrath of God.

When Moses said: “We are destroyed by Your wrath ,” this was not a theory for him, he saw it with his own eyes. An entire generation disappeared before his eyes. All the people who came out of Egypt died in the desert because of sin.

We need to leave our pride to see this reality, we need to humbly admit our shortcomings, our weakness, our sin and bow before the Holy God.

We need to seek His mercy so that we do not face His wrath and wrath.

note

Look at verse 8. “Thou hast laid our iniquities before Thee, and our secrets before the light of Thy countenance.” We have things that we are ashamed to reveal to others.

There are actions about which we think: “Thank God no one saw.” There are things that we diligently hide so that no one will even guess. But all this secret clearly lies before God. We cannot hide from God.

Our thoughts, our words, our relationships, our actions - everything is clear before God.

Look at verses 9 and 10. “All our days have passed in Thy wrath; we are losing our summers like a sound. The days of our years are seventy years, and with greater strength - eighty years; and their best time is labor and illness, for they pass quickly, and we fly.”

Our life flies by very quickly. Someone said that life is a dash between two dates on a tombstone. We are losing our years like a sound - I just heard it and it is no longer there. 70, maximum 80 years – that’s all.

And what’s most interesting is that even these years, which are so short, pass either in work or in illness.

This picture looks very sad. We are so weak, sinful, short-lived that we don’t even want to live. But then Moses reveals why and how we need to live. Look at verse 12. “Teach us to number our days in this way, that we may acquire a wise heart.” We must look at our lives correctly, not in order to despair, but in order to draw the right conclusions.

Psalm 5

In its meaning, this one of the first psalms is inaugural. This is a prayer on the way to the temple, at the very dawn of the day. It is believed that it was performed during the morning entrance of the priests and Levites into the courtyard of the Jerusalem Temple. Words from it I, by the multitude of Thy mercy, will enter into Thy house, I will bow to Thy holy temple in Thy passion. Lord, guide me with Your righteousness, my enemy, for the sake of correcting my path before You, entered into the Christian prayer of those going to church. The second part of this psalm (verses 8-13) constituted one of the entrance prayers that the priest performs before the liturgy.

Inspire my words, Lord, understand my calling.

Inspire - “hear.”

The title is “appeal.”

Tomorrow hear my voice, tomorrow I will appear to You and see me.

Zautra - “early in the morning.”

Ti - “To you.”

The wicked one will not dwell with you - “the wicked one will not dwell with you.”

Below will be the wicked before Your eyes.

Lawless women - “lawless people who do injustice” (masculine gender).

Destroy all the lies that are spoken.

Lie - "lie".

For my sake, my enemy, straighten my path before You.

For the sake of - “because of, for a reason.” Since spiritual enemies have risen up against the soul of a Christian, he himself, without the intervention of God, is unable to correct his path.

For there is no truth in their mouth, their heart is vain, their grave is opened, their throat is open: their tongues are flattering.

Flatterer - “flattered.”

Judge for them, O God, that they may fall away from their thoughts; because of the multitude of their wickedness, forgive me, for I have grieved Thee, O Lord.

Izrini I - “overthrow (overthrow) them.”

Preogorchisha - “very upset.”

For you have blessed the righteous, O Lord, for you have crowned us with weapons of favor.

Yako - “because.”

Crowned - “crowned, awarded.”

Weapon of favor: God's blessing is not only a reward, but also a formidable weapon against demons.

Psalm 100

This psalm of King David is a song of praise to God.

I will sing mercy and judgment to You, Lord.

Court - "justice".

I will sing to You - the prophet will sing of Divine mercy and justice.

I sing and understand on the path without blame, when will you come to me? - “I sing and ponder in the immaculate way: when will You come to me?”

I walked in the gentleness of my heart in the midst of my house.

Perekhozhdakh - “walked, stayed.”

I did not present before my eyes a thing that was unlawful: I hated those who committed the crime.

Didn’t offer - “didn’t imagine.”

Do not my obstinate heart cling to me; I have not known the evil one who turns away from me.

Not cling - “will not cling.”

He who slanders his sincere secret, I drive him out: with a proud eye and an unsatisfied heart, I do not eat with this.

Tai - "secretly".

Your sincere one - “your neighbor.”

Yadyakh - “ate, had a meal.”

My eyes are on the faithful lands, plant them with me: walk on the blameless path that serves me.

Plant ya with me - “to plant them with me.”

If you do not live in the midst of my house, you create pride, you say unrighteousness, and you do not correct yourself in my sight.

If you don’t correct it , it means “it won’t stand.”

In the morning, all the sinners of the earth were slaughtered, and all those who practice iniquity consumed from the city of the Lord.

In utriya - “in the morning, every morning.”

Sinful lands - wicked people, demons.

Consume - “destroy, eradicate.”