So teach us to number our days, that we may present a heart of wisdom.So teach us to count our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.So teach us to number our days, That we may get us a heart of wisdom.
5 sermons cite this verse
In Psalm 90, Moses said there's an average lifespan for most people. Now Moses beat it. he lived to be 120 years of age. And yet in Psalm 90 verses 10 and 12, he said, 70 years are given us and some may even live to 80. But even the best of these years are often empty and filled with pain. Soon they disappear and we are gone. Verse 12, teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are. Help us to spend them as we should. Paul said it this way in Ephesians 5, 15, and 16. He said, be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time because the days are evil. In the Bible, the word walk was an analogy for how you live your life. He said, be very careful how you live your life in light of how short time is. Make the most of your time. Number five, to prepare for your journey to heaven, minimize your pre-departure regrets. Have you ever had this experience? You're at the departure gate getting ready to get on a plane and you remember something you should have done. I should have stopped the newspaper. I should have stopped the mail. I should have packed a warmer coat or an extra pair of socks. You know what I'm talking about. You wish you had done something, but it's too late. Now those kind of regrets are minimal. They have no lasting consequences. But to come to …
… said the exact same thing. Psalm 90 verse 12, a verse that if you are a teenager or a college student, you should have memorized. Lord, teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to learn wisdom. In other words, it is only by thinking about the fragility and the brevity of our lives that we learn to live wisely. And it is places of sadness and bereavement and weakness that teach us that. You see, places of sadness and failure and death remind us that life is hevel. And remember, that word hevel is a word that means vapor, like a cloud, something that looks good from the outside, but is actually substanceless. So let me just ask, what specifically is Solomon saying that we can learn from funerals, hospital beds, and bankruptcy courts? I'm going to give you three things. Number one, Solomon is saying you can learn from them that your life is shorter than you think. For those of you who are near my age, you're mid-30s. …
Isaiah 40 verse 31. Sooner or later the narrowing comes. Faith becomes very personal, and we know we are going to our Creator. Psalm 90 verse 12. So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom. The wisdom that God gives us is to know and trust his son, Jesus. Life narrows down and crisis comes and suddenly only one thing matters and there in the narrow place stands Jesus. The poet focuses us on Jesus this way. Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates. behold the king of glory waits. The king of kings is drawing near, the savior of the world is here. Life and salvation he doth bring. Wherefore rejoice and gladly sing, we praise thee father now, creator wise art thou. There is something interesting about the birth of Jesus in the New Testament. The writers don't talk very much about Jesus' birth in Bethlehem. The four gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, have a total of 89 chapters. Of those 89 chapters, only about three chapters are about Jesus' birth. Why is that? Because they want to put your focus on the ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. Thus, Mark writes nothing about Jesus' birth, but begins his gospel with John the Baptist announcing the adult Jesus. …
… And so human attention is so valuable. So Moses says in Psalm 90 verse 12 Teach us, O God, to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom And 1,500 years later the apostle Paul says to the Ephesians Look carefully then how you walk Not as unwise, but as wise Making the best use of the time Because the days are evil So Moses and Paul agree We need wisdom Wisdom is needed to know how to Manage Is that the best word for it? Steward Leverage Use Our time Our attention Our energy And there's an important warning from the book of James I remember this moment so clearly On this trip with John Piper to Birmingham 20 years ago. I'm there to be the traveling assistant. I've got the schedule and got the contacts and all that. And he's just working on his messages. Some point he asked me about the schedule and I, you know, very good assistant. I got everything ready here. …
… You don't have time for folly. That's why the psalmist said in Psalm 90 and verse 12, so teach us to number our days that we may apply our heart to wisdom. You have to take account of the brevity of your life. Number your days. Time and wisdom go together. Freedom doesn't waste time. It's not easy because the days are evil. And evil days inevitably are going to be short days. I mean, you could say that our lifespan is short because of evil. We're under the curse of sin. Life is full of the dangers that evil has perpetrated. All days are full of evil. The whole world is full of evil. Evil is everywhere. been saying that throughout the book of Ephesians. He said it in chapter 2, we walk according to the course of this world that is under the power of the prince of the air, the spirit that works in the sons of disobedience. We function in a world that is driven by lust and passion and wickedness. …