Moses prayed “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; and confirm for us the work of our hands; yes, confirm the work of our hands.” Since our days our numbered, we must seek perspective from the God of Eternity (check out my Psalms commentary). Moses certainly had a unique perspective on life — having toiled in difficult circumstances and taken great risks to lead God’s people out of slavery in Egypt only to fail at one strategic moment and be destined to wander for 40 years in the wilderness without experiencing the fulfillment of his dreams to enter the Promised Land. Certainly he was a good man to raise the issue of whether his labors for the Lord had any enduring value and purpose.
I. (:1-2) OUR POINT OF REFERENCE MUST ALWAYS BE THE GOD OF ETERNITY
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The God of Eternity is the God who Offers Himself as Our Home
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The God of Eternity is the God of Creation
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The God of Eternity is the God who is Sovereign over History
II. (:3-6) WE NEED GOD’S PERSPECTIVE BECAUSE OF OUR FINITENESS
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God is Sovereign in dictating our Lifespan
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God’s Perspective on Time is Vastly Different than Ours
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Man is Limited by the Cycle of Finiteness
III. (:7-12) WE NEED GOD’S PERSPECTIVE BECAUSE OF OUR SINFULNESS
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Our Sin is the Cause of God’s Anger
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Our Days are Numbered
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Our Opportunities are Limited
Key = having God’s perspective = “a heart of wisdom”
IV. (:13-17) WE NEED GOD’S PERSPECTIVE IN ORDER TO EXPERIENCE JOY AND FULFILLMENT
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(:13-15) God’s Perspective Includes the Joy of Future Restoration to Blessing
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sing for joy
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be glad all our days
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(:16-17) God’s Perspective Includes the Fulfillment of Faithfulness to our Calling: “confirm the work of our hands”
The short homily by Charles Spurgeon almost exactly 100 years ago on this last phrase in verse 17 is beautifully crafted. He divides his subject matter into three sections:
“I am going to try to answer three questions concerning our work for God. Firstly, what part of our work can we ask God to establish? Secondly, in what way is he likely to establish it? And, thirdly, if we are praying as Moses did, what ought to be our mode of action to correspond with such a prayer?”
Spurgeon focuses on those works which involve the preaching of the gospel, the conversion of souls and the building up of the church. But I would expand his reference to include all of the labors of our hands which are dedicated to the glory of God. Certainly the Apostle Paul instructed the irresponsible Thessalonian believers who were fanatical in their excitement about the imminent return of the Lord Jesus to live a quiet life and be content to work with their hands so that they would be able to maintain a good testimony and not be a financial burden to those around them. As we seek for God to prosper and establish and confirm our everyday labors, wemust include this perspective along with the emphasis brought out by Spurgeon.