Ever made a mistake? Has that mistake made someone angry? So angry that they wouldn’t talk with you? So angry that they couldn’t even bear to be in the same room with you? How did you feel during that time? What if this person that you’ve made upset is someone you love, someone very dear and close to you? How did you feel at that time? Didn’t you long for reconciliation? Wouldn’t you do anything to restore that relationship?
That’s where Moses is at in Psalm 90. An entire generation was going to fall in the wilderness due to their sin. They had repeatedly experienced God’s righteous judgment upon them as they rebelled in the wilderness. Moses is pleading with the Lord to “return” to His people.
Did God leave Israel while they were in the wilderness? No. They had His visible presence with them each day as they wandered. He continued to provide manna for them every day. So what is Moses saying when he asks Him to return? Let’s take a look at Isaiah 59:1-2:
Isaiah 59:1-2 1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.Did you catch what Isaiah is saying? It is not that God can’t hear us but that He won’t. It is our sin that has separated us from God. It is never His fault.
God is completely holy, he never winks at our sin. Habakkuk tells us that God is of “purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness”. When we sin against God it is a huge thing – sin makes Him angry, so angry that He cannot be in our presence when we practice it. That is why it is so very important for us to repent and confess our sin so that our fellowship can be restored with him (1 John 1:9).
Moses is asking God to be compassionate on His people and restore His relationship with them. They are living in that place under God’s wrath and separation and it is more for them to bear. ”Oh satisfy us early with Your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” Look at who Moses calls to for mercy – God. Look at what the outcome will be – gladness of His people. He also calls for it “early”, he does not want the day to grow long waiting for God’s compassion and mercy to be poured out upon him. Look at what else he says – “satisfy us”. Moses knows that He can only find fullness within God.
That is the heart of the penitent. He knows that he righteously deserves God’s wrath. He knows that it is his own sin that has separated him from the Holy One. He longs for that relationship to be restored because oneness with God is the only thing that can truly bring him happiness. He wants that relationship to be restored sooner than later because he understands that He has brought pain to the one that loves him above all. He also knows that restoration can only come on God's terms and not his.
It is my hope that we find ourselves in that place. When we call for mercy we acknowledge that there is one greater than us. Let us be quick to call upon the Father to show mercy to sinners such as ourselves. Let us not spend our lives wandering in the desert of judgment – let us instead repent of our sin and cross over into the blessed rest of the promised land. Let us find our lives in Christ, it is only in Jesus that we can be truly satisfied. He is the true bread from Heaven and the water of eternal life.
Mercy and grace to you all.
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