Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: 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 threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore 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.

Moses Considers Who Man Is

Moses draws a contrast between the infinite God and the finite man.

First, He considers man's brevity of life Vss. 5-6 Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: 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.

God is eternal but, says Moses, man’s days are like a desert flash flood, dry to raging to dry in moments.

Man’s days are like a night’s sleep. We lay down and then wake up, not even aware of the passing of time.

Man’s life is like a short-lived grass. There is a grass in Israel that blooms and dies in a 24-hour period. Moses says that is what our life is like in comparison to God’s eternity.

And finally, he compares our life to a story, a tale that is told. The Hebrew word here is even a shorter duration, it is the word for a sigh.

So, Moses sees these two extremes, God in his eternity and power and man in his mortality and weakness. And yet even though God is omnipotent, and man is impotent, Moses sees that man is trying to fight against God, a fight that man can’t possibly win! God is sovereign and man can either submit and find fulfillment, and purpose or he can rebel and suffer judgment.

Look at vss. 7-9 Moses, probably thinking about the crossing at Kadesh – Barnea says, “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.

Israel rebelled once again and said, “We will not do what God commands.” God then punished them with 40 years in the wilderness.

Moses knows that Israel can’t win when if they fight against their Creator because they are limited while God is limitless. He brings this to a fine point in

So here then is the next lesson. It is …

The Lesson of Our Limits

Not much has really changed since Moses’ time, we are still largely within that framework of an 80-year life. Some may live longer and many others live much shorter lives. But long or short our days on this earth are limited. Yet few of us prepare to live our lives as if we only had a set limit of time. Our lives race by and we don’t notice, we don’t pay attention to how quickly they are passing until it is too late.

Peter and James, the second and third pastors of Jesus’ church, taught this same lesson of life.

1Peter 1:24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Even worse than not realizing how limited our time is that we spend that little bit of time fighting against God. We refuse to acknowledge Him as the sole Sovereign of all time and eternity.

You may think, “I’m not fighting against God.” But if you have left him out of your life, or ignore His will, defy his commands and turn away from the gift of grace through Jesus Christ then you are fighting against God. You and I are rebelling, if we refuse to accept Him as Lord or refuse to submit to Him as Sovereign God.