Psalm ninety is a well-known psalm to many. And we want to read the first twelve verses of this great psalm. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hast formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God. Thou turnest man to destruction and sayest, Return ye children of men. For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is passed, and as a watch in the night. Thou carryest 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 flourishes, 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 he's told. The days of our years are three-score years and ten, and if by reason of strength they be four-score years, yet there is strength, labor, 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. So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. And may the Lord bless the reading of his words. Let's look to the Lord in prayer. I'm going to ask our brother Bjorn Jones to lead us into the presence of the Lord. Now let us wait before the Lord. Our Father, we thank you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ for the privilege of opening thy word. May our souls indeed be still in order that we may hear the voice of thy word speaking to us. Deliver us from anything that would detract. And may our faith stand not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. We pray for Jesus' sake and glory. Amen. Today we want to consider together the woes of the unconverted. We've been dwelling for a number of weeks on the subject of conversion. And we've been dealing with those who are unconverted, those who have never been born of God. And then, of course, we saw the blessings of those who are born of God. And when we talk about being converted, I mean that change that takes place in the life of a believer when God gives him a new heart by regenerating grace. And only God can give this. And our Lord Jesus called this the new birth in John chapter three. And our Lord told Nicodemus in John three that it was absolutely necessary. Now the psalm that we read together, Psalm ninety, is a very interesting psalm. It is one that is well known and one of them, it's one of the psalms that deals with growing older, our age, the brevity of life. And no matter how long we live, whether it's seventy years or eighty years, There is strength, labor, and sorrow. But Psalm ninety was written by Moses, the man of God. It is a psalm in the wilderness. It is a psalm of death. And in this psalm, we have here Moses' writings of what he experienced in the wilderness because Moses stood in that unique place where he saw a whole generation perish. A whole generation perished in the wilderness. And the reason they perished is because of their unbelief. We have two chapters in the New Testament that give us a commentary on that generation that died. It is Hebrews chapter three and Hebrews chapter four. And in these two chapters, he deals with a plague of unbelief that afflicts the children of Adam. Unbelief is a plague, beloved. And even those who have experienced many of the activities of God fall prey to unbelief. And the generation that arrived at Kedishpurnia, who had been brought by the mighty power of God from the land of Egypt, they could talk about the Red Sea. They could talk about the waters of Mara, where the Tree that was thrown into the bitter waters caused them to be sweet. They could speak of Elam, where there were twelve wells of water and three-scar and ten palm trees for their refreshments. They could speak of the manner that God gave them morning by morning, six days out of the week, in order that they might have food upon which to live. They could speak about the water that flowed from the rock. when it was smitten. They could speak of the mighty acts of God. At Kedishpurnia, two years out of Egypt, in two years, God brought them to the borders of the land, the land of which we sing. I've reached the land of corn and wine, and all its riches freely mine. That's one of the hymns. Another one of the hymns on Jordan, stormy banks, I stand and cast over whisper I to Canaan's fair and happy land where my possessions lie. Oh, we can sing these hymns. You see? But what did Israel do at Kadesh for Nehemiah? The spies were sent in. Twelve of them. Ten of them came back with an evil report. The land each of its inhabitants. Their great walled cities there. We just can't go in. It's just an impossibility. We can't do it. But two men came back who saw the Lord. And they who came back and saw the Lord, well, they were talked on by the others. And that generation, because they did not believe God, they perished in the wilderness. In all probability, Moses every morning, I'm using a bit of imagination now, he could read the Wilderness Gazette. And as he did, he read the obituary column, who died. They were continually dying for thirty-eight years. That's what Moses saw and heard. So-and-so died. So-and-so died. Somebody else died. They were dying in the wilderness. So we want to dwell on verse eleven this morning, and we want to talk about the woes of the unconverted. For verse eleven said, Who knoweth the power of thine anger? You and I are living in a day when all that people want to think about is the love of God. They have never in their minds balanced the righteousness and the anger of God with the love of God. Hebrews chapter three and four stand in the New Testament as a monument, crying to man about his unbelief and his unconverted condition. Psalm ninety stands as a monument. Who knoweth the power of thine anger? And we want to dwell on this this morning. We want to consider the woes of the unconverted. And the woes of the unconverted are in this life, as well as in that which is to come. And on the basis of verse eleven, who knoweth the power of thine anger? We have verse twelve. For verse twelve says, So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. You see, we read in the book of Proverbs chapter twenty-seven in verse one, Thou knowest not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. So teach us. to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. The first woe that I would have you consider this morning as we try to expand this expression, who knoweth the power of thine anger? And as we dwell on that expression, first of all, God works against the unconverted. I want you to think about that. If you're here this morning, and you've never been saved, God works against you. He works against you. You see, the wall of the unconverted is like that of Micah in Judges chapter eighteen. You remember Micah? He was that Levite from Bethlehem Judah who surjourned in the north. And he was given a deal. And this Micah made him a deal. He made an ephod. And he made an image. And then this man became a priest unto him. And the time came that the Danites were looking for a home. So they came into the house of Micah. And they saw the ephod that he had made from stolen money, by the way. Money that he had stolen from his mother. And they said to the priest, you see. They said to him, well, no, you're just a priest for one family. We can give you a bigger congregation. Why not be a priest for a whole tribe? So the Danites took him, and they took him with them, and they took his image, and they took his ephod that he had made for the priest, and they were all. And when Micah saw what happened, he cried out, in the language of Judges eighteen in verse twenty four. You have taken away my God and what have I more? You see, the unconverted man is a God unto himself. He's a God unto himself. He's a worshiper of himself or of an idol of some kind or another, an extension of himself. You've taken away my God. What have I more? Oh, listen to me, to the groan of King Saul as he comes to his latter days. In first Samuel twenty-eight and verse fifteen, he says, The Philistines are upon me, and God is departed from me. The very God who helped him became his enemy. God worked against the unconverted. The language of the Lord Jesus himself is very plain and explicit in the Sermon on the Mount. When many are going to say to him in that day, Lord, Lord, have I not done this and have I not done that, he will say, depart from me. I never knew you, you workers of iniquity. You see, the unconverted person is not only without God, but God is against him. Now we often quote the verse in Romans eight, verse thirty one. And what shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? I'd like you to reverse that verse. If God be against you, who is for you? The unconverted person, the person who has never bowed the knee in repentance and faith to our Lord Jesus Christ has gone. For their enemies. God is against them. In first Samuel chapter two and verse twenty four we have these words. If one man sinned against another the judge shall judge him. But if a man sinned against the Lord who will entreat for him? When a person deliberately rejects God as every rebel has done in Adam's family. All who are unconverted have rejected God. Who shall entreat for them? Oh, the Word of God declares that God's face is against the unconverted. Psalm thirty-four, verse sixteen, says, The face of the Lord is against them that do evil. To cut off the remembrance of them. And God's mind is against you. If you're here without Christ, and you've never been saved, the mind of God is against you, Jeremiah chapter fifteen in verse one where we have a people who are set on having their own way regardless of what God says we read these words though Moses and Samuel stood before me yet my mind could not be toward this people think of Moses and think of Godly Samuel the Lord says to Jeremiah if they were standing here my mind would not be changed toward this people. It's an awful thing to be lost. It's an awful thing to be lost. But I'd like to take one step further. The attributes of God are against you. If you're here without ever repenting of your sin and bowing the knee to Christ, the attributes of God are against you. I want you to think of his justice. The justice of God is an attribute So exact is his justice, that it will by no means clear the guilty. We have seen so much injustice in our day that we have an idea that because worldly judges can be bribed and talked into something, and the wheel that squeaks at the most grease, and the more people that go in to plead with a judge, the more likely it is that he's going to favor them with a decision that they want. but not our God. Our God is a just God, and He will by no means clear the guilty. To show you how just our God is, it's in Galatians chapter three, verse ten, the last half of the verse. I told our young people in the sword drill on Sunday night, this is a verse that everybody should have indelibly written on their minds. It says, Cursed is everyone who continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. A Cursed is everyone who continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. This shows us the exacting nature of God's holy law, but it also shows us the exacting nature of the justice of God. And the justice of God. is against the unconverted person. But think of the holiness of God. God's nature is so infinitely contrary to sin that he cannot delight in the sinner that he's out of Christ. The person who has never bowed the knee to Christ has never brought God one moment of satisfaction. The holiness of God is against you. Remember the men of Beth Shemeth? That's a hard word for me to say. Do you remember the men of Beth Shemeth thinking of the holiness of God? Do you know who they were? Boy, I get in some blank looks on that one. When Israel took the ark of God to battle, that ark we stood for the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. And they looked at the ark as an itch. or as a talisman that would win a battle for them. And the Philistines took the ark. They captured the ark of God. And then the Philistines were plagued because of the ark of God, and they sent it back to Israel. And it went to a place called Beth Shemaph. And the men of Beth Shemaph, they did something. Remember what they did? They opened the ark and they looked in. and a spell death. And the people of Beth Shemeth said, who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? Do we know anything of the holiness of God? We're never saved. We're never bowed the knee to Christ. We can listen to the hymns, holy, holy, holy. But it's only words. The men of Beth Shemeth learned the holiness of God. Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? So his holiness is against you, but his power is against you. The power of God is against you. You see, God's glory is displayed in his mighty power. And he said in Romans chapter nine of Pharaoh, God says, for this very purpose of I raised you up. that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout the whole earth. And Moses went into Pharaoh, and he said, Thus saith the Lord, let my people go. Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord that I should obey him? He learned. He learned. God dealt with Pharaoh, and Pharaoh came to the place that he was a very instrument. declaring the glory of God, and he declared it to his rebellion and his unbelief. When Pharaoh was overthrown in the Red Sea, he declared the glorious power of God. The problem was it was too late. Too late. The power of God. is against the unconverted. But the wisdom of God is against the unconverted. The Word of God declares that the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is a manifestation of the power and the wisdom of God. And it is a demonstration of his power and wisdom in the redemption of the guilty sinner. Here's where God's wisdom and power is made known. And God in his wisdom, he knows. what is the end of those who know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And while men go on in rebellion and in sin, the very wisdom of God works against them. Think of the truth of God. We're thinking of the attributes of God which are against the unconverted. God is faithful and true. And you must then perish If you insist in living in your sins, God keeps His Word, the truth of God. He keeps His Word, all His promises and all His warnings. We sing occasionally, standing on the promises of Christ my King. And what a precious thing it is to stand on these promises. And all the promises of God in Christ Jesus are yea and amen. Well, what about his warnings? God not only keeps his promises, but he keeps his warnings. He has warned the wicked. He has warned the unconverted. He has called to the unconverted. Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Our Lord Jesus said, till heaven and earth pass away, Not one jot or one tiddle. So in any wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled. God keeps his word. An infinite holy God is against the unconverted. But I'd like to take you a step further. Number two, creation itself is against the unconverted. Creation. And remember, no matter where you go, you need planet Earth. Everything you possess came out of it. You don't own a thing that didn't come out of planet Earth. Everything you got came out of the ground. The clothes you wear, the food you eat, everything came out of planet Earth. And the Word of God declares in Romans eight, verse twenty two, that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And it is man's sin that has brought creation to the place it is today. And creation is working against man and not for man. And my what a demonstration we're having of it, aren't we? This drought here in the southeast. is the worst that we've ever experienced. You see, creation is working against man. The whole creation groaneth and travaileth. What? Because of man's sin. It was brought on because of man's sin and disobedience to God. And God said of the fig tree, the Lord Jesus, remember when he saw the fig tree that only had leaves but no fruit. Luke thirteen he says for three years I've dealt with this tree he said cut us down why cumber us at the ground you see the time comes when God says cut us down why cumber us at the ground but on the balance of that friend If you think I'm going too far out on a limb when I say that creation is against the unconverted, I wonder you need to read the second chapter of Hosea. For in Hosea chapter two, when God speaks of the day when he's going to bring Israel back into the land, he says of that day God in the coming day will make a covenant of peace with a creature for man's sake. God's going to make a covenant of peace, not only with man, but with a creature itself. That was made subject to vanity because of the sin of man. God is going to bring creation back into the blessings of the new covenant. Oh, beloved, if you're here without Christ, not only is God against you, but creation itself is against you. And then Satan himself, exercises his authority over the unconverted. In Second Timothy chapter two in verse twenty-six, Paul writing to Timothy speaks of the person who is captive in the snare of the devil and taken captive by him at his will. Oh, I think of the man who cries and he talks loudly concerning the freedom that he has as he's living in sin. and degradation and indefiance against God. Freedom by Satan is ruling him and he's taking him captive and he's doing whatever Satan says at the snap of Satan's finger. Satan, friend, is a prince of the power of the air. And as a prince of the power of the air, he rules among the children of disobedience. But the unconverted have a mountain of guilt upon themselves. Man is so constructed that no matter where man goes in the universe, if he can escape somewhere in the universe, no matter where he goes, he'll make a hell for himself. If he's never been given a new heart in regenerating grace by God, he'll make a hell for himself wherever he goes. I can prove that to you. And I'm going to. You're so constructed. There are three things that you possess. That you can't put them off and go somewhere. You take them with you everywhere you go. I want you to turn to Genesis chapter forty-two. Genesis chapter forty-two. Joseph was sold by his brothers into Egypt. And now Joseph is a ruler of the land. His brothers come down to buy grain. Joseph doesn't point an accusing finger at them. He deals with them in order that he can see whether they have truly repented of their sin or not. But all by themselves, in verse twenty-one, we read the reaction of the brothers. And I want you to consider this verse. It says, And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother. In that we saw the anguish of his soul. But he besought us. And we would not hear. Therefore is this distress come upon us. I want you to notice. God is not here speaking directly. The brothers are speaking to each other. Oh, we can see the convicting power of God in the text. But I want you to notice these three things. These men have a conscience. And their conscience has now become active. And when the conscience of a person becomes active in accusing that person, it's so important. Conscience, and everybody has one. Oh, you may deal with it and you may sear it as with a hot iron. It may be a seared conscience as herod was. But it's still there. and God can activate it whenever he so desires. And these men acknowledge they have a conscience. Furthermore, they have a memory. Oh my. Remember what they say here. It says, we are very guilty concerning our brother. We saw the anguish of his soul. They remember what it was like when they drew him out of the pit and when they sold him to the Ishmaelites. What a picture that brings before the faith. We remember. And when God activates the memory, and finally they had rationality. They were reasonable men. They were able to reason. They said, therefore, we know of our. Therefore, see no matter where you go, man would make a hell for himself anywhere in the universe. We want you to take your hymn book. We're going to read a hymn. number one hundred twenty seven this is a autobiographical hymn of John Newton John Newton the man who wrote amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved the wretch like me him number one hundred twenty seven this is a hymn that speaks of his conversion what it was like when he got converted Beloved today we're living in an age as though we have God on the end of a string and whatever we say to God he has to do. But beloved, when a person comes to receiving a new heart from God, it's a change, beloved. It is a marked change. And it's a change that he's seen in the life thenceforth. And look at this hymn that John Newton wrote. And here's a hymn of conversion. It's a hymn of repentance. It is a hymn, beloved, that needs to be sung. I saw one hanging on a tree in agony and blood. He fixed his languid eyes on me as near his cross I stood. Sure, never till my latest breath. Can I forget that look? He seemed to charge me with his death. Though not a word, he spoke. My conscience felt and owned its guilt, and plunged me in despair. I saw my sins, his blood had spilt, and helped to nail him there. Alas, I knew not what I did. But now my tears are vain. Where shall my trembling soul be hid? For I, the Lord, have slain. That's repentance. This is not, beloved, the giddy repentance that's spoken of today. This is genuine heart repentance before God. But notice the last stanza. A second look he gave which said, I freely all forgive. This blood is for thy ransom paid. I died. That's how many a three. You see, after you get through the first three four stanzas, we're ready for the last one. We're ready for the gospel. There's only one person in the universe that can deal with a guilty conscience. Only one can deal with a guilty conscience. And that's the Lord Himself. He's the only one who can give a new heart in regeneration. But we've got to go a step or two further. A lot of times when people... Get under conviction of sin and acknowledge that they're sinners. They flee to the law. They flee to Mount Sinai. And the law of God only curses the unconverted. Many times when the conscience is awakened, they fly to the law for help. The law knows no mercy. The law only knows justice. The law only condemns. The law cannot save. Our cursed is everyone who continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. And Romans three twenty says, By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be saved in his sight. For by the law is a knowledge of sin. You see, beloved, the law can't save. Multitudes of people think it's him. but it cannot. Furthermore, the gospel itself will condemn the unconverted. The gospel itself will condemn the unconverted. Romans chapter two declares that there's a day coming when God is going to judge the secrets of man by the gospel. We all know John three sixteen, don't we? That's the gospel. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. John three seventeen. For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. John three eighteen. He that believeth is not condemned. But he that believeth not is condemned already because he has not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God. John three, nineteen. And this is a condemnation. That light is coming to the world. And men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. that very gospel that today says condemns those who do not repent and trust Christ in conclusion I'd like to have you read with me two verses from the book of Hebrews and then we want to deal with three things Hebrews chapter ten Hebrews chapter ten verses twenty eight and twenty nine for I believe that the writer to the Hebrews is seeking to use divine logic as he warns men concerning the wrath of God Hebrews ten twenty eight says he that despised Moses law died without mercy under two or three witnesses of how much sorrow punishment suppose ye shall he be thought worthy to have trodden on the foot the Son of God and has counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified and on holy things and has done despite unto the Spirit of grace. Now that makes us think of three things. Number one, are you a rational person? Are you a thinking person? And especially if you're here without Christ, are you a thinker? God says, come now and let us reason together. This is a God of the universe who speaks. And he says, come now and let us reason together, sayeth the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Now if you're a thinking person, then you need to cry out to God for mercy. Furthermore, are you genuinely converted? If not, why not run to Christ for that forgiveness? That's only found in him. The scripture here says, of how much for our punishment? If the one who despised Moses' law died without mercy, what about the person who despises the blood of Calvary? who spurns the blood of Calvary's cross, who turns from it and does not receive the forgiveness that that blood brought there at the cross. Oh, my friend, are you a rational person? Are you genuinely converted? Now that brings us back to where we began. What was that verse in the Psalm? Psalm ninety verse eleven. Who knoweth the power of thine anger? Oh my friend, we need to hear the voice of the Lord. God in infinite mercy has provided a Savior. Who knoweth the power of thine anger? There is no answer for the person who doesn't bow the knee to Christ and trust him and him alone. One more verse. teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to knowledge. How wise are you? Are you wise enough to acknowledge today your need, your guilt, and the work of Christ? That last stanza that we read said, A second look he gave which had I freely all forgive. Thy blood is for my ransom paid. I died. That's how many it's worth. Why will you die? Will you turn to Christ today if you never have and open the door and trust him? The woes of the unconverted. You have a guilty conscience in this life and it will only intensify in the next. Who knoweth the power of thine anger? Today is the day of salvation. Trust him today. I'd like to sing including the hymn we sang last week. I made a mistake last week by saying it is telling you what the tune is. But the tune is a familiar tune. The tune is Faith of Our Fathers. Three hundred fifty one, I think it is, in our hymn books. Let's stand together and sing this hymn. Three hundred fifty one. Behold the Savior at the door. He gently knocks, says knock before. Three hundred fifty one. Let's stand together and sing. My desire for you, my friend, if you're not saved, is you might turn to the Lamb of God before it is too late. Turn to him today. Now let's pray. Loving Father, as we have searched thy word, as we examined the verse, Who knoweth the power of thine anger? Oh, now search us as we go forth. May we indeed number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. Deliver us, O God, from the spirit of this age. Deliver us from the corrupting influences of this humanistic society, in order that we may behold in a genuine way thy glory is revealed in the gospel.