On 22 August 2021, I had the honor and joy of proclaiming God’s word from Psalm 90 at Faith Presbyterian Church of Olney in Olney, MD, where I am a member. It is in the presbytery in which I currently hold a “license to preach.”

This sermon is the third of four planned—Lord willing—on the biblical songs associated with Moses:

1. Exodus 15.1–18, which has been traditionally called שירת הים, the “Song of/at the Sea”;
2. Deuteronomy 32.1–43, which is usually called the “Song of Moses” in the English-speaking traditions (cf. 31.19-22, 30; 32.44) but שירת האזינו, the “Song of ‘Listen Up’” (from the first word of the song), in Hebrew-speaking traditions;
3. Psalm 90, which has the superscription תפלה למשה איש האלהים, “A Prayer of Moses, the Man of God,” and is the only canonical psalm ascribed explicitly to Moses; and
4. Revelation 15.3–4, which v. 3 introduces as τὴν ᾠδὴν Μωϋσέως τοῦ δούλου τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὴν ᾠδὴν τοῦ ἀρνίου, “the Song of Moses, the Slave of God, and the Song of the Lamb.”

In several other posts, I have developed some thoughts leading into this sermon:

• Sermons on Strange Scripture
• Notes: Turretin’s Use of Psalm 90
• Notes: O God, Remember!
• Psalm 90’s Canonical Placement

Order of Worship

Below is the order of worship that provides some liturgical context for the sermon:

Video Recording

You can view the sermon on Psalm 90 here:

Alas, the beginning of the sermon was cut off. What is missing is the reading of Psalm 90, the prayer for illumination, and the opening line of the sermon: “A country-music theologian once tried to help us imagine what our lives would look like if we would ‘live like [we] were dyin’.’”

If you would like a manuscript, please contact me. Reproduced below is the bibliography.

Bibliography

Sources Directly Contributing to the Content and Form of the Sermon

• Alter, Robert. The Book of Psalms: A Translation and Commentary. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2007.
• Bower, John R. The Confession of Faith: A Critical Text and Introduction. Principle Documents of the Westminster Assembly. Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage, 2020.
• Bower, John R. The Larger Catechism: A Critical Text and Introduction. Principle Documents of the Westminster Assembly. Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage, 2010.
• Brownback, Lydia. Sing a New Song: A Woman’s Guid to the Psalms. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017.
• Dempster, Stephen G. Dominion and Dynasty: A Theology of the Hebrew Bible. NSBT 15. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2004.
• Futato, Mark D. Interpreting Psalms: An Exegetical Handbook. HOTE. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2007.
• Futato, Mark D. “Psalms.” Pages 341–55 in A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament: The Gospel Promised. Edited by Miles V. Van Pelt. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016.
• Heine, Ronald E. Gregory of Nyssa’s Treatise on the Inscriptions of the Psalms: Introduction, Translation, and Notes. OECS. Oxford: Clarendon, 1995.
• McGraw, Tim, vocalist. “Live Like You Were Dying.” By Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman. Track 5 on Live Like You Were Dying. Curb Records, 2004.
• Millar, J. Gary. Calling on the Name of the Lord: A Biblical Theology of Prayer. NSBT 38. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2016.
• Motyer, J. Alec “Psalms.” Pages 484–582 in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. Edited by D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. Alec Motyer, and G. J. Wenham. 4th ed. Downers Grove, IL: InterVasrity, 1994.
• VanGemeren, Willem A. Psalms. REBC 5. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008.
• Waltke, Bruce K. and James M. Houston. The Psalms as Christian Worship: A Historical Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2008.

Sources Indirectly Contributing to My Preparation

• Childs, Brevard S. Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 1979.
• Fokkelman, J. P. Reading Biblical Poetry: An Introductory Guide. Translated by Ineke Smit. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2001.
• Goldingay, John. Psalms. 3 vols. BCOTWP. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006–2008.
• Patrologia Graeca. Edited by J.-P. Migne. 162 vols. Paris: Migne, 1857–1886.
• Turretin, Francis. Institutes of Elenctic Theology. 3 vols. Edited by James T. Dennison Jr. Translated by George Musgrave Giger. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1992–1997.
• van der Lugt, Pieter. Cantos and Strophes in Biblical Hebrew Poetry III: Psalms 90–150 and Psalm 1. OtSt 63. Leiden: Brill, 2014.
• Wilson, Gerald Henry. The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter. SBLDS 76. Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1985

Recommended Resources

I hold VanGemeren’s REBC commentary on the Psalms to be one of the best yet produced in English. (A quirk of that series is that they list the editors on the cover but not the author[s] contributing to each volume; I have no idea why.) VanGemeren is a man of “the big idea,” and his summaries and syntheses are excellent, even if I disagree with him on some of the smaller points and choices that an interpreter must make.

For what scholars call “Bible introduction,” Futato’s Interpreting Psalms is good, yet I prefer his more recent and much shorter overview of the Psalms in the van Pelt’s Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament. I gleaned from both of those works for this sermon as I considered Psalter-wide themes and canonical interpretation.