So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12
A Prayer of Moses
The only psalm attributed to Moses this meditates on human frailty and on dependency on the Lord. The psalm contrasts the everlasting quality of God with man’s frailty, which is a consequence of God’s anger against sin. Yet God’s mighty love can bring joy into the brief lives of His people and make life meaningful and worthwhile.
[Key Concepts]
“Everlasting to everlasting” (90:2). Here eternity is not so much in view as “all time,” from its beginning to its end. Thus, God is one who continually is.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
“Dust” (90:3-6). Human beings, in contrast to God, have only momentary existence on Earth.
3 You turn man to destruction, And say, “Return, O children of men.” 4 For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night. 5 You carry them away like a flood; They are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows up: 6 In the morning it flourishes and grows up; In the evening it is cut down and withers. 7 For we have been consumed by Your anger, And by Your wrath we are terrified.
90:4, 5 Even if people lived a thousand years, they would pass away like a watch in the night. A thousand years may seem long at the time, but not in comparison to God’s eternal existence. Grass sprouts after the spring rains, but wilts quickly in the heat – almost in a single day.
For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night. 5 You carry them away like a flood; They are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows up:
90:7 wrath: The allusion is to the anger of God against the unbelieving Israelites in the wilderness (see Num. 13; 14). An entire generation spent their lives wandering in the wilderness because of their unbelief and rebellion.
7 For we have been consumed by Your anger, And by Your wrath we are terrified.
90:13, 14 Moses uses the word “return” in v. 3 to refer to God’s call for his death. Here he asks God to return for a renewed sense of life. Compassion… mercy: Moses is asking God for new meaning in his life in the days that remain.
13 Return, O Lord! How long? And have compassion on Your servants. 14 Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, That we may rejoice and be glad all our days! 15 Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, The years in which we have seen evil.
90: 16, 17 Your work… Your glory: Moses asks God to give him a sense of lasting meaning ind life, something that will continue to the next generation. The same idea is expressed in the words the work of our hands. Beauty refers to the “pleasantness” of God.
16 Let Your work appear to Your servants, And Your glory to their children. 17 And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.
** It is good to be tied to God who is eternal. He came to bridge the gap between His eternity and our brevity of life. Moses must have been very sad when God told him to prepare to die. But he was faithful and humbled himself. We know from NT that Moses is in heaven. But God had to show to Israelites Moses dying before entering Canaan due to his disobedience. It was for our benefit. So, perhaps even “death” is God’s instrument to teach us.
90 1 A Prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. 3 You turn man to destruction, And say, “Return, O children of men.” 4 For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night. 5 You carry them away like a flood; They are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows up: 6 In the morning it flourishes and grows up; In the evening it is cut down and withers. 7 For we have been consumed by Your anger, And by Your wrath we are terrified. 8 You have set our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance. 9 For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; We finish our years like a sigh. 10 The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away. 11 Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath. 12 So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom. 13 Return, O Lord! How long? And have compassion on Your servants. 14 Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, That we may rejoice and be glad all our days! 15 Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, The years in which we have seen evil. 16 Let Your work appear to Your servants, And Your glory to their children. 17 And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.
