Psalm 90
Psalm 90
Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
You turn people back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—
they are like the new grass of the morning:
In the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it is dry and withered.
We are consumed by your anger
and terrified by your indignation.
You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
All our days pass away under your wrath;
we finish our years with a moan.
Our days may come to seventy years,
or eighty, if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
If only we knew the power of your anger!
Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due.
Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Relent, Lord! How long will it be?
Have compassion on your servants.
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.
May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendor to their children.
May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.
Psalm 90 marks the beginning of Book IV in the Psalms. This Psalm is also a prayer from Moses.
I think back to everything the Israelites went through in the time of Moses and I am struck with a sense of familiarity. Over and over again the Israelites were tested and surrounded by plagues, famine and pain.
But in all this hardship, He still sent Moses to save them. He still made good on His promises to restore His people and deliver them.
Shortly after this deliverance, however, His people turned away from Him. They turned to idols and begged for things to be better; for things to get easier.
And I find myself asking, how often do I resemble an Israelite? How often do I abide in His deliverance in one moment and then quickly decide to complain and whine the next? How often do I beg for things to be easier, especially now? How often to I neglect His deliverance and promises and seek first my own comfort instead?
In all the chaos and pain, I can forget the profound blessings of God.
This is something that must change.
I must make more of an effort to be still and remember His promises. I must be still and reflect on His deliverance and salvation.
I must seek first His Kingdom and righteousness. I must put aside my comfort and pick up the Cross as He did for me (Luke 9:23). I must lay down my own wishes and desires for ease and count the immense cost that He paid for me.
For surely, He has established me through the Cross. Instead of dwelling on everything going wrong, I can dwell on the one true God. I can dwell in His deliverance. I can dwell in all His promises.
Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
You turn people back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—
they are like the new grass of the morning:
In the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it is dry and withered.
We are consumed by your anger
and terrified by your indignation.
You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
All our days pass away under your wrath;
we finish our years with a moan.
Our days may come to seventy years,
or eighty, if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
If only we knew the power of your anger!
Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due.
Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Relent, Lord! How long will it be?
Have compassion on your servants.
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.
May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendor to their children.
May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.
Psalm 90 marks the beginning of Book IV in the Psalms. This Psalm is also a prayer from Moses.
I think back to everything the Israelites went through in the time of Moses and I am struck with a sense of familiarity. Over and over again the Israelites were tested and surrounded by plagues, famine and pain.
But in all this hardship, He still sent Moses to save them. He still made good on His promises to restore His people and deliver them.
Shortly after this deliverance, however, His people turned away from Him. They turned to idols and begged for things to be better; for things to get easier.
And I find myself asking, how often do I resemble an Israelite? How often do I abide in His deliverance in one moment and then quickly decide to complain and whine the next? How often do I beg for things to be easier, especially now? How often to I neglect His deliverance and promises and seek first my own comfort instead?
In all the chaos and pain, I can forget the profound blessings of God.
This is something that must change.
I must make more of an effort to be still and remember His promises. I must be still and reflect on His deliverance and salvation.
I must seek first His Kingdom and righteousness. I must put aside my comfort and pick up the Cross as He did for me (Luke 9:23). I must lay down my own wishes and desires for ease and count the immense cost that He paid for me.
For surely, He has established me through the Cross. Instead of dwelling on everything going wrong, I can dwell on the one true God. I can dwell in His deliverance. I can dwell in all His promises.
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