God is our dwelling-place
Psalm 90
A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.
1 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,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You turn us back to dust, and say, ‘Turn back, you mortals.’
4 For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past,
or like a watch in the night.
5 You sweep them away; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning;
6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.
7 For we are consumed by your anger;
by your wrath we are overwhelmed.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your countenance.
9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;
our years come to an end like a sigh.
10 The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong;
even then their span is only toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
11 Who considers the power of your anger?
Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due to you.
12 So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.
13 Turn, O Lord! How long? Have compassion on your servants!
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
16 Let your work be manifest to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
17 Let the favour of the Lord our God be upon us,
and prosper for us the work of our hands—
O prosper the work of our hands!
This psalm, named as written by Moses, is one of the most frequently quoted psalms. Some examples:
“Lord you have been our dwelling-place”
“from everlasting to everlasting you are God”
“Teach us to count our days”
“Satisfy us with your love in the morning”
“O prosper the work of our hands”
The psalm contrasts humanity’s limitedness and frailty with God’s eternal presence and never-failing power. In comparison to God, human beings are like grass that flourishes but for a day and then is gone (vs. 5,6). The psalm writer knows that people have long lives – but even 70 or 80 years is a very short span of years in comparison to the everlasting God.
Therefore, when vs. 12 says “Teach us to count our days” – we are being invited to live the days of our lives wisely, to recognize we have a limited number of them. On one level this sounds like a threat – “Make your life count, or else”; but that is not where vs. 13-17 go. Instead, the psalm invites us to the wisdom of knowing that our lives are in God’s hands.
God is asked to have compassion on God’s followers (vs. 13). In vs. 14, God’s action leads to rejoicing and glad hearts. Vs. 15 makes that a request, “Lord, make us glad for as many days, as many years, as life has been hard.” God alone can turn things around and make the work of human hands prosper. Our lives are in God’s hands, and there is joy and gladness in living into that truth.
PRAYER:
O Lord, we are limited and you are infinite, we are mortal and you are immortal, we fickle and you are faithful. Teach us the joy and gladness of living our days, our lives, knowing that you hold them in your hands. These things we pray, in Jesus name. Amen.