Give us wise hearts
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!
The Psalm provides a contrast. On the one hand there is God who has been the dwelling place for human beings for all time (all generations) – God who existed before the mountains were formed. Before creation God was.
On the other hand, are human beings who are dust, to dust they will return. The lifespan of an individual human being is a speck in the sweep of time that God has seen. 70 years, 80 years, 90 years, and we are swept away.
In noting the contrast between humanity’s brevity and God’s longevity, the writer reminds readers that a human being’s span of life lies entirely in God’s control and so the cry of vs. 12 and 13 and the heart of the psalm. First, that God would teach us the brevity of our days, for it is in remembering our brevity of life that wisdom is to be found. A wisdom rooted in the humility of knowing that we are a creature, not the creator. A wisdom rooted in the humility of knowing that all that we are and will be rests in God’s hands – which leads to the cry of vs. 13 – “Have compassion on your servants.” It is only in God’s mercy that we draw breath.
Vs. 17 puts this truth into the reality of everyday life. That whatever in our lives prospers, prospers only as a result of God’s blessing. We do not make successes of ourselves. Learning to count our days, is a reminder of just how limited we are, and how dependent we are on God for anything we seek to accomplish. Only by God’s hand does anything we do prosper.
PRAYER:
O Lord, you are infinite, we are finite. You are eternal, we are mortal. You are timeless, our days are numbered. It is only by your hand and your plan that any of the works of our hands prosper. Teach us the wisdom of knowing our days are numbered. Show us who are finite, limited, and mortal your compassion and mercy, for without them we are lost. Remind us each day of your steadfast love, that we may rejoice in you all our days. In Jesus’ name. Amen.