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1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the earth and the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You turn people back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, O sons of men.
4 For a thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
5 You sweep men away in the sleep of death—
they are like the new grass of the morning:
6 Though in the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it is dry and withered.
7 We are consumed by your anger
and terrified by your indignation.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
9 All our days pass away under your wrath;
we finish our years with a moan.
10 The length of our days is seventy years, or eighty, if we have strength:
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yet their span is but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
11 Who knows the power of your anger!
For your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due to you.
12 Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13 Relent, O LORD! How long will it be?
Have compassion on your servants.
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.
16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendour to their children.
17 May the favour[a] of the Lord our God rest on us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.
(NIV)
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Psalm 90: This psalm is the only one written by Moses and is the oldest of the Psalms. From (verses 7-12), we may judge that it was written at the end of the 38 years of wandering in the wilderness. It is a prayer for the new generation of Israelites who will enter the Promised Land. There are four parts to its message.
First, Moses describes the eternality of God (verses 1-2). Then, in contrast, he explores the briefness of man before God (verses 3-6). Four key comparisons are used:
(1) A thousand years are like one day to God.
(2) A thousand years are like a watch in the night (four hours).
The implication of these comparisons is simple: if a thousand years to God are like a day or a night watch, man’s life is like a breath of air.
(3) Our life, is like a particle swept away by a flood.
(4) Our life, is like a blade of grass that sprouts, fades, withers, and dies in a day.
Moses was most qualified to speak of death, since he witnessed an entire generation perish in the wilderness. The third part of the psalm may be described as the condemnation of man (verses 7-10). Moses speaks here of the wilderness experience. Finally, he concludes with a petition (verses 11-17), in which he asks the Lord that the Israelites might be given God’s work to do one more time, that is, the work of taking the Promised Land.
I wonder what we would do, if we realised our life on earth was so short, what mark of goodness could we achieve to make the world a better place.
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