Read Psalm 90
A prayer of Moses the man of God.
1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You turn people back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
4 A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—
they are like the new grass of the morning:
6 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 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.
11 If only we knew the power of your anger!
Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due.
12 Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13 Relent, 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 splendor to their children.
17 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.
Go Deeper
Today’s reading is the first in Book Four of the Psalms, a group of passages focused on remembering our place and remembering who God is. It is also written by Moses, making it the oldest psalm in the Bible!
The fourth verse of this chapter helps us to see the main focus of today: “For you, a thousand years are a passing day, as brief as a few night hours.” A thousand years is a long time, but let’s take a moment to think about how long that actually is. A thousand years ago, in the year 1021, the city we live in wasn’t even an idea in someone’s mind. The United States did not even exist yet. In America today, the average lifespan is 79 years. We would have to live our entire lives thirteen times to be alive for 1,000 years. Yet to God, 1,000 years is “a passing day, as brief as a few night hours.” God is eternal, all-knowing, all-present, and all-powerful, and we are far from that.
So how should we respond to this? Ephesians 5:15-16 gives us some insight: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (ESV). Read that again. “Look carefully then how you walk…making the best use of the time.” We don’t know how long we will live; only God does. Instead of wasting the time we do have, we should be intentional with it. Instead of saying we’ll get serious about God or start serving sometime in the future, we should do it today. Our life could end in a moment, and even if it doesn’t, our life is still short. We should be on fire for God while we can, storing up treasures in heaven that don’t fade when we die (Luke 12:33).
Ephesians 2:10 says that “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Even though God is eternal and so much bigger than us, we are still His workmanship, created for good works that God has laid out for us. Instead of waiting, let’s pick up our cross daily and follow Him.
Questions
- What is something that you’ve been planning on doing for a while but haven’t yet? Take a step towards that goal today.
- How have you been serving others recently?
- How can you better serve those around you and use your time wisely?
Listen Here:
Take a few minutes to listen to Shane and Shane’s new song inspired by this passage and meditate on its lyrics. Here’s the YouTube link of Shane and Shane Psalm 90.
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3 responses to “Psalm 90”
You have an expiration date. God knows exactly when you will no longer be living on this earth. Do I live like it could be today, the end? I have already died once and know without a doubt there is more, God is real and I am so ready to be with Him. But, I am sorry to say, I don’t live everyday like what I truly know. I live selfishly. I live for myself. I love on people, I speak Jesus, I pray with people almost everyday. But I don’t ask the Kennedy questions often. I don’t want to get it wrong. BUT GOD never fails, this I know.. I just need to convince my people pleasing self of that. God satisfy me daily with His steadfast love, hesed. I really want to be a Jesus freak but not in a freaky way, LOL. I just want the people that I see regularly, to be in their heads, saying “oh there she is, the woman who always talks about God and His son.” Not pushy, not shovey, but lovingly open and honest about God, His love, His son and His salvation.
12 So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
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.
17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands.
God that is my prayer. Teach me to number my days with Your heart of wisdom. Satisfy my mornings with Your steadfast love. Let me rejoice and be glad in each day that I have. Thank You for me be a living example to my husband, children and granddaughters of Your wisdom and love. Even when and even if the days are afflicted or evil, may Your favor be upon me. Establish the work of my hands X 2. Time is short and please forgive me for living so selfishly. Help me to be a light in a dark place. Guide me with words to express my joy in You oh LORD!! God I am thankful for the minutes of this morning I have had with You. I am thankful that I will continue with the rest of the minutes of this day. God with these minutes may You be glorified, seen and heard through what I do, speak and how I love in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!!
Through the favor of God our Father we can gain a heart of wisdom, be truly satisfied, and have the work of our hands established. There is no other way that is enduring.
“May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendor to their children” (v16).
Psalm 90 doesn’t start with urgency.
It starts with truth: God is eternal. We are not.
And Moses doesn’t respond to that with panic or a call to spiritual overdrive. He prays something much quieter: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
Not productivity. Not urgency.
WISDOM.
That matters, especially when we get to passages like Ephesians 5:15–16: “Look carefully how you walk… making the best use of the time.”
Because that verse can easily be used to dial up spiritual pressure. To come across with holy insistence that “if you don’t get serious and get going RIGHT NOW… you’re already failing and falling behind.”
Which, sadly, turns that passage into one more tired refrain of “try-harder-do-more.” (I expect there are plenty of devoted but discouraged Christians who have heard that one enough.)
And is that what Paul is doing?
Is he really urging us to acceleration?
Or ATTENTION?
I’m betting on the second, trusting that what we’re really being called to do is walk awake in a distracted world. Notice what is real. Refuse drift.
And to live with enough clarity to recognize what is actually ours to do.
Ephesians 2:10 extends this thought by reminding us that “we are God’s workmanship.” And those good works we were created to do are already prepared, already set in place, ready and waiting to be stepped into.
Which means they are not something we must manufacture under pressure. And certainly not something we need to pursue as if God cares primarily about our output.
Which should assure us that faithfulness… isn’t FRANTIC.
It is not about manufacturing spiritual significance — but recognizing where grace has already placed us and responding with integrity.
So I’m going to push back a little on something I’m sensing in our reflection questions today:
I don’t think Psalm 90 pushes us toward urgency.
It points us toward WISDOM.
And wisdom doesn’t live under pressure. Wisdom doesn’t need to rush.
Wisdom is what happens as we accept the shape of our lives, and stay focused enough to see clearly what God is already doing there.