PSALM 90: IT’S ABOUT TIME
Philippe R. Sterling
A man went in for his annual checkup and received a call from his doctor a couple days later. The doctor said, “I’m afraid I have bad news for you.” “What’s the news?” the man asked. “Well, you have only 48 hours to live.” That is bad news!” said the shocked patient. “I’m afraid there’s even worse news,” the doctor continued. “What could be worse than what you’ve already told me?” the man stammered. “I’ve been trying to call you since yesterday.”
That’s not news any of us would want to hear. But we do ourselves a disservice if we don’t keep in mind that our time here is limited. We all have a limited number of days to live. One of the wisest things we can do is to live in light of that reality. We find encouragement to do just that in Psalm 90.
A Prayer of Moses the Man of God
Psalm 90 is the oldest psalm in the Book of Psalms. Moses is the author. It is the only psalm attributed to him. He wrote it sometime during the 40 years that Israel wandered in the desert of Sinai as a result of God’s judgment for their disobedience. Two to three million people had left Egypt, and a whole generation died as they made that trek. There would have been constant deaths. You could have tracked the journey by the graves left behind. In the midst of this, Moses reflected on realities that are as true today as they were then.
Recall the last time you went to a funeral. Do you remember how the incidental stuff of life faded away and you focused on what was really important.
Moses tells us in the psalm what is important. He arranged the psalm in an inverted parallelism. He put at the center of the structure what is vital for us to do in light of the facts concerning God and our lives on this earth.
A The Eternal God and Our Security (1-2)
B Our Physical Life under the Curse (3-6)
C God’s Wrath and Our Wise Response (7-12)
B’ Our Spiritual Life above the Curse (13-15)
A’ The Eternal God and Our Significance (16-17)
A The Eternal God and Our Security (1-2)
The first two verses provide a starting note of praise for the security that God provides for believers in this world and in the world to come. Our eternal God gives lasting security in all generations.
Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
Moses wants us to consider our time on earth in light of God’s eternality. Before Egypt, before the mountains were brought forth, before the earth was formed, God was God. He is God from everlasting to everlasting, with no beginning and no end. He exists from eternity to eternity.
This past year has gone fast for many of us. We don’t know what this year will bring. For people living in tents in Moses’ day, or for people living in houses today, God can be a dwelling place.
Generations come and go, but God remains constant in His concern and care for us. The Lord is our refuge in all generations. Jesus is “the same yesterday, today and forever” (Heb 13:8). God provides the security that we need for life in this world and the world to come.
B Our Physical Life under the Curse (3-6)
Verses 3 to 6 is a lament that describes our plight in this world. We live a short and hard life in a world under the curse.
You turn man to destruction,
And say, “Return, o children of men.”
For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it is past,
And like a watch in the night.
You carry them away like a flood;
They are like a sleep.
In the morning they are like grass which grows up:
In the morning it flourishes and grows up;
In the evening it is cut down and withers.
Moses invites us to consider our lives on this earth. In contrast to God who is eternal, he says that our lives are short and hard.
Adam’s sin brought hardship and death into the world. God’s judgment was “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were take; for dust you are and to dust you shall return” (Gen 3:19). Man is “dust in the wind.”
Enormous amounts of time are insignificant to God. In light of His eternality, a thousand years is like a day to Him. A thousand years ago to God is like yesterday to us. A thousand years ago, it was the Middle Ages in Europe. Skilled scribes labored for years to produce a single copy of the Scriptures. Gutenberg had not yet made a printing press.
A human life, even the longest of human lives, is short. It’s like a three-hour watch in the night, a flash flood, a fleeting night’s dream, or some grass that sprouts in the morning and dies at night. We’re here for a fleeting moment, and then we’re gone. Death is certain. We’re dust in the winds of time. That puts things in perspective, doesn’t it?
C God’s Wrath and Our Wise Response (7-12)
Verses 7 to 9 elucidate that we live under God’s wrath in this world. Our lives are short and hard because of God’s wrath over sin.
For we have been consumed by Your anger,
And by your wrath we are terrified
You have set our iniquities before You,
Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance.
For all our days have passed away in Your wrath;
We finish our years like a sigh.
Our lives are hard, and they’re hard because of God’s anger. Remember why a whole generation of Israelites were dying in the wilderness. They had rebelled against God after the twelve spies had returned from Canaan, believing the majority report that the people of the land were too great for them to conquer. God said, “I the LORD have spoken this. I will surely do so to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die” (Num 14:35).
The Israelites were living in tents and dying in the wilderness as the consequence of sin. We’re not living in tents and dying in the wilderness, but life is hard and short. We’re still dealing with the consequence of sin, and the mess it has made in this world. We’re still having to cope with God’s righteous anger over sin. God’s opposition to sin consumes us.
God sees and knows all our sin. The thoughts we harbor in the privacy of our minds and the things that we do in our personal lives are in the plain view of the light of God’s countenance.
Our days pass away quickly because of God’s judgment on sin. They come to an end like a “sigh.”
Reflect on the realities of the eternality of God and the brevity of our lives. Our human lives are short and hard. Respond rightly.
Verses 10-12 set out the right response. The proper response to God’s wrath is to implore God for wisdom in living out our fleeting days.
The days of our lives are seventy years;
And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
Who knows the power of Your anger?
For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.
So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Moses notes that a normal life can be measured to about 70 years, and an extended life about 80. They are full of toil and trouble. We soon fly away in death. How should we respond?
Respond by numbering your days.
Respond by asking God for wisdom in living out your days. Ephesians 5:16-17 exhorts us to redeem the time. “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
Treasure time as a valuable asset. Benjamin Franklin said, “Do not squander time, for it is the stuff life is made of.”
Invest time wisely for eternal purposes. You can’t save time, but you can invest so that it counts for eternity. Billy Graham encouraged the graduating students at a Wheaton College graduation commencement: “Time is the capital that God has given us to invest.”
Manage time well daily.
Enjoy the good gifts of God such as food, drink, and marriage all the days of your life and do good (Eccl 2:24; 3:12-13; 5:18-20; 9:9).
B’ Our Spiritual Life above the Curse (13-15)
Verses 13 to 15 comprise a prayer for God’s mercy. We can pray that God would turn to us in compassion. We can pray that God would turn our sorrow into joy.
Return, O Lord!
How long?
And have compassion on Your servants.
Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!
Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us
The years in which we have seen evil.
In light of the brevity and difficulty of life, Moses prays for several things.
First, he prays that God would relent in His anger. It’s a prayer that God’s anger would not be the final word. It’s a prayer that God would show us grace. It’s a prayer that has been answered in Christ who bore away our sin (John 1:29) and has given us grace upon grace (John 1:16). He has promised everlasting life to all who simply believe in Him for it (John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47).
Second, he prays that God would give gladness and joy. God’s goodness and mercy can accompany us all the days of our lives (Ps 23:6).
A’ The Eternal God and Our Significance (16-17)
Verses 16-17 constitute a prayer for God’s favor in life. Our eternal God gives lasting significance to our labors.
Let Your work appear to Your servants,
And Your glory to their children.
And let the beauty of the LORD our Gd be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us,
Yes, establish the work of our hands.
Finally, Moses prays that God’s favor would rest upon his life and work. Pray that God would show you His favor daily. Ask Him for His blessing on your life, that He would establish the work of your hands.
Our work in Christ is not in vain and will be rewarded in the life to come. Paul concluded his message on the resurrection with this exhortation, “Therefore my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor 15:58). Number your days and present to God a wise heart. It’s about time.
Psalm 90 inspired Isaac Watts to write O God, Our Help in Ages Past. His stanzas parallel its verses. His familiar first stanza is “O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home.” The eternal God is our help and our hope.
Philippe R. Sterling
A man went in for his annual checkup and received a call from his doctor a couple days later. The doctor said, “I’m afraid I have bad news for you.” “What’s the news?” the man asked. “Well, you have only 48 hours to live.” That is bad news!” said the shocked patient. “I’m afraid there’s even worse news,” the doctor continued. “What could be worse than what you’ve already told me?” the man stammered. “I’ve been trying to call you since yesterday.”
That’s not news any of us would want to hear. But we do ourselves a disservice if we don’t keep in mind that our time here is limited. We all have a limited number of days to live. One of the wisest things we can do is to live in light of that reality. We find encouragement to do just that in Psalm 90.
A Prayer of Moses the Man of God
Psalm 90 is the oldest psalm in the Book of Psalms. Moses is the author. It is the only psalm attributed to him. He wrote it sometime during the 40 years that Israel wandered in the desert of Sinai as a result of God’s judgment for their disobedience. Two to three million people had left Egypt, and a whole generation died as they made that trek. There would have been constant deaths. You could have tracked the journey by the graves left behind. In the midst of this, Moses reflected on realities that are as true today as they were then.
Recall the last time you went to a funeral. Do you remember how the incidental stuff of life faded away and you focused on what was really important.
Moses tells us in the psalm what is important. He arranged the psalm in an inverted parallelism. He put at the center of the structure what is vital for us to do in light of the facts concerning God and our lives on this earth.
A The Eternal God and Our Security (1-2)
B Our Physical Life under the Curse (3-6)
C God’s Wrath and Our Wise Response (7-12)
B’ Our Spiritual Life above the Curse (13-15)
A’ The Eternal God and Our Significance (16-17)
A The Eternal God and Our Security (1-2)
The first two verses provide a starting note of praise for the security that God provides for believers in this world and in the world to come. Our eternal God gives lasting security in all generations.
Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
Moses wants us to consider our time on earth in light of God’s eternality. Before Egypt, before the mountains were brought forth, before the earth was formed, God was God. He is God from everlasting to everlasting, with no beginning and no end. He exists from eternity to eternity.
This past year has gone fast for many of us. We don’t know what this year will bring. For people living in tents in Moses’ day, or for people living in houses today, God can be a dwelling place.
Generations come and go, but God remains constant in His concern and care for us. The Lord is our refuge in all generations. Jesus is “the same yesterday, today and forever” (Heb 13:8). God provides the security that we need for life in this world and the world to come.
B Our Physical Life under the Curse (3-6)
Verses 3 to 6 is a lament that describes our plight in this world. We live a short and hard life in a world under the curse.
You turn man to destruction,
And say, “Return, o children of men.”
For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it is past,
And like a watch in the night.
You carry them away like a flood;
They are like a sleep.
In the morning they are like grass which grows up:
In the morning it flourishes and grows up;
In the evening it is cut down and withers.
Moses invites us to consider our lives on this earth. In contrast to God who is eternal, he says that our lives are short and hard.
Adam’s sin brought hardship and death into the world. God’s judgment was “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were take; for dust you are and to dust you shall return” (Gen 3:19). Man is “dust in the wind.”
Enormous amounts of time are insignificant to God. In light of His eternality, a thousand years is like a day to Him. A thousand years ago to God is like yesterday to us. A thousand years ago, it was the Middle Ages in Europe. Skilled scribes labored for years to produce a single copy of the Scriptures. Gutenberg had not yet made a printing press.
A human life, even the longest of human lives, is short. It’s like a three-hour watch in the night, a flash flood, a fleeting night’s dream, or some grass that sprouts in the morning and dies at night. We’re here for a fleeting moment, and then we’re gone. Death is certain. We’re dust in the winds of time. That puts things in perspective, doesn’t it?
C God’s Wrath and Our Wise Response (7-12)
Verses 7 to 9 elucidate that we live under God’s wrath in this world. Our lives are short and hard because of God’s wrath over sin.
For we have been consumed by Your anger,
And by your wrath we are terrified
You have set our iniquities before You,
Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance.
For all our days have passed away in Your wrath;
We finish our years like a sigh.
Our lives are hard, and they’re hard because of God’s anger. Remember why a whole generation of Israelites were dying in the wilderness. They had rebelled against God after the twelve spies had returned from Canaan, believing the majority report that the people of the land were too great for them to conquer. God said, “I the LORD have spoken this. I will surely do so to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die” (Num 14:35).
The Israelites were living in tents and dying in the wilderness as the consequence of sin. We’re not living in tents and dying in the wilderness, but life is hard and short. We’re still dealing with the consequence of sin, and the mess it has made in this world. We’re still having to cope with God’s righteous anger over sin. God’s opposition to sin consumes us.
God sees and knows all our sin. The thoughts we harbor in the privacy of our minds and the things that we do in our personal lives are in the plain view of the light of God’s countenance.
Our days pass away quickly because of God’s judgment on sin. They come to an end like a “sigh.”
Reflect on the realities of the eternality of God and the brevity of our lives. Our human lives are short and hard. Respond rightly.
Verses 10-12 set out the right response. The proper response to God’s wrath is to implore God for wisdom in living out our fleeting days.
The days of our lives are seventy years;
And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
Who knows the power of Your anger?
For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.
So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Moses notes that a normal life can be measured to about 70 years, and an extended life about 80. They are full of toil and trouble. We soon fly away in death. How should we respond?
Respond by numbering your days.
- If you’re 25 years old, you have 16,200 days left to live.
- If you’re 35 years old, you have 12,775 days left to live.
- If you’re 45 years old, you have 9,175 days left to live.
- If you’re 65 years old, you have 1,925 days left to live.
- If you’re 70 years old, you’re in grace time.
Respond by asking God for wisdom in living out your days. Ephesians 5:16-17 exhorts us to redeem the time. “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
Treasure time as a valuable asset. Benjamin Franklin said, “Do not squander time, for it is the stuff life is made of.”
Invest time wisely for eternal purposes. You can’t save time, but you can invest so that it counts for eternity. Billy Graham encouraged the graduating students at a Wheaton College graduation commencement: “Time is the capital that God has given us to invest.”
Manage time well daily.
Enjoy the good gifts of God such as food, drink, and marriage all the days of your life and do good (Eccl 2:24; 3:12-13; 5:18-20; 9:9).
B’ Our Spiritual Life above the Curse (13-15)
Verses 13 to 15 comprise a prayer for God’s mercy. We can pray that God would turn to us in compassion. We can pray that God would turn our sorrow into joy.
Return, O Lord!
How long?
And have compassion on Your servants.
Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!
Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us
The years in which we have seen evil.
In light of the brevity and difficulty of life, Moses prays for several things.
First, he prays that God would relent in His anger. It’s a prayer that God’s anger would not be the final word. It’s a prayer that God would show us grace. It’s a prayer that has been answered in Christ who bore away our sin (John 1:29) and has given us grace upon grace (John 1:16). He has promised everlasting life to all who simply believe in Him for it (John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47).
Second, he prays that God would give gladness and joy. God’s goodness and mercy can accompany us all the days of our lives (Ps 23:6).
A’ The Eternal God and Our Significance (16-17)
Verses 16-17 constitute a prayer for God’s favor in life. Our eternal God gives lasting significance to our labors.
Let Your work appear to Your servants,
And Your glory to their children.
And let the beauty of the LORD our Gd be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us,
Yes, establish the work of our hands.
Finally, Moses prays that God’s favor would rest upon his life and work. Pray that God would show you His favor daily. Ask Him for His blessing on your life, that He would establish the work of your hands.
Our work in Christ is not in vain and will be rewarded in the life to come. Paul concluded his message on the resurrection with this exhortation, “Therefore my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor 15:58). Number your days and present to God a wise heart. It’s about time.
Psalm 90 inspired Isaac Watts to write O God, Our Help in Ages Past. His stanzas parallel its verses. His familiar first stanza is “O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home.” The eternal God is our help and our hope.
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