Right now Psalm 90 is my favorite psalm. I trust that will change. The Psalms speak to every situation under the sun. They speak to despair (Psalm 42) to repentance (Psalm 51) to death (Psalm 23) and to truth (Psalm 119). But I think I turn to Psalm 90 most. Why?
First, because I'm comforted by the reality that God is everlasting. God the Father never had a birthday. "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God" (v. 2). God has never been taken by surprise. He's never been shocked or unnerved. He is as calm as the centuries are long. What a comfort to know my everlasting God doesn't just know what my day will be like, he has ordained things so that what happens tomorrow will happen for my good. I can trust him.
Second, because I'm challenged by the need to make the most of every hour the Lord gives me. "The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty . . . So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom" (vv. 10, 12). Our lives our short. There is no other rational conclusion to draw. But the shortness of our days is no reason to stop working, to stop trying, and to give up. My brief life is lived under the watchful and caring eye of an eternal God. Therefore, I should live well for him.
Having become aware of his need to number his days, to live carefully for God, Moses was overwhelmed by his need for God's help. So he ends the Psalm with a series of prayers:
First, he prayed for the LORD's return (v. 13). He sensed God's discipline, and he prayed for God's forgiveness and his presence. So I pray for the return of Jesus Christ. As eager as I am to live and to work and to raise my kids and to enjoy my wife, I pray for the return of Christ and the arrival of the new heavens and earth.
Second, he prayed that he would be satisfied by the love of God (v. 14). We are so easily satisfied by such small things--a vacation, a car, a kind word from a friend. But those are trifles compared to the knowledge that there is a God who has loved us profoundly and perfectly in Jesus Christ--and the cross is the evidence.
Third, Moses prayed for joy (vv. 14, 15). He wanted to be marked by gladness and by joy. He did not want his days spent in dismay, but in delight! So should we. Let us pray for the joy of the Lord to overflow from our hearts like a spring that never stops.
Fourth, Moses prayed for God's power to be obvious in his life. "Let your work be shown to your servants" (v. 16). May God's Spirit be so at work in me that I am growing holier each and every day. We need God to be at work in our lives. We should long for the peace of God to guard our hearts and minds (Phil. 4:7). We should see Christ working in our hearts so that we can struggle into godliness (Col. 1:29). We can expect the Lord to lead us into worship so that we can rest in him until that great day comes when we will be presented blameless before him (Jude 24).
Yes, I love Psalm 90. More than that, I love the God who gave these words to me to feed me the truth I need to live for him.
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