Psalms

Psalms 90: God gives wisdom for passing days

Begin in prayer

Before we hear Moses place our short lives before the eternal God, let us ask Him to search the time He has given us. Pray for mercy through Jesus and wisdom to live each day before Him.

Daniel answered, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever; for wisdom and might are his.

Daniel 2:20

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word, and help us to see Christ. Show us that the eternal God gives His people mercy and wisdom for their short lives. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

Moses begins with the Lord as His people's dwelling place through every generation, eternal before mountains and earth were formed. Human lives pass before Him like a night watch or grass that withers between morning and evening. God's anger exposes the sin behind their frailty, including the secret guilt set in the light of His presence. Even seventy or eighty years pass swiftly with labour and sorrow, leading Moses to ask for a wise heart that counts its days. He pleads for God's compassion and morning kindness, seeking gladness to answer years of affliction. The prayer ends by asking that servants and children see God's work and glory, and that His favour establish their own work.

As you read Psalms 90, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

The eternal God judges our sin and gives the mercy and wisdom His people need for their short lives.

God as a dwelling place gives His changing generations a home in the One who existed before the world He formed. The brief night watch and the fading grass show how short our lives are beside the eternal God. Returning people to destruction is His command, and the next verses connect their passing days to anger against the sins He sees. Secret guilt stands in the light of His presence, so a longer life cannot hide what His holiness exposes. Seventy or eighty years describe life's ordinary brevity, making the prayer for numbered days a request to live wisely before Him. Moses asks compassion and satisfying kindness from the God whose anger has afflicted His servants. Their desired gladness has its source in Him, while the prayer reaches onward to children seeing His glory. Repeatedly asking Him to establish their work admits that human hands need His favour to give their passing labour enduring fruit.

How does Psalm 90 show us that the eternal God judges our sin and gives the mercy and wisdom His people need for their short lives?

God remains His people's home while their lives pass quickly.

The mountains and world had a beginning in God's creating work. He remains God through all generations while people fade like grass. That contrast places their need for a lasting dwelling before the One who does not pass away.

God exposes sin and teaches wisdom for numbered days.

Hidden sins stand in the light of His presence as surely as public wrongs. His anger gives life's brevity its sober weight. Moses asks Him to teach the heart how to live wisely within the days it cannot lengthen.

God's mercy gives joy and establishes His people's work.

Moses seeks kindness that satisfies and gladness answering years of affliction. He asks that servants and children see God's work and glory. Their own labour needs His favour, so the final request for established work is repeated.

Memorise

So teach us to count our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90:12

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what am I doing with the days Jesus has given me?

Moses prays, “So teach us to count our days”. Our lives are brief, and the sins we hide remain in the light of God's presence. We need His mercy as well as wisdom for the days still before us.

Jesus died in His people's place and bore the punishment their secret and public sins deserved. God raised Him from the grave. Life with the eternal God rests on His accomplished rescue, with everything needed for His people's forgiveness and acceptance already supplied.

Turn from your hidden sin and trust Jesus with the life you cannot keep for yourself. Everyone who comes to Him receives pardon. Ask Him for wisdom to use today's time in His service. The Lord's favour gives His believing people's passing days lasting fruit as they seek satisfaction in His kindness and entrust their work to Him.

Parent's note

Tell your children that the eternal God gives His people mercy and wisdom for their short lives. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for His mercy and ask Him to establish the work of our passing days. Bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

I must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work.

John 9:4

Eternal God, please expose our hidden sins and lead us to Jesus for mercy. Thank You for the lasting life His completed sacrifice has secured. Teach Your people to count their days and find their joy in Your kindness. Show Your glory to our children, and please establish the ordinary work of our hands beneath Your gracious favour. Amen.