Number Your Days
Opening Prayer
God, may Your favor rest upon me today.
Read Psalm 90
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.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
How has God been with you throughout your Christ- following journey?Today’s psalm contains some up-to- date advice. The writer says that God has always been in charge (1,2) and reminds us of our mortality (3) and our failings (8,9). We cannot escape the uncomfortable knowledge that God is angry with us—and why wouldn’t he be (11)? So this old man prays to gain the benefit of his years of life-experience (12). He doesn’t want any of the hard times in his life to be wasted, because through these hard moments wisdom can be found—a wisdom that goes to the heart, not just to the head.
The last part of the poem might be read as the promise of heaven, but I think there is a gritty immediacy about this prayer, which asks that what we have done in our lives will really count for something (17). For younger people this psalm will read very differently. But for those of us with more years to look back upon, these words will make us nod and say “Amen,” not without pain or even regret, but with deep thanksgiving to God.
Apply
Our lives are so short compared to God’s eternity. Try to view the struggles and successes of your life through God’s eyes.
Closing prayer
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (12).
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