THE PRAYER OF MOSES
Opening Prayer
Lord God, my strong foundation, use your Word to build my faith and help me to stand firm in you.
Read PSALM 90
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[a] of the Lord our God rest on us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.
Footnotes
- Psalm 90:17 Or beauty
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.
Meditate
All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall.’1
Think Further
This is the one psalm attributed to Moses. It is a fitting companion, with similarities and contrasts, to the two songs of Moses in the Pentateuch and his blessing on the tribes of Israel.2 The heading describes Moses as ‘the man of God.’ This phrase elicited this comment from Charles Spurgeon: ‘Moses was peculiarly a man of God and God’s man; chosen of God, inspired of God, honored of God, and faithful to God in all his house.’3 Zamani Kafang makes the interesting point that this same phrase describes all of us who love the Lord and are attuned to his Word.4
The psalm features two main contrasts. The first is between God’s eternal existence (vv. 1, 2) and our fleeting human life (vv. 3, 6). What is there on earth that is more enduring than mountains? How does their age compare with the ancient Creator God who fashioned the earth in which he planted them? Verse 10 is a generous description of the average human life span on the earth today. It compares very poorly with Methuselah who, at close to a thousand years, is the man who has lived the longest on our planet.5 How does that relate to God’s timescale in verse 4? In light of all this, the prayer in verse 12 is most appropriate for us!
The second contrast is between the anger which God displays (vv. 7–11) and the compassion for which the psalmist pleads (vv. 13–17). God’s anger is great and powerful, but it is fully justifiable as his just and holy response to the affront of sin (vv. 7, 8, 11). The only viable response is to plead for his compassion on the basis of his unfailing love (v. 14). Our own situation is no different. The psalmist’s conclusion in verse 17 is exactly what we need.
Apply
Can you rely on our loving God for all your needs, as Moses prays in verse 14? Ask God for help.
Closing prayer
Lord God, let your favor rest on me; please establish the work of my hands—use all that I do be for your glory.
1 1 Pet 1:24 Exod 15; Deut 32, 33 3 Quoted by David Guzik’s commentary, enduringword.com/bible-commentary/ 4 Zamani Kafang, in Africa Bible Commentary 5 Gen 5:27 6 Ps 90:17
Book and Author Intros
Extras
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Encounter with God is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.