Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but … Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. It is a short, bold declaration of God’s might, power, and holiness. If we connect it with any particular time in the life of Moses, the best suggestion is the time described in Numbers 20. Psalm 90:12, ESV: "So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." “Of all arithmetical rules this is the hardest – to number our days. a. Plug in, Turn on and Be En light ened! We are taught by all this to stand in awe. Click to enable/disable Google reCaptcha. And like a watch in the night. In God’s sight a thousand years was like yesterday, like a watch in the night, like a flood, like a night of sleep. Check to enable permanent hiding of message bar and refuse all cookies if you do not opt in. This is the only song of Moses in the psalms, but there are two other songs in the Pentateuch (Exodus 15 and Deuteronomy 32), as well as the blessing of the tribes of Israel in Deuteronomy 33. i. Most people live with little awareness that life is short, and their days should be numbered. d. Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us: Many were the days of their affliction; Moses asked that the days of their gladness would also be many. a. A thousand years, which to a man seem so long, are to Him dwindled to nothing, in comparison with the eternity of His being. Search a pre-defined list. These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. His favour would be a full fountain of future joys. His favour would be a full fountain of future joys. It is a short and quickly-passing life, as the waters of a flood. “The Psalmist, about to describe man’s fleeting and transitory state, first directs us to contemplate the unchangeable nature and attributes of God.” (Horne), You turn man to destruction, “It was toward the close of the desert wanderings that Moses wrote this sublime psalm, all the imagery of which is borrowed from the wilderness. “The renewal of his love is associated with “the morning” (cf. Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations." The emphasis is on the futility of life; even if one should live past the norm of seventy years and live eighty years, the end of it all is only labor and sorrow. In Psalm 90 Moses focuses on God’s greatness, our human weakness, and our need for the Lord to provide grace for our daily needs. The afflictions of the saints often come from God's love; but the rebukes of sinners, and of believers for their sins, must be seen coming from the displeasure of God. God takes interest in the affairs of men and exercises His holy judgment. i. Jews are people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. 3 You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.” 4 A thousand years in your sight. Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God, For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance. Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance. In the morning they are like grass which grows up: Now, in prayer, Moses asked God to return. Spiritually speaking, that never needs to be the state of the believer. That we may gain a heart of wisdom. Copy Options. “To number our days; to consider the shortness and miseries of this life, and the certainty and speediness of death, and the causes and consequences thereof.” (Poole), ii. are just like yesterday when it is past, like a watch in the night. Verse 9. They know that without the Lord they can do nothing, and therefore they cry to him for help in the work, for acceptance of their efforts, and for the establishment of their designs.” (Spurgeon), iii. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary 90:12-17 Those who would learn true wisdom, must pray for Divine instruction, must beg to be taught by the Holy Spirit; and for comfort and joy in the returns of God's favour. How long? Psalm 90 - [[A Prayer of Moses the man of God.]] Psalm 90 gives us probably the best biblical perspective of time. Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Unique among the Psalms, it is attributed to Moses, thus making it the first Psalm to be written chronologically. The days of our lives are seventy years; “We do not understand the full blessedness of believing that God is our asylum, till we understand that He is our asylum from all that is destructive…nor do we know the significance of the universal experience of decay and death, till we learn that it is not the result of our finite being, but of sin.” (Maclaren). From God’s perspective, a thousand years passes quickly like a sleep. Men can number their herds and droves of oxen and of sheep, they can estimate the revenues of their manors and farms, they can with a little pains number and tell their coins, and yet they are persuaded that their days are infinite and innumerable and therefore do never begin to number them.” (Tymme, cited in Spurgeon), iii. And establish the work of our hands for us; Advanced Options. And let Divine consolations put gladness into our hearts, and a lustre upon our countenances. They pray for the mercy of God, for they pretend not to plead any merit of their own. Our years, when gone, can no more be recalled than the words that we have spoken. Psalm 90 is such a lament from the community; most commentators place the crisis portrayed in this psalm in the post-exilic community. Bible Study Tools Language Tools Historical Writings Pastoral Resources Personal Resources Site Resources advertisement. “As a tale”: … Psalm 90 The foregoing psalm is supposed to have been penned as late as the captivity in Babylon; this, it is plain, was penned as early as the deliverance out of Egypt, and yet they are put close together in this collection of divine songs. Hebrew is the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the psalms. b. The deep cry of Moses seems to anticipate important themes in Ecclesiastes. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. i. “He that dwelleth in God cannot be unhoused, because God is stronger than all; neither can any one take another out of his hands, John 10:29. Book Four From Everlasting to Everlasting - A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. So teach us to number our days, And Your glory to their children. “Alexander Maclaren said, ‘The only thing that will secure life-long gladness is a heart satisfied with the experience of God’s love.’ This means that nothing will satisfy the human heart ultimately except God.” (Boice), ii. i. KJV NKJV NLT NIV ESV CSB NASB. Not Yet a Member? The eternal God who created all things was and is a God to be appropriately feared and respected by man. the earth and the world brought forth, from eternity to eternity you are God. That we may gain a heart of wisdom: Learning to number our days will give us a heart of wisdom. i. For a thousand years in Your sight Such sins were not secret before God and His judgment. You turn man to destruction: Moses had seen the judgment of God turn man to destruction. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website. There are options set in 'Advanced Options' Clear Advanced Options. For Moses and Israel in the wilderness, time seemed to pass slowly, but Moses knew this was not God’s perspective. His conclusion, of course, is that man and God look at time from entirely different perspectives. Chapter 90 The foregoing psalm is supposed to have been penned as late as the captivity in Babylon; this, it is plain, was penned as early as the deliverance out of Egypt, and yet they are put close together in this collection of divine songs. For we have been consumed by Your anger: In the first section of this psalm, Moses connected the idea of God’s eternal nature with His judgment upon man. It isn’t automatic. Addressing Him, not as Elohim the Mighty One, nor as Jehovah, the Helper, but as Adonai, the Sovereign Lord, the singer declares that He has been the dwelling-place, the habitation, the home of man in all generations.” (Morgan), ii. Those who make a mock at sin, and make light of Christ, surely do not know the power of God's anger. a. Lord, You have been our dwelling place: This prayer of Moses was almost certainly written during the wilderness years on the way to Canaan. Without this blessing in our lives, our work and its effectiveness pass quickly and are of little impact. It would be a sufficient balance to former griefs. And say, “Return, O children of men.”. a. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. “The faithful beseech God to let his ‘beauty,’ his splendor, the light of his countenance, his grace and favour, be upon them.” (Horne). Let the grace of God in us produce the light of good works. Thou dost not suffer us to live so long as we might by the course of nature.” (Poole). So teach us means that this wisdom must be learned. You carry them away like a flood; Our dwelling place: “The Hebrew word for ‘dwelling place’ may also be translated ‘refuge,’ which is how it appears in Deuteronomy 33:27, one of the other songs of Moses.” (Boice). Dr. Philip W. McLarty. There is no title to this psalm in the Hebrew text. Christ Jesus is the refuge and dwelling-place to which we may repair. For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; All our days have passed away in Your wrath, Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, Let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us, © Copyright - Enduring Word       |      . Psalm 90. b-c. the Psalms of 103 and 104 are attributed to David. Click to enable/disable _ga - Google Analytics Cookie. “Fleeting as our days are, they are ennobled by our being permitted to be God’s tools.” (Maclaren), ii. For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. i. (7-11) Prayer for mercy and grace. He saw it with wicked Egypt and disobedient Israel. Click the verse number to read commentary, definitions, meanings, and notes for that particular Psalms 90 verse. b. Before the mountains were brought forth: In the wilderness on the slow route to Canaan, Moses saw mountains on the horizon and reflected on the truth that God existed before those mountains. “The New Testament, incidentally, will outrun verse 15’s modest prayer for joys to balance sorrows, by its promise of ‘an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison’ (2 Cor. Psalm 90 is one of the most well-known psalms of the Psalter. Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. “This was specially the case in reference to the people in the wilderness, whose lives were cut short by justice on account of their waywardness; they failed, not by a natural decline, but through the blast of the well-deserved judgments of God.” (Spurgeon), iii. Search Tools. They are 3 different words in the Hebrew Bible. Hebrew is the language that … i. Let Your work appear to Your servants, Psalm 90:1, ESV: "A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. Secret sins are known to God, and shall be reckoned for. This was a meaningful question. It was God who formed the earth and the world. ii. I. Lord, you have been our refuge. AN INTERPRETIVE STUDY ON PSALM 90 The Ninetieth Psalm is a masterpiece, archetypal of all Hebrew hymnic literature, a prism through which the rest of the book of Psalms is refracted. It is impossible to think of a higher level of beauty or goodness. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site. 1 A prayer of Moses, the man of God.. Moses asked God not to delay in bringing His presence, compassion, and mercy to His people. Yes, establish the work of our hands. Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refuseing them will have impact how our site functions. As Peter has said, the converse must also be true, and ‘one day be with the Lord as a thousand years.’” (Maclaren). Psalm 93 – The LORD Reigns. It was a bold question, as if accusing God of being late in His help. Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Psalm 90 is the 90th psalm from the Book of Psalms. i. Search the Bible. Commentary on Psalm 90:1-6 (Read Psalm 90:1-6) It is supposed that this psalm refers to the sentence passed on Israel in the wilderness, Numbers 14. You often hear it at funeral services. They are 3 different words in the Hebrew Bible. “Let us deeply consider our own frailty, and the shortness and uncertainty of life, that we may live for eternity, acquaint ourselves with thee, and be at peace; that we may die in thy favour and live and reign with thee eternally.” (Clarke). Psalms 90–106. e. Let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: Earlier in this psalm Moses spoke of God’s people being consumed and terrified. a. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain. It is this difference in point of view that makes a huge difference in how we conduct our lives. The beauty of the LORD our God is great beauty. Here, then, it is best for us…to seek a supply of all our wants in God alone.” (Trapp). For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. 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