Psalm 90 Devotional
by Pastor Lawrence
The only psalm written by Moses, this is likely the oldest offering in the collection. Written during the time of the Israelites’ wanderings in the desert when they had no homes and were under the judgment of God for their lack of faith and disobedience, Moses pleads for mercy on behalf of his people from the everlasting God. For even though the Israelites were emigrants for many years in Egypt and even now are mere wanderers on earth, Moses acknowledges that the Lord is their home and that he has always been their dwelling place in every generation. Rather than complain of the Lord’s severity as his fellow Israelites have done, Moses praises the God who made heaven and earth and fashioned man from the dust who then has said “Return, O children of man” to the dust from which you came. And Moses has seen a lot of men return to the dust in his generation given the fact that only two men from his generation, Joshua and Caleb, would live long enough to enter into the Promised Land. Reflecting upon all this, and seeing how man is swept away like a flood, forgotten like a dream, and withered like grass, Moses praises the everlasting God who considers a thousand years to be like a day in his sight.
In vv.7-11 Moses praises the Lord for His righteous anger and his holy wrath. Even though at times men think that they can get away with their sin, Moses states that our iniquities are always before Him, even our secret sins come into the light of his presence, and all these things make Him exceedingly angry. In v.11, he says, “Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you?” The obvious implication is that none of us consider just how much God hates sin. In fact, we don’t want to consider this truth naturally for it is so alien to our own mindset in considering petty peccadilloes and little white lies. But the Lord sees all these things and they make Him exceedingly angry.
Because the wages of sin is always death, every one of us still feels the weight of God’s wrath as we bring our years to an end like a sigh. Unlike the previous generations prior to Moses when men easily lived for a hundred or more years, seventy or eighty seems to be the norm now, and even those years are full of toil and trouble. With Covid attacking our bodies and the increased rate of inflation diminishing the reward of our labor we readily see this toil and trouble in our own day as well. Then, when we can work no longer, or do not have the strength to take another breath, we soon fly away, as Moses puts it.
And these two truths of God’s eternality and righteous wrath compared with man’s temporal and sinful nature, lead Moses to make a number of petitions unto the Lord. First, he prays, “teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Clearly, our natural tendency is to live for the moment rather than for eternity, which is a sure sign of foolishness. Second, he prays that the Lord would return unto His people, taking pity upon his servants. Acknowledging their sin and desiring full repentance, Moses pleads that the Lord would have compassion upon his people again understanding that they are but dust. Third, he prays that the Lord would satisfy them with His steadfast love. In a wilderness where there is continual want, Moses prays that they want the Lord even more and that God would be so gracious as to meet that want each morning. Just as He provided the manna from heaven, so Moses desired the love of God from heaven each morning. For only then could God’s people find true gladness in the midst of their afflictions and rejoice in their trials. And fifth, Moses prays that the Lord’s favor would be upon them that He might establish or uphold the work of their hands. In other words, he was praying that their labor would not be in vain but that the Lord would make them fruitful in their work to make their work matter and to make their lives meaningful.
Even though we are not wandering in a desert under the immediate judgment of God because of our disobedience, we can certainly relate to the Israelites in feeling the burden of our own sin and the desperate desire for God’s mercy. For we all must face the fact that our bodies are diminishing in strength and that we will soon pass away. We too have suspected at times that we are merely going in circles working much but accomplishing little. And we know what it is to have a full belly and an empty soul.
Even though Moses doesn’t directly cry out for a redeemer, his cry is certainly one of redemption. For it is only through Christ our Savior that the weight of our sin is dealt with. It is only through His grace that we can face the miseries and consequences of our sin. And it is only through His favor that we can enjoy an intimate fellowship with the Lord. So, ultimately, Moses’ prayer is given its “yes,” and “Amen,” in Christ Jesus. For those who know Jesus have finally found their home in God, they have finally found their peace with the Father, and they have finally found their joy in the Lord. So it is always in the name of Christ that we pray prayers like unto Moses, for it is only through Jesus that God’s answers are given.