Psalm 90
Scripture:
1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You return man to dust
and say, “Return, O children of man!”
4 For a thousand years in your sight
are but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a watch in the night.
5 You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning:
6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.
7 For we are brought to an end by your anger;
by your wrath we are dismayed.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;
we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
10 The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
11 Who considers the power of your anger,
and your wrath according to the fear of you?
12 So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
13 Return, O Lord! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
16 Let your work be shown to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!
Devotion:
Psalm 90 is the oldest psalm in the book of Psalms, and the only one attributed to Moses. He wrote it somewhere between Egypt and the Promised Land, after decades of watching an entire generation die in the wilderness, and what he produced was not a lament of despair but a theology of time. Specifically, the time God holds and the time we spend, and the enormous difference between the two.
The psalm opens with an anchor: "Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations." Before the first cry of smallness, before the meditation on mortality, Moses plants a flag. God is not the problem. God is the only stable thing in the entire frame. Everything else in the psalm must be read from inside that opening declaration.
This week, we will walk through this psalm together using the HEAR method: Highlight, Explain, Apply, and Respond. We will also look at the Old Testament roots of this psalm in Isaiah 40 and its New Testament fulfillment in Colossians 1. By Sunday, you will come to worship with a week's worth of meditation behind you.
Today, simply read the psalm. Read it slowly, read it aloud if you can, and then ask the Holy Spirit what He wants you to see here. Write down whatever He highlights for you.
HEAR about it:
Highlight:
Write down the verse, phrase, or word the Holy Spirit highlighted for you. Why did it stand out? What might God be saying to you through it?
Prayer and Reflection:
Take a few minutes to sit quietly and reflect on the passage you read today. Let the Holy Spirit bring to mind what stood out to you and why. Then spend some time in prayer. Pray for the people around you, for your outlook on this day, and for the needs you are carrying in your own life.
Lord, I come to this psalm the way Moses wrote it, from inside the wilderness, from somewhere between where I started and where You are taking me. Still my heart enough to hear what You want to say through these words this week. You have been the dwelling place of every generation before me, and I am asking You to be mine. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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