Life is Precious
Lord, you have been our refuge in every generation. Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, you are God. You return mankind to the dust, saying, “Return, descendants of Adam.” For in your sight a thousand years are like yesterday that passes by, like a few hours of the night. You end their lives; they sleep. They are like grass that grows in the morning— in the morning it sprouts and grows; by evening it withers and dries up. For we are consumed by your anger; we are terrified by your wrath. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. For all our days ebb away under your wrath; we end our years like a sigh. Our lives last seventy years or, if we are strong, eighty years. Even the best of them are struggle and sorrow; indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away. Who understands the power of your anger? Your wrath matches the fear that is due you. Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts. Lord—how long? Turn and have compassion on your servants. Satisfy us in the morning with your faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days. Make us rejoice for as many days as you have humbled us, for as many years as we have seen adversity. Let your work be seen by your servants, and your splendor by their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us; establish for us the work of our hands— establish the work of our hands!
The grand scope of God's power in creation and His faithfulness leads to the just wrath poured out for evil finishing in a request for mercy. But, at the heart of the psalm is the simple request, "Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts." This is the response to who God is and His eternal character, compared to the quickly passing dust of mankind in 70-80 years and our iniquity. The question posed in Psalm 8 seems appropriate:
what is a man that you remember him?
These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates. (Deuteronomy 6.6-9)
God made us and knows we're not very intelligent, mush less wise. God knows we need constant reminders and to have the truth drummed into our heads continually if we're ever to know it, much less live it. That's why Psalm 90 ends with the prayer to let our children see His splendor and establish the work of our hands. The question then is, are you investing into something that makes the work of your hands matter or are you chasing vanity? We only have so many days, life is absolutely precious, and we need to number them and value them by keeping what matters most at the center of lives!
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