A prayer of Moses, the man of God

Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!

Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God.

You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals!”

For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours.

You sweep people away like dreams that disappear. They are like grass that springs up in the morning.

In the morning it blooms and flourishes, but by evening it is dry and withered.

We wither beneath your anger; we are overwhelmed by your fury.

You spread out our sins before you— our secret sins—and you see them all.

We live our lives beneath your wrath, ending our years with a groan. Seventy years are given to us!

Some even live to eighty. But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away.

Who can comprehend the power of your anger? Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve.

Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.

O Lord, come back to us! How long will you delay? Take pity on your servants!

Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.

Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace the evil years with good.

Let us, your servants, see you work again; let our children see your glory.

And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful!

Psalm 90

Father, we hold onto something that is so brief. As I age, I find myself not concerned about dying or even taking my last breath in this moment. My only dread in dying young is leaving my wife to go on alone. But even that is hugely foolish and arrogant. After all, am I the one that helps provide for her, or is it you? Who am I without you? Even if I am gone, you will be there for her. Before she was my wife, she was your daughter. 

I suppose some of this goes back to what I was saying a couple of days ago about the movie Soul from Pixar. The souls yet to be born had to be ready and motivated to live before they could head to earth. While that is a really weird premise, I think we are all born with a certain level of enthusiasm. It’s just that some of us are pretty scarred by different events and it steals our joy and vision. Some lose their motivation.

I wonder what Moses was experiencing to have written this psalm. He is obviously having insights into just how small all of us are (even someone as great in your historical timeline as him) and how big you are. Even as I prepare to go back to work on Monday after over a week off, just thinking about how small my life is helps to put everything into perspective. 

Father, you are so great, and I am so small. The verse of the day from Bible Gateway was verse 12 above: “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” Yes, teach me this, but be gentle in your less. Help me to be wise and see the world with your eyes so that you might be glorified through my submission to you. Let your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven through my life.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen