“Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Psalm 90:11-12
Considering God’s just anger against our sin and the brevity of our lives, we would be wise “to number our days” and “apply our hearts unto wisdom” by diligently studying God’s Word and heeding its message, which calls us to repent of our sins and look to Christ Jesus and His cross for forgiveness.
O God, You are a God of justice and a God of mercy. Deal with us in mercy for the sake of the holy life and the innocent sufferings and death of Your beloved Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
“The years of our life are seventy, or even, by reason of strength, eighty; yet their span is but toil and sorrow; they soon pass away, and we fly away.” Psalm 90:10
How true this is of our lives! We live 70 or 80 years, but our days are filled with sorrow, and we soon are carried away in death to stand before our Maker.
O eternal Father, have mercy upon us and forgive our sins for the sake of the atoning sacrifice of the Son that we might dwell in Your presence forever and not be cast into the eternal fires of hell. Amen.
“For we are consumed by Your anger; by Your wrath we are terrified. You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your countenance. For all our days pass away under Your wrath; we finish our years like a whisper.” Psalm 90:7-9
Though we don’t often think of it in this way, Moses reminds us that all our sins, even those secret ones, are seen by the LORD God and bring about His just anger and punishment. As a result, our lives are brief and pass away like a whisper.
I confess my sins to You, O God, and acknowledge my transgressions. I deserve nothing but Your righteous wrath and punishment. I flee for mercy to the atoning sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus Christ, my Savior. For His sake, grant to me pardon and forgiveness and life everlasting. Amen.
“You carry them away like a flood; they are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows up: in the morning it flourishes and grows up; in the evening it is cut down and withers.” Psalm 90:5-6
The days of our lives in this world are as brief as a soon-forgotten dream. They are like grass that grows up in the morning but is cut down and withers by evening. Because of our sins, God carries away our lives like a flood.
O LORD, let us recognize the brevity of our lives in this world that we might look to You for pardon and forgiveness in Christ Jesus, our only hope. Amen.
“You turn man to destruction, and say, ‘Return, O children of men.’ For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night.” Psalm 90:3-4
We sometimes forget that physical death is part of the curse brought about by our sinfulness. God’s words to Adam are also true of us. We “return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (Gen. 3:19). Whether we live 1,000 years or 60 or 70, it passes like a watch in the night and is nothing compared to eternity.
Eternal Father, grant to us a right understanding of sin and its consequences that we might repent of our sinful ways and look in faith to You for mercy and forgiveness in Christ Jesus and His cross before our days in this world have passed away. Amen.
