Life with God’s Blessings
Psalm.90
Rev Dr Devadosan Sugirtharaj
Introduction
This psalm is the only psalm titled ‘A Prayer of Moses’ apart from the other song sin Exodus 15 and Deuteronomy: 32, 33. This psalm is based on the historical time mentioned in Numbers 20 where the death of Miriam and Aaron and also the discipline of God to Moses to be refused to enter the promised land due to his disobedience.
Explanation
1. The divine nature of God is eternal. Psalm.90:1-3
Moses sang that God is his refuge and protection of his people. God is the dwelling place of his people for all generations. For he is the eternal God always and his judgments demand the repentance of God’s people.
2. Human nature of us as fragile and vulnerable. Psalm.90:4-11
- God'’s perception of time and our perception of time are different. God’s perspective on time is limitless. He does not have a past, present and future. He is eternal. However, as humans, we are time-conditioned.
- God demands our repentance of our sins as he is holy. The judgment of God comes against his people because of their sins.
- God knows that we are fragile. Moses compares the eternal nature of God with our frail and temporary sinful nature as eternal vs temporary.
3. Prayer in the light of who God is and how he deals with us. Psalm.90:12-17
- Moses prays to God for wisdom to teach us to number our days. He asks God for the wisdom to understand the shortness of life.
- Moses prays to God for mercy and blessing. He understands that true satisfaction is not rooted in money, fame or success but with God’s mercy, his faithfulness, his covenant goodness to us.
- Moses prays to God for the permanence of his work for God’s people. He understands that our lives and works become short-lived and little impact without the blessings of God.
Conclusion
Moses’ prayer to the Lord through this psalm may enlighten our minds. We need to realize the difference between the nature of God and us. He is eternal, holy and just. We are temporary, sinful and deserve judgement. However, we need to ask God for wisdom, mercy and blessing and also his work in our lives so that we may live cleansed and blessed. Prayer is key to God’s blessing.