3 You turn people back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
4 A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—
they are like the new grass of the morning:
6 In the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it is dry and withered.
7 We are consumed by your anger
and terrified by your indignation.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
9 All our days pass away under your wrath;
we finish our years with a moan.
10 Our days may come to seventy years,
or eighty, if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
11 If only we knew the power of your anger!
Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due.
12 Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom. NIV
Read verses 3-12 of Psalm 90 all the way through. What recurring themes do you notice?
After looking again at verses 3-5, describe the difference between humans and God.
Look for all of the alarming comments about God's action towards humans up to verse 12. Why might the writer of this psalm (a prayer attributed to Moses) want to make the reader feel so uncomfortable?
How does "numbering our days" help us follow God? The answer comes immediately: "that we may gain a heart of wisdom." – But "HOW" does this happen through the "numbering" process?
::::: EQUIPPING CHALLENGE :::::
How could applying the themes of these verses change your perspective on your work, worries and relationships in the next 24 hours?
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