Psalm 90 - Didactic, wisdom psalm

Psalm 90 is the first psalm of book 4 of the psalms. There are five sections (or books) of the 150 psalms. This psalm is attributed to Moses.

The "books" in the psalms usually start with a special opening psalm and often end with a special psalm. This one teaches. It has the tone of wisdom literature. The message is like that of Ecclesiastes.

What is the great enemy of mankind? It is death. Death is the fate of us all. Yet Paul says, "Death where is your victory? Grave, where is your sting?" Yet as we get older we feel death approaching. The frailties of getting old remind us of our final fate. Things hurt. We are slower, weaker, not as confident physically. We do not sleep as soundly.

The psalmist calls it a product of God's wrath (v.7). It is the consequence of Adam's sin. God told him if he ate of the forbidden tree he would die. He did die and we too will die.

God, by contrast, lives forever (v.4). We live 70 years, at best 80 if we are strong (v.10). When we read history (or archaeology) we are thinking about people who lived in another time and now are dead. We too will follow them into death. Just as they did, we get our time on earth. But God was alive before us and will be the same after us.

We have hope in the promise of Jesus.

If you have never considered who Jesus is and the salvation that he offers you should do it now. Jesus came to save us from the curse of sin and death.

Verse 13 begins to show that the psalmist too has hope. He understands that life is a blessing from God. It is a gift. He suggests that we enjoy it and be grateful for the time we have on earth (v.14-15). Yes it can be a vale of tears. We beseech God for his blessing. Also God have given us work to do (v.17). Without a vision we get bored. Let us do the work God has called us to gladly.

The psalmist ends by beseeching God to "confirm the work of our hands". This can have more than one meaning. First, we wish God to confirm our calling. Second, we also wish God to make the work that we do to be successful, to accomplish what we wish it to. We want God to make up for what we lack, to bless the fruits of our labors.