Psalm 90

1. April 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello:

 You know that whenever I am touched by something that I stop and share it with you.  I have been studying Psalm 90 and have come across some fascinating things.

 The heading of the Psalm reads written by Moses the man of God.    There are 150 Psalms and of all the Psalms, this is the only one that is attributed to as having been written by Moses.    Because it is written by Moses that makes it the oldest Psalm. 

Scholars agree that it was written in about the 38th year of the 40 year death sentence that the children of Israel were to endure because of what happened at Kadesh Barnea with the spies.   If you remember Moses sent 12 men to spy out the land and 10 came back with a negative report saying that they could not take the land and Joshua and Caleb came back with a positive report saying that if God be with them the land could easily be taken.  The others murmured that they were as grasshoppers to the giants that lived in the land.  The spies were there for 40 days.

The children of Israel would then be sentenced to 40 years in the wilderness which was the time it would take the generation of unbelievers to die off.  

Scholars predict that according to the exodus numbers, that there were approximately 1.3 million people that would die off in the wilderness.   To make it make sense, it means that 87 people per day over a 40 year period would die.  That means Moses witnessed 87 funerals per day. 

At the end of this journey, when he had seen all this death along with his family members dieing off, he would pen thisPsalm to the Lord.

 Now that you know the context,  Read the psalm and tomorrow, we will discuss it..  It touched me so. 

1 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. 3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men. 4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. 5 Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up. 6 In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.

7 For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled. 8 Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. 9 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. 10 The days  of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. 11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.

12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply  our hearts unto wisdom. 13 Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants. 14 O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. 15 Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. 16 Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. 17 And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

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