12th September 2024

How do you feel about how you have lived your life so far? Do you feel you have wasted your time? We may ask, ‘How can I ensure that my remaining years count?’ If you have these thoughts, then Psalm 90 has some answers. It is one of the oldest psalms in the Bible and the only one attributed to Moses. In this psalm, Moses recognises that life is short, and that death is not far away: ‘The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.’ (v.10). With the limited time we have, and the toil and trouble life brings in its wake, how then should we pray? Moses gives us some pointers:

Rather than counting the days we have left, we should pray to make our days count – ‘…teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.’ (v.12). The word ‘number’ here comes from the Hebrew to ‘count’, ‘reckon’, and ‘weigh out’.¹  We might not be able to determine how many days we have on this earth, but we can determine to make them count as we live for Jesus, sharing his love with those we come into contact. This is the wise approach to life. 

We should pray to be satisfied with God’s covenantal love – ‘Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.’ (v.14). We can look to all sorts of things to satisfy us: another person, a full bank account, a big house or a car. Ultimately, however, none of these things bring lasting satisfaction. Only God’s love for us, supremely demonstrated through Jesus Christ, and mediated to us by the Holy Spirit, will enable us to rejoice and be glad all our days.

We should pray for God’s grace and that he will determine the work that we do – ‘Let the favour of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!’ (v.17). Making our days count and using our time wisely does not mean trying to work in our own strength, and with our own ideas without any reference to God. Our ‘work’ will only effectively produce results as we rest in his favour (grace) and we allow him to determine the course of our life, step by step. As another psalmist says, ‘Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain…’ (Psalm 127:1).

Whether the remainder of our time on earth is long or short, let’s pray that we can number our days, that we can be satisfied in the love of God, and that we can be involved in the work God is doing, and in so doing we will have a heart of wisdom.

¹ Strong’s Hebrew: 4487. מָנָא (manah) —  count, number, reckon (biblehub.com)

Local congregation:
Grace Communion West Hampstead
Sidings Community Centre
150 Brassey Road
West Hampstead
London
NW6 2BA

Meeting time:
Sunday 12.30 pm

Local congregational contact:
Gordon Brown
gordon.brown@gracecom.church

Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church