Bible Reading for December 31 – Psalm 90

As we come to the end of another year, it’s easy to wonder where the time has gone. So, while we might like to meditate on the first verses of this Psalm today: “from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God,” our minds are instead drawn into the center of the psalm, with its stark recognition of the brevity of life: “in the morning they are like grass which sprouts anew. In the morning it flourishes, and sprouts anew; Toward evening it fades, and withers away.”

So, how do we deal with the knowledge that life is brief? In verse 12, Moses asks God to “Teach us to number our days.” Remembering that life is short helps us keep things in their proper perspective, and encourages us to take advantage of however many days we have left, using them for God’s glory and for the good of those around us.

But Moses didn’t stop there, with a steely gaze at his own mortality. No, instead, of just recognizing God’s permanence and bowing before God’s authority, he also sought the Lord’s mercy. In fact, it is only because of his certainty in God’s forgiveness that he can confess the sins of his generation in verse 8. And in verse 14 he prays, “O satisfy us in the morning with Thy lovingkindness, That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” In short, no matter how few his remaining days may have been, Moses depended on God’s mercy, on God’s faithful, covenant love that He freely bestows on His people. And we can count on God’s faithfulness and mercy in the same way.

But why can we have such confidence? Because, as Moses says in verse 1, God Himself is our dwelling place in all generations. Through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ, all who trust in Him aren’t just forgiven. We aren’t just protected. We are joined to Christ by faith, connected to our living Lord as a body is connected to a head (Colossians 1:18). And that means that, no matter what is going on around us, God’s Spirit lives within us, empowering us to live as He lives and love as He loves.

So let’s rejoice in Christ in the coming New Year. Let’s live for the glory of the One Who created us and made us His own. And let’s rely on His mercy, no matter how brief our lives may be and no matter how confusing the world around us may become. For the Lord Himself is our eternal home.

Psalm 90 (NASB)

A Prayer of Moses the man of God.
Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born, Or Thou didst give birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God.
3 Thou dost turn man back into dust, And dost say, “Return, O children of men.”
4 For a thousand years in Thy sight Are like yesterday when it passes by, Or as a watch in the night.
5 Thou hast swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep; In the morning they are like grass which sprouts anew.
6 In the morning it flourishes, and sprouts anew; Toward evening it fades, and withers away.
7 For we have been consumed by Thine anger, And by Thy wrath we have been dismayed.
8 Thou hast placed our iniquities before Thee, Our secret sins in the light of Thy presence.
9 For all our days have declined in Thy fury; We have finished our years like a sigh.
10 As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, Or if due to strength, eighty years, Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; For soon it is gone and we fly away.
11 Who understands the power of Thine anger, And Thy fury, according to the fear that is due Thee?
12 So teach us to number our days, That we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom.
13 Do return, O LORD; how long will it be? And be sorry for Thy servants.
14 O satisfy us in the morning with Thy lovingkindness, That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad according to the days Thou hast afflicted us, And the years we have seen evil.
16 Let Thy work appear to Thy servants, And Thy majesty to their children.
17 And let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; And do confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands.