Psalm 90 | Resources
Discussion Questions
Summarize the psalm as a group.
What different images of God do you see throughout this psalm?
What are some differences between God and man this text teaches us?
What does this text teach us about humanity’s time on earth?
What response do you have after learning this?
What do verses 7-11 teach us about some consequences of sinfulness?
What would it look like to rightly number your days? What are some of the results of doing this well?
Memory Verse
“Satisfy us in the morning with your faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days.” Psalm 90:14 (CSB)
Devotional
There is a lot of studying involved with being a competent financial planner. It seems like I constantly have a book in my hand, preparing for the next thing. I was struggling in one course, so I fired off a question to my instructor, and he responded quickly with an answer that was way above my pay grade. But what intrigued me was the way he signed his email. Instead of using the standard “Sincerely,” he signed it “Momento Mori.” That’s Latin for “Remember, we all die.”
A little research showed that it was a phrase from the Middle Ages. Apparently, the accountants would prepare their books and before presenting them to the powers that be, they would write the words, “Momento Mori,” or “Remember, we all die.” It was their version of what the psalmist wrote in Psalm 90, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (vs. 12).
Psalm 90 is an interesting song that speaks of the pains and sorrows of life and the source of that pain, which is our own iniquities. Those iniquities inflame God’s righteous anger so that we “finish our years with a moan.” And verse 10 observes, “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow.”
It’s in this context the song writer begs God to “Teach us to number our days, so that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” But what does that mean? The song writer is encouraging us with a couple of things. First, realize that there is a wisdom about this life to be acquired. If wisdom means “applied knowledge,” then we must set our heart toward the knowledge of God and his universe. That we are sinners and there is a penalty for our selfishness. Just as important is the application of that knowledge. Remember that wisdom requires knowledge and application. To know how to do something and not act on it is foolishness. Second, the song writer is encouraging us to realize that we will not live forever—“Memento Mori.” It’s as if the wisdom begins by understanding and embracing that our days are numbered. Then, living in light of it.
Heavenly Father, I thank you for the life you have given me. Help me to maximize every day for your honor and glory. I desire the knowledge of who you are and how you engage me. I desire to put into practice that knowledge and to walk worthy of being called your son (or daughter). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.