1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You turn people back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
4 A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—
they are like the new grass of the morning:
6 In the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it is dry and withered.
7 We are consumed by your anger
and terrified by your indignation.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
9 All our days pass away under your wrath;
we finish our years with a moan.
10 Our days may come to seventy years,
or eighty, if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
11 If only we knew the power of your anger!
Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due.
12 Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13 Relent, Lord! How long will it be?
Have compassion on your servants.
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.
16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendor to their children.
17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.
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What strikes me today in this psalm is the heartfelt humble plea for the Lord’s help in the face of human frailty – physical frailty and spiritual frailty. Our lives are brief and our iniquities many. All we can do is humbly beseech the Lord for His mercy. Moses does not appeal to his own righteousness, or his own deeds, or even the Lord’s previous promises. He simply humbly acknowledges humanity’s utter helplessness before God and calls on him to show compassion.
This is one of my favorite psalms, and one that I have frequently used for my own prayers. So quite simply my prayer today is to use this psalm to pray for the Lord’s compassion and mercy in my life and the lives of others. So instead of reading more of my words, I would just encourage you to go back and pray this psalm again.
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