“Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. You return man to dust and say, ‘Return, O children of man!’ For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. 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. So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!” (v1-6,10,12-17)
This Psalm attributed to Moses conveys three main themes:
– the finite nature and brevity of human life
– the infinite nature of God
– the necessity of being rooting in God
In the grand scheme of God and His universe, the individual human’s life is short like “a watch in the night” (the equivalent of 4 hours). Moses also likens the human lifespan to grass that withers at night and is renewed in the morning (this analogy is several places in scripture by the way [eg. Jas 1:11, Isa 40:8, 1 Pet 1:24]). That may seem a little exaggerated, since he goes on to list seventy and eighty years as more realistic examples, though he, like several others, acknowledge our brevity in comparison to God and all of human history, and does so somewhat poetically.
In stark contrast to humans, God is infinite – a concept I still struggle to grasp. Seeing how incredibly restricted I am in every way (have you seen how high I can’t jump?) it blows my mind to think God has no limitation. He is timeless with unlimited understanding (Rev 1:8, Isa 40:28), omnipotent (Mat 19:26), omniscient (1 Chr 28:9), and omnipresent (1 Ki 8:27). He is too vast to be contained, and He does not fit in any box in which we place Him. It’s impossible to fully define God, because He is outside the constraint of finite definition (by definition, definition means to “explain the meaning of something”, and we cannot fully explain God). All we can do is list His many characteristics and promises in a hope of understanding Him on a basic (human) level.
Moses implies that work is fruitless and people lack joy when they are not rooted in God. Despite having to persevere through a life full of toil and suffering, God is our source of joy, blessing, and safety (all good comes from Him). It is in us and through us that God can be glorified, so we are to be vessels for that cause, allowing our neighbors and next generation to observe the glory of God. God created us for His glory, after all: “Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” (Isa 43:5-7)
Moses touches on some great themes, each of which could easily be built upon more thoroughly. Yes, our human existence is but a brief candle, however, God doesn’t love us any less because of that – I think that means He needs to love us more vibrantly. Since we have so little time here on this earth, God has to pour into us as much love as we can bear, so we will hopefully partner with Him as fully and long as we can.
Father God we thank you for Your partnership with us. We recognize that You are infinite, and we are the opposite, yet You still wish to adopt us as coheirs with Christ. Thank you for pouring out Your love on and into us, and for Your patience when we falter. May we learn to fully embrace You and not waste any of our precious time, for our time here is a gift from You. May You be glorified in and through us in all that we say and do. Amen.
~ Conqueror in Training