Wednesday Devo
Scripture:
Psalm 90
7 We wither beneath your anger;
we are overwhelmed by your fury.
8 You spread out our sins before you—
our secret sins—and you see them all.
9 We live our lives beneath your wrath,
ending our years with a groan.
10 Seventy years are given to us!
Some even live to eighty.
But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble;
soon they disappear, and we fly away.
11 Who can comprehend the power of your anger?
7 We wither beneath your anger;
we are overwhelmed by your fury.
8 You spread out our sins before you—
our secret sins—and you see them all.
9 We live our lives beneath your wrath,
ending our years with a groan.
10 Seventy years are given to us!
Some even live to eighty.
But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble;
soon they disappear, and we fly away.
11 Who can comprehend the power of your anger?
Commentary:
90:7–11 We Are Brought to an End by Your Wrath. The people of God reflect on the unfaithfulness of past generations (in which they harbored iniquities and secret sins, v. 8), which resulted in God’s anger and wrath (vv. 7, 9, 11). The whole body of God’s people suffers from the presence and influence of its unfaithful members, and God’s judgments that purge them from his people are hard even for the faithful to endure. Hence the whole people experience toil and trouble during their brief span of life.
90:10 seventy … eighty. This gives an “ordinary” life span; many live fewer years (due to violence, accident, and disease), and a few live longer (e.g., Joseph, Gen. 50:26; Moses, Deut. 34:7; Joshua, Josh. 24:29). In any case, it is much briefer than a thousand years (Ps. 90:4), let alone God’s eternity.
90:11 your wrath according to the fear of you. God’s wrath toward his unfaithful people is in accordance with the “fear” (reverence, faith, and humble, holiness-seeking love) that they ought to have toward him (cf. note on Prov. 1:7).
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 1053.
90:10 seventy … eighty. This gives an “ordinary” life span; many live fewer years (due to violence, accident, and disease), and a few live longer (e.g., Joseph, Gen. 50:26; Moses, Deut. 34:7; Joshua, Josh. 24:29). In any case, it is much briefer than a thousand years (Ps. 90:4), let alone God’s eternity.
90:11 your wrath according to the fear of you. God’s wrath toward his unfaithful people is in accordance with the “fear” (reverence, faith, and humble, holiness-seeking love) that they ought to have toward him (cf. note on Prov. 1:7).
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 1053.
Questions:
- What Moses is talking about in vs 9-11 is the frailty of man; the brevity of life. Compared to eternity, our lives are a mist, a vapor. But our souls will live on forever. Because of this, we should focus on ETERNITY. Moses is saying that numbering our days is wise. It keeps our priorities in order. Where is your focus day to day? Where do your thoughts go when your mind wanders? What gobbles up most of your time, attention and energy? Could your priorities be out of whack?
- Ecclesiastes 7:4 says, "A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time." Wisdom is thinking about the end. And not just happens WHEN you die, but most importantly, what happens AFTER you die. When you are in eternity, and you hit your 1 billionth day, you are no closer to the end than when you started. This realization should change everything! If you truly were concerned with eternity and were living for what is next, how would it affect the way you spend your time? Money? Your relationships? Your speech?
Prayer Topics:
- That God would teach you to number your days.
- That your focus would be on what's next, not just the here and now.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
2. Are there sources outside the Bible that confirm the Biblical account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? Many Roman and Jewish historians have confirmed that the apostles died as martyrs for preaching that they saw Jesus risen from the grave. No one dies for something they know to be a lie.
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)
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