Psalms 90

Lord, you have been our dwelling place for all generations. Generational home in the Lord himself.

Before mortality talk, Moses names the dwelling. Make God the house across ages.

Calvin: dwelling-place magnifies adoption of Abraham's seed; aim—renew ancient grace to the offspring.

Our dwelling in all generations. Covenant home precedes the dust confession.

Before the mountains were born, before you had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God. Wesley: Thou—power and perfections from eternity. Both hear: everlasting God before creation.

Takeaway: eternity frames mortality. Mountains are young beside him.

Calvin: before mountains and world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God—eternal being undergirds the prayer of frail people.

From everlasting to everlasting you are God. Weight of eternity is comfort and scale for dust.

You turn man to destruction, saying, “Return, you children of men!” Wesley: Turnedst—mortal and miserable for sin; Saidst—Gen 3:19 return to dust. Divine sentence returning man to dust.

Genesis echo keeps sin and death linked without cruelty for its own sake. Hear the Judge who still is dwelling place.

Calvin: turn man to destruction; return, sons of Adam—frailty and misery as argument to induce mercy; God remembers dust; life a circle drawn back in a moment.

Return to dust. Mortality's weight is shared; it becomes plea for pity, not quarrel.

For a thousand years in your sight are just like yesterday when it is past, like a watch in the night. Wesley: Past—time short when gone; watch—few hours. Both see: vast time collapsed in God's sight.

Do not measure God by your clock. A millennium is a watch to him.

Calvin: thousand years as yesterday when gone, or a watch—divine temporality relativizes human span.

Thousand years as yesterday or a watch. Scale teaches humility.

You sweep them away as they sleep; in the morning they sprout like new grass: Wesley: Them—mankind universally; sleep—short and vain. Undisputed: flood-sweep; dream/sleep; morning grass.

Universal sweep—no class exempt. Grass image begins the day's brevity.

Calvin: carried away as with a flood; as a sleep; grass in the morning—images of sudden, common frailty.

Flood; dream; morning grass. Shared mortality undercuts pride.

“In the morning it sprouts and springs up.” By evening, it is withered and dry.

The grass withers the same day it sprang up. Live the morning as gift.

Calvin: morning grow; evening cut down and wither—completes the grass emblem.

No dispute here: Flourishes; fades. Brief beauty still under God's hand.

For we are consumed in your anger. We are troubled in your wrath. Wesley: Are consumed—not left to natural full length. Anger and wrath as the end of our consuming.

Moses ties short life to holy anger without denying dwelling-place mercy. Dismay is confessed, not hidden.

Calvin: we fail by thy anger; affrighted by indignation—Israel's peculiar afflictions as well as common frailty.

Ended by anger; dismayed by wrath. Judgment explains more than "natural limits" alone.

You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. Wesley: Hast set—observe as judge; Secret sins—brought to light by judgments. Open and secret sin before God's face.

Light of presence exposes what men hide. Confession belongs with numbering days.

Calvin: iniquities before thee; secret sins in the light of thy countenance—nothing veiled from the Judge.

Iniquities set; secret sins lit. Presence is both dwelling and exposure.

For all our days have passed away in your wrath. We bring our years to an end as a sigh. Both affirm: days under wrath; years ended as a sigh/tale.

Years that end like a sigh sober our ambitions. Pass under wrath toward wisdom (v. 12).

Calvin: days passed in wrath; years as a tale/sigh—brevity under displeasure.

Days under wrath; years like a sigh. Brevity and judgment travel together.

The days of our years are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty years; yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for it passes quickly, and we fly away. Wesley: Our years—generality; Flee—swift as a bird. Where they meet: 70/80; toil; soon gone; fly away.

Strength that reaches eighty still knows labor and sorrow. Long life is not to be made an idol.

Calvin: seventy or eighty—labor and sorrow; soon cut off; fly away—common human span under Moses' eye.

Even "strong" years are not escape from frailty.

Who knows the power of your anger, your wrath according to the fear that is due to you? Wesley: Thy fear—wrath exceeds sinful fear of a just God. Both traditions hear: few rightly measure wrath by true fear of God.

Ask who knows—then become one who considers. Fear of God scales wrath rightly.

Calvin: who knoweth the power of thy anger?—immeasurable when God withdraws his hand; men wanton until struck.

Who considers anger's power? Ignorance of wrath is itself danger.

So teach us to count our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Wesley: Teach us—shortness and certainty of death; That—devote to true wisdom. Common reading: numbered days → wise heart.

Wisdom is the goal, not morbid counting. Number in order to devote.

Calvin: teach us so to number days, and we shall apply hearts to wisdom—right arithmetic of mortality yields piety.

Teach us to number; heart of wisdom. Prayer for instruction, not mere melancholy.

Return, O LORD! How long? Have compassion on your servants! Wesley: Return—in mercy; How long—before return; Repent thee—of severe proceedings. Both confess: return; how long; pity servants.

After numbering days, plead for the Lord's return in mercy. Servants may ask pity.

Calvin: Return, O Jehovah; how long? Be pacified toward thy servants—from meditation to petition for relenting favor.

Return; how long; pity. Wisdom and plea are not rivals.

Satisfy us in the morning with your loving kindness, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Wesley: Early—speedily. Morning hesed; lifelong gladness.

Ask early mercy for durable joy. Steadfast love is the satisfying meal.

Calvin: satisfy early with mercy that we may rejoice all our days—gladness sourced in hesed, not in denied frailty.

Satisfy in the morning with steadfast love; rejoice all days. Joy under mortality is gift.

Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen evil. Either reading: gladness proportioned to affliction's days and evil years.

Ask fairness of joy after measured pain. Not denial of evil years—recompense of gladness.

Calvin: make us glad according to days wherein thou hast afflicted us and years of evil—petition for matching consolation.

Glad for days of affliction; years of evil. Memory of pain funds the ask for joy.

Let your work appear to your servants, your glory to their children. God's work visible to servants; glory to the next generation.

Intergenerational hope—children see what servants saw. Ask for displayed work, not private only.

Calvin: let thy work appear to servants and glory to children—continuance of gracious deeds across generations.

Work shown; glorious power to children. Dwelling-place God (v. 1) still acts for offspring.

Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us. Establish the work of our hands for us. Yes, establish the work of our hands! Wesley: Beauty—gracious presence; In us—work in us as well as for us. Shared close: favor/beauty upon us; hands' work established twice.

Brief life still asks established work. Beauty of the Lord upon us is more than success metrics.

Calvin: beauty of the Lord upon us; establish the work of our hands—yes, establish it—frail hands need divine confirming.

Mortality does not make labor meaningless under his beauty.