Psalm 90: Five Keys from Moses for a Better Life

Introduction

Since you're going to die one day, what's the best use you can make of your life right now? Since your time is limited, how do you live the best life possible: a life that's wise, forgiven, satisfied, joyful, and fruitful?

That's the question Pastor Beynat raises from the second half of Psalm 90, the Prayer of Moses, the man of God. Having already reflected on the first ten verses about the brevity of life, he now invites you to listen to verses 11 through 17: five requests Moses brings to the LORD so that his people might live, despite sin and despite death, a truly blessed life.

These days, plenty of influencers and coaches are eager to advise you on your "best life." But the only question that matters if you're a Christian is: what does the Lord say in Scripture? Like a lighthouse in the night, the Lord guides his children safely to shore. Without his light, you wouldn't know what to do with your life. Here are the five keys Moses hands you.

Message outline

1. A wise life

• Moses begins with wisdom, not happiness: "So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12).
• Wisdom begins with the fear of the LORD (Job 28:28) and with an awareness of his holy anger against sin.
• That anger is righteous, like a judge condemning a criminal: God is holy, his eyes are too pure to look on evil (Habakkuk).
• Learning to number your days means remembering that your earthly life is short: one day it may be too late to become wise and repent.

2. A forgiven life

• "Return, LORD! How long? Have compassion on your servants" (Psalm 90:13). The same Hebrew verb as in verse 3: Moses asks God to turn back from his anger (compare Exodus 32:12).
• Applying your heart to wisdom also means knowing how to repent when you've gone off course.
• Zechariah's promise: when you return to God, God returns to you and welcomes you the way the father welcomed the prodigal son.
• If you confess your sins, God is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). You have an advocate with the Father: Jesus Christ.

3. A satisfied life

• "Satisfy us in the morning with your loving kindness, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days" (Psalm 90:14).
• Moses points to a morning blessing: keeping a daily appointment with God in prayer.
• Only the Lord's infinite love can satisfy your heart. Like the Samaritan woman (John 4), you're a beggar for love; whoever drinks the water Jesus gives will never thirst again.
• God's mercies are never used up: they're new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). His faithfulness guarantees a good life.

4. A happy, joyful life

• "Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen evil" (Psalm 90:15).
• The Lord isn't a killjoy: he wants your happiness. The joy of the Holy Spirit can remain even in the middle of trials.
• God is sovereign over your sufferings (Amos 3:6), but he doesn't afflict people willingly, from his heart (Lamentations 3:33). He always works for your good, to make you like Jesus Christ (Romans 8:28-29).
• As with Job, to whom God gave back double, your full restoration will unfold in eternity: "our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4:17).

5. A fruitful life

• "Let your work appear to your servants, and your glory to their children" (Psalm 90:16).
• Moses cares about future generations: he wants the children to see the LORD's glory too.
• Without God's grace (his unearned favor) you are nothing and can do nothing. You are saved by grace, through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), and every good thing you receive is grace as well.
• The antidote to the sin of grumbling is gratitude: "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
• "Establish the work of our hands. Yes, establish the work of our hands" (Psalm 90:17). Apart from God you can do nothing (John 15:5); it is he who works in you both to will and to do (Philippians 2:13).

Key takeaways

• The central question isn't "how do I live long" but "what's the best use of your life right now."
• True wisdom begins with reverent fear of God, not with the world's recipes.
• Forgiveness received through confession and the blood of Christ reconnects you to the Father immediately.
• Your heart will only be satisfied by the Lord's love, a spring of water that never runs dry and is renewed every morning.
• Gratitude, spoken out loud, is the antidote to grumbling and the fuel of a fruitful life in Christ.

Personal application

1. Today, do you really know how to number your days? What urgent decision are you putting off, assuming you still have plenty of time left?
2. Is there an unconfessed sin keeping you at a distance from God's presence? What's stopping you from returning to him right now?
3. What would your "morning appointment" with the Lord look like this week? Where and when will you fit it into your schedule?
4. In which trial do you find it hard to believe that God is working for your good and to make you like Christ?
5. Start your own gratitude list today: how many reasons can you write down before you run out of ideas?

Verses cited

• Psalm 90 (A Prayer of Moses)
• Job 28:28
• Exodus 32:12
• 1 John 1:9
• Lamentations 3:22-23
• Romans 8:28-29
• 2 Corinthians 4:17
• 1 Thessalonians 5:18
• 1 Corinthians 15:58
• Philippians 2:13

Frequently asked questions

Why does Moses ask for wisdom before happiness?

Because without reverent fear of God, everything else you chase (happiness, prosperity, success) is built on sand. Moses knows wisdom is the beginning of everything: it shows you the brevity of your life, the holiness of God, and the need to repent before it's too late. True happiness flows from that foundation.

How do we reconcile God's anger with his love as Father?

God's anger isn't capricious: it's his holy, righteous response to evil, like a judge condemning a criminal. And that anger, Jesus bore in your place on the cross. Peter reminds you: "If you call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judges according to each man's work, pass the time of your living as foreigners here in reverent fear." You no longer need to dread condemnation, but you don't take God lightly either.

Practically, how do I cultivate gratitude every day?

Do what Moses did: list everything you can thank God for, life, breath, sleep, food, a country at peace, your brothers and sisters in Christ, even your trials themselves, and above all the sacrifice of Jesus. Say it out loud. You'll never reach the end of the list, and your heart will move from grumbling to joy.