What Comfort Is There in the Face of Death? (Psalm 90)

Imagine that today was your last day on this earth. How would you react? Maybe with fear, maybe with joy at the thought of joining the Lord. But above all: what would your true priorities be? Hugues Wessel invites you into this exercise at the start of his message on Psalm 90. It's a brief exercise, but one that puts everything back into perspective: our priorities, our urgency to love, our urgency to speak of the Gospel.

This psalm is the only one Moses wrote, probably around 1440 BC. It hasn't aged a day. It confronts head-on a subject our society avoids: death. Not to frighten you, but to show you where true comfort is found.

1. God, a refuge for generations that pass away

The psalm opens with a bright declaration: "Lord, you have been our dwelling place for all generations." (Psalm 90:1). In Hebrew, the word translated "dwelling place" literally means "home." For a nomadic people like Israel in the wilderness, that carried enormous weight: God was their home.

Today, the same promise stands. Jesus says in John 14 that if anyone loves him and keeps his word, the Father and the Son will come and make their home in him. Where have you placed your refuge? Your spouse, your family, your friends, your money, your house? One day, you'll have to leave everything on this earth behind. Psalm 46:1 gives you a verse worth memorizing: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

2. The contrast between God's eternity and the shortness of our days

Moses writes: "Before the mountains were brought forth, before you had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God." (v. 2). In his day, the stillness of the mountains made them look eternal. Moses answers: there is something more eternal than the mountains, and that is the Eternal One himself.

Modern science confirms this instinct. Before the discovery of the Big Bang, atheist scientists mocked the first verse of the Bible because they believed the universe was eternal. Today we speak of 13.8 billion years for the universe, 4.54 billion for the earth. God, meanwhile, already existed before any of it.

For God, "a thousand years in your sight are just like yesterday when it is past" (v. 4). The apostle Peter picks up this same verse in 2 Peter 3 to encourage you to be patient as you wait for Jesus' return. What feels endless to you is a single breath to God.

3. You will return to dust: death is not a friend

The psalm turns darker: "You turn man to destruction, saying, 'Return, you children of men.'" (v. 3). Was death part of God's original plan? No. Scripture calls it "the king of terrors," our enemy. Our society sometimes glorifies death, treats it as a fitting exit. The Bible presents it instead as a scandal.

It's no accident that Moses mentions Adam in verse 3. It's because we are children of Adam that we die. Like a head of state whose bad decisions affect an entire nation, Adam made the wrong call on behalf of the whole planet. Don't assume you would have done better in his place: you might well have done worse.

The numbers are staggering. It's estimated that 108 billion human beings have died since the dawn of humanity. Today, one to two people die every second, roughly 150,000 a day, 59 million a year. Moses knew exactly what he was talking about: in the wilderness, he watched 24,000 Israelites perish in a single day because of their disobedience.

The New Testament (Hebrews 2:14) tells us that the devil holds the power of death, yet God remains sovereign over every single one. "Man has no power over his spirit," Ecclesiastes reminds us. You don't know the day or the hour. But if you're called to die, death is, in a very real sense, the end of the world for you.

4. Our lives pass like a dream, like a flower

Moses compares our existence to two fragile images: a dream that lasts only a night, and a flower that springs up in the morning and withers by evening. "Every time we look at a flower, we should reflect on ourselves," Blaise Pascal once wrote. In our developed nations, with all the advances of science, it's easy to lull ourselves into illusions about how fleeting our days really are.

Then Moses speaks of God's anger and wrath (v. 7). That's not a popular image today. But God's anger has nothing capricious about it: it's a just, holy anger, directed against evil, because "God's eyes are too pure to look on evil."

For you who are in Christ, this anger has no reason to terrify you: Jesus took it on himself at the cross. He is your lightning rod. But don't take God lightly either: even under the new covenant, he exercised judgment, as with Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5).

5. Nothing is hidden from God: better to know it now

"You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence" (v. 8). You can lie to others. You can even lie to yourself. But you can hide nothing from God. He scans your heart like an X-ray.

King David, in Psalm 19, asked the Lord to forgive him even for the faults he wasn't aware of. In Psalm 139, he asked God to search his deepest motives.

Here's the good news: "God remembers the sins no more" of those who repent and believe in Jesus and his sacrifice (Hebrews). It's better to follow David's example: ask God to show you your sins now. Jesus himself said: "I didn't come to judge the world, but to save the world." (John 12:47). If you don't accept him here on earth as your Savior, you will meet him on the other side as your Judge.

6. 70 or 80 years: a comfort nonetheless

"The days of our years are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty years." (v. 10). Interestingly, in 2024, worldwide life expectancy stands at 71 years for men and 75 for women. Moses was remarkably precise.

Old age can be hard. General de Gaulle once said: "Old age is a shipwreck." Yes, old age without God is a shipwreck. But with God, there is a promise. Isaiah 46:4 tells you: "Even to your old age I am he, and even to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; yes, I will carry, and will deliver."

And true comfort comes at last. Jesus says in John 11:25-26: "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die." For the Christian, death isn't even really experienced: it's a passage into eternity with God.

Key takeaways

• Death puts our priorities back in order. Live today the way you'd wish you had lived on your last day.
• God alone is a stable refuge. Everything else (possessions, loved ones, health) will pass away.
• Our life is short. A dream, a fading flower. Don't lull yourself into illusions.
• God sees everything. Ask him to reveal your sins to you now, not later.
• In Jesus, death becomes a passage. "He who believes in me will live" (John 11:25).

Personal application

• If today were your last day, who would you want to speak, or speak again, to about the Gospel?
• Where have you truly placed your refuge these past few months? Your bank account, your loved ones, or God?
• Which biblical promise about God's faithfulness could you start memorizing this week?
• Is there a hidden sin you'd rather ignore? Are you ready to ask God to show it to you?
• If you were to meet God tonight, are you ready for that meeting?

Verses cited

• Psalm 90 (WEB) - A prayer of Moses, the man of God
• Psalm 46:1 - God is our refuge
• John 14:23 - We will make our home with him
• 2 Peter 3:8-9 - A thousand years like one day
• Hebrews 2:14 - He who holds the power of death
• Ecclesiastes 8:8 - Man has no power over his spirit
• Amos 4:12 - Prepare to meet your God
• Isaiah 46:4 - Even to your old age I am he
• John 11:25-26 - I am the resurrection and the life
• John 12:47 - I didn't come to judge the world

FAQ

Why does Moses devote an entire psalm to death?
According to many commentators, Psalm 90 was likely written after God's sentence condemning Israelites over the age of 20 to die in the wilderness without entering the promised land. Moses intercedes for his people and reflects on the seriousness of the human condition before a holy God.

Was death part of God's original plan?
No. The Bible presents death as an enemy, "the king of terrors." It entered the world because of Adam's sin. God has placed eternity in your heart, which is why death always feels wrong to you, out of place.

What comfort does the Christian find in the face of death?
Jesus is "the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25-26). Whoever believes in him doesn't really see death at all: it becomes a passage into eternity in God's presence. It isn't an escape: it's a victory already won at the cross.