Being a Man or Woman of God – Psalm 90

“A Prayer of Moses the man of God.” Psalm 90 Intro

How did Moses become a man of God? In Exodus 3:4, we read that God called to Moses from a burning bush. In Exodus 3:6, God introduced Himself to Moses. In Exodus 3:7-22, God called him to believe Him and to go forth on a mission with Him to set the children of Israel free from Egypt. God initiated and nurtured the relationship by giving Moses a calling to serve Him. Moses believed God and followed Him. This is how Moses became a man of God.

In Acts 26:12-19, Paul explained how he became a Christian to King Agrippa, saying, “As I journeyed to Damascus... I saw a light from heaven... I heard a voice speaking to me... So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Rise and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’”

Being a servant of God always involves prayer. Prayer, at its best, is a two-way conversation between God and a person. God is speaking and listening. The servant is speaking and listening.

“Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.” Psalm 90:1

In John 15:4, Jesus said, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” Moses acknowledges this same truth in Psalm 90. Israel had wandered in Canaan, in Egypt, and in the wilderness, but wherever they were, God abided with them. Emmanuel, “God with us” set them apart.

Believers today share that same privilege. Circumstances change, but God remains with us.

“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” Psalm 90:2

The mountains, the earth, and the universe had a beginning; God did not. His existence is not measured by time. When we face the reality of aging, death, and loss, we find comfort in the unchanging nature of God. Everything around us may pass away, but He remains forever. [1]

“You turn man to destruction, and say, ‘Return, O children of men.’ For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night.” Psalm 90:3-4

“The children of men!” Notice what is missing in this phrase! They are not men or women of God. They return to the dust, and afterwards are resurrected to face judgment.

In Hebrews 9:27, we read, “As it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”

In Daniel 10:5-6, Daniel saw a “Man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! ...His eyes like torches of fire... and the sound of His words like the voice of a multitude.” In Revelation 1:13-15, Jesus appeared to John as “One like the Son of Man... girded about the chest with a golden band... His eyes like a flame of fire... His voice as the sound of many waters.” Daniel saw the preincarnate Son of God.

In Daniel 12:2-3, the “Man” said to Daniel, “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.”

In 2 Peter 3:8-9, Peter wrote, “Beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

“You carry them away like a flood. They are like a sleep. In the morning, they are like grass which grows up. In the morning it flourishes and grows up. In the evening it is cut down and withers.” Psalm 90:5-6

Moses compares the circumstances of the children of men to a flood, sleep and grass. Floods sweep them away without their consent. Sleep deprives them of awareness that their time before judgment is passing. Grass flourishes only to be cut down.

“For we have been consumed by Your anger, and by Your wrath we are terrified.” Psalm 90:6

In Matthew 10:28, Jesus said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” The most important fear to maintain is the fear of God. In Numbers 13–14, God sentenced the children of Isreal to wander for forty years in the wilderness to demonstrate His displeasure with unbelief.

“You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your countenance.” Psalm 90:8

Nothing escapes God’s notice. He sees sinful motives that we conceal from others. In Hebrews 4:13, we read, “All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him...”

“For all our days have passed away in Your wrath. We finish our years like a sigh.” Psalm 90:9

Moses compares human life to a fleeting thought and to a breath that vanishes. The wilderness generation especially understood this reality. Year after year passed with little progress. [2]

“The days of our lives are 70 years; and if by reason of strength they are 80 years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.” Psalm 90:10

Moses observes that the normal span of life is 70-80 years. This truth should move us to use our time wisely. The issue is not merely how long we live, but how faithfully we live for God. [3]

“Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.” Psalm 90:11

Few people grasp the seriousness of God’s anger against sin. We tend to underestimate God’s commitment to holiness. This verse prepares the way for the prayer that follows in verse 12. [4]

“So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

Moses asks God to help His people live with an awareness of life’s brevity. To “number our days” is to recognize that our time on earth is limited and valuable. The purpose of such numbering is to gain a heart of wisdom. How many people tend to live foolishly until something goes wrong? When we remember that our days are numbered, we are less likely to waste them on trivial pursuits and more likely to devote ourselves to what has eternal value. [5]

The Gospel provides hope. The wrath described in Psalm 90 ultimately points us to Jesus Christ. Jesus bore God’s judgment for sinners so that we who trust in Him are not condemned by God.

Psalm 90 moves from the reality of God’s wrath to the necessity of God’s grace. The awareness of our frailty and sinfulness should lead us, as it led Moses, to seek the grace of God. [6]

“Return, O Lord! How long? And have compassion on Your servants.” Psalm 90:13

Although Israel could not escape the consequences of its sin, Moses prayed that God would not remain angry forever. He appealed to God’s compassion.

This prayer teaches us that when discipline is deserved, we can appeal to God for compassion.

“O, satisfy us early with Your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days!” Psalm 90:14

Moses knew that true satisfaction comes only from God’s lovingkindness. Wealth, success, and comfort cannot satisfy the soul as God’s grace does. [7]

“Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, the years in which we have seen evil.” Psalm 90:15

The people had known sorrow because of sin, but Moses asked God to bless them so that their gladness in Him would exceed their grief due to their sin. [8]

“Let Your work appear to Your servants, and Your glory to their children.” Psalm 90:16

Moses prayed for his generation and for future generations. Yes, he wants God’s work to be revealed to His servants. He also wanted God to display His glory to their children. [9]

“And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us and establish the work of our hands for us. Yes, establish the work of our hands.” Psalm 90:17

Human effort cannot produce everlasting results. We need the beauty of the Lord to produce in us works that do not decay with time. We need God to establish our service and legacy. [10]

In Revelation 14:13, we read, “Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘Write: blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.’”


[1-10] Edited and modified material from Matthew Henry’s Commentary