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1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
    throughout all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born
    or you brought forth the whole world,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

3 You turn people back to dust,
    saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
4 A thousand years in your sight
    are like a day that has just gone by,
    or like a watch in the night.
5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—
    they are like the new grass of the morning:
6 In the morning it springs up new,
    but by evening it is dry and withered.

7 We are consumed by your anger
    and terrified by your indignation.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
    our secret sins in the light of your presence.
9 All our days pass away under your wrath;
    we finish our years with a moan.
10 Our days may come to seventy years,
    or eighty, if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,
    for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
11 If only we knew the power of your anger!
    Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due.
12 Teach us to number our days,
    that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

13 Relent, Lord! How long will it be?
    Have compassion on your servants.
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
    that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
    for as many years as we have seen trouble.
16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,
    your splendor to their children.

17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
    establish the work of our hands for us—
    yes, establish the work of our hands.

 

The global outbreak of the COVID-19 virus has infected over 5 hundred thousand people and claimed over twenty thousand lives. This cannot help but cause us to ponder about the fragility of mankind. No matter how advanced we are in medicine, how developed we are in technology, a virus, invisible to the naked eye, can kill in such a way that it renders us helpless. This outbreak has caused us to reflect upon our lives, just as what the psalmist said in verse 6: "In the morning it springs up new, but by evening it is dry and withered".  Life can be “(swept) away in the sleep of death”. In the face of death, any success, fame, and wealth that man has gained in the world will "quickly pass, and … fly away”, as we cannot take anything with us. That’s why the teacher in Ecclesiastes says:

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” (Ecclesiastes 1:2)

What we boast about in the world is nothing more than our "hard work and grief". Meaningless!  But do we have a way out?

Psalm 90 is the prayer of Moses, and he is telling us to look up to God!

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations…from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” (v. 1-2) These 2 verses tell us that God is the creator and He is sovereign.  He is the Lord who grants us life.  Advances in medical treatments can prolong life, but God is the one in charge of life. He can return us to dust, but He can also give us peace.  Moses realized that man's sins caused God’s wrath, and that "all our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan". Therefore, Moses prayed to God not for longevity, nor for life without suffering, but for God to give him wisdom and the “fear of the Lord (for it) is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10). Moses longed to know God's almighty power and lived in awe of Him, so that he could number his days with God’s wisdom. Even in suffering, Moses could rejoice, because in the process, he truly experienced God's love and His salvation, and that gave him joy.

Today, during this unusual time, who or what do you focus on? What do we ask of God in our prayers? Let us ask God for His wisdom, so that we can face this pandemic with peace and joy, as we know we are in His love.