Teach Us to Count Our Days that We May Gain a Wise Heart

This meditation is based on a passage for June 12, 2010 in the Daily Lectionary Year 2 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993).

Text: Psalm 90

Reflection and Question: Psalm 90 is a familiar reading at funerals because of its assurance that God is with us both in this short life and in death. But the earnest prayer of the poet emphasizes life, echoing the wisdom of Ecclesiastes upon which we have reflected recently: though our sins deserve Your righteous anger, out of Your steadfast compassion, dear God, “prosper for us the work of our hands.” Our daily toil prospers, as the psalmist suggests, when we accept God as our dwelling place, our refuge, in this world and the next. When you count your days, what do you gain — a wise heart?

Prayer: Come back, GOD — how long do we have to wait? —
And treat your servants with kindness for a change.
Surprise us with love at daybreak; then we will skip and dance all the day long.
And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest upon us, confirming the work we do.
Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do!
(from Eugene Peterson, The Message, Psalm 90, pp.1026-1027)