Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.” A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.
If only we knew the power of your anger! Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due. Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

I love this psalm of Moses. He lived a very interesting life. During a time when Jewish baby boys were being killed indiscriminately, he was chosen by God to be spared, and was guided by God’s hand to the Pharaoh's daughter for adoption. He was raised as a son of the Pharaoh's daughter with all the privileges that warranted. He killed an Egyptian that was beating an Israelite when he was 40 years old. He then ran for his life to Midian, married, and worked as a sheep-herder. At 80 years old, he saw the burning bush and heard God’s call on his life to rescue the Israelites from Pharaoh and the Egyptians, and to lead them to the Promised Land. The trip to the promised land through the desert took another 40 years.

And here, Moses gives us a summary of sorts, it seems, of his experience with God. Maybe we can view this as lessons learned while on the road serving God over 120 years of life. First, he puts God in his place. He is the eternal God, from everlasting to everlasting! He is not bound by time or space. Yet he allowed the Israelites to dwell with him. This is still so amazing to me. And today, if we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we can dwell with God through the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

Second, he says if we only knew the power of God’s anger! This references his anger toward hearts that are selfish and the sinful actions that result. I think the point here is that if we knew how angry God is at our sin and the wrath he has for those who do not repent of it, we would fear him. He deserves to be feared — respected and honored far above all else!

And finally, Moses calls us to action along with himself. The call is to number our days. To make each day count for eternity. To value the time we have to serve God here on earth.

Lord, this is so convicting. You want us to value life, value our relationship with you, and the time you have allotted us. You are sovereign and mighty. You are far above me in power, intellect, knowledge, and wisdom. You plan things out over thousands of years, yet you orchestrate events down to the second as well. I am in awe of you and will follow you!