I was reading for my devotional time yesterday Psalm 90:17 stuck out to me. I wanted to share with you my reflections on this verse. My reflections follow something called the S.O.A.P method. It is where a verse I start with a verse or passage (S-cripture), make some observations from and about the text (O-bservation), make a real application to life today from the text (A-pplication), and finally write a brief prayer that applies to my reflections (P-rayer).
Here are my reflections on Psalm 90:17.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Cara
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Scripture:
“Let the kindness of the Lord be over us. May the work our our hands last. Make the work of our hands last!” (Psalm 90:17- CEB)
Observation:
The writer of this Psalm begins this chapter by writing about God’s wrath and the sins of the past. One commentator says, “Although the picture looks bleak, the psalmist does not accuse God of being unfair.” This same commentator goes on to say, “Having seen human frailty and divine permanence, the psalmist recognizes that the only way to produce anything permanent is by dependence upon God.” The beginning of Psalm 90 seems bleak, but by the end it is a plea of participation. The writer desires that the work of the Israelites will be a work that lasts. A work that makes a difference and impacts the world. Some translations use the word, “establish” meaning “firmly founded” which is the opposite of what the previous verses mentioned: withering grass (90:6) or a dream (90:5). This is only possible with the Lord and that is why the plea for the “Lord’s kindness” come as a part of the final verse. The only way “the works of our hands” can “last” is when they are grounded in the “kindness of the Lord.”
Application:
We do not have to earn kindness from the Lord. It is given freely and as a result we are able to be agents of change. We can make the same cry hoping that “the works of our hands” will “last.” We can live in a way that our works (that flow out of the Lord’s kindness) can make a lasting and loving impression on the world. A few difficult questions to ask are:
Prayer:
Lord, Use me and may my works be lasting and only to your glory. Amen.
“Let the kindness of the Lord be over us. May the work our our hands last. Make the work of our hands last!” (Psalm 90:17- CEB)
Observation:
The writer of this Psalm begins this chapter by writing about God’s wrath and the sins of the past. One commentator says, “Although the picture looks bleak, the psalmist does not accuse God of being unfair.” This same commentator goes on to say, “Having seen human frailty and divine permanence, the psalmist recognizes that the only way to produce anything permanent is by dependence upon God.” The beginning of Psalm 90 seems bleak, but by the end it is a plea of participation. The writer desires that the work of the Israelites will be a work that lasts. A work that makes a difference and impacts the world. Some translations use the word, “establish” meaning “firmly founded” which is the opposite of what the previous verses mentioned: withering grass (90:6) or a dream (90:5). This is only possible with the Lord and that is why the plea for the “Lord’s kindness” come as a part of the final verse. The only way “the works of our hands” can “last” is when they are grounded in the “kindness of the Lord.”
Application:
We do not have to earn kindness from the Lord. It is given freely and as a result we are able to be agents of change. We can make the same cry hoping that “the works of our hands” will “last.” We can live in a way that our works (that flow out of the Lord’s kindness) can make a lasting and loving impression on the world. A few difficult questions to ask are:
- Am I doing a work that will last?
- Is this work rooted in and flowing from the “kindness of the Lord?”
Prayer:
Lord, Use me and may my works be lasting and only to your glory. Amen.
Contact:
Shawnee Church of the Nazarene
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