November 29th

Psalm 90

Time

BOOK 4 (Psalm 90-106)

"Life is short and we have not much time for gladdening the hearts of those who travel the way with us. Oh, be swift to love, make haste to be kind."     (Martin Marty)

Psalm 90 is perhaps most famous for two verses:

¹² So teach us to count our days
   that we may gain a wise heart.

¹⁷ Let the favour of the Lord our God be upon us,
   and prosper for us the work of our hands—
   O prosper the work of our hands!  

I want to focus on verse 12.

TIME

Most of us live with a sense of ‘unlimited time’ though as you get older you get the sense of an ending, closer than it has ever been.

But lots of folk talk about time in other ways: Time . . . Putting in time . . . Killing time . . . Wasting time.

Our psalmist frames time in two ways:  One, there is God’s time:

*  The creator since "before the mountains were brought forth" (v.2).
*  Who has been God "from everlasting to everlasting" (v.2).
*  And for whom "a thousand years are ... like yesterday ... or like a watch in the night" (v.4).

Human beings, on the other hand, are those who...

*  "turn back to dust" at a single word from God (v.3).
*  "Are like a dream" in the night (v.5).
*  Perk up like grass fed by morning dew, but who fade and wither before evening (v.5-6).
*  And have a lifespan that is "seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong" (v.10).

Michael Quoist, a Roman Catholic priest, wrote a fine book of poem prayers entitled Prayers of Life.  It contains this poem: Lord, I have time.

"I went out Lord,
People were coming and going
Walking and running.
Everything was rushing: cars, trucks, the street, the whole town.
People were rushing not to waste time.
They were rushing after time,
To catch up with time, to gain time.

"Good-bye, Sir, excuse me, I haven't time.
I'll come back. I can't wait, I haven't time.
I must end this letter, I haven't time.
I'd love to help you, but I haven't time.
I can't accept, having no time.
I can't think, I can't read, I'm swamped, I haven't time.
I'd like to pray, but I haven't time.

"Lord, you have made a big mistake in your calculations.
There is a big mistake somewhere.
The hours are too short,
The days are too short,
Our lives are too short." (Prayers, p. 96-99)

Oh! Teach us to live well!
    Teach us to live wisely and well!

As I read this psalm and reflected on time – living wisely and well, I couldn’t help but reflect on our dear friend, Michelle, and her life-time.  In my experience, Michelle knew about living wisely and well.  Humour, joy, mental and physical toughness, courage, and resilience all characterized her living.  One of the things I appreciated about visiting Michelle was the way time slowed and each moment became precious.  No matter how the rest of my day had gone, I knew Michelle would give me her full attention as I gave her mine. 

And in her living with physical limitations, she taught me (and many others) how to embrace life with zest, courage, and a deep sustaining faith in God.

Michael Quoist’s poem ends this way:

"Lord, I have time,
I have plenty of time,
All the time that you give me.
The years of my life,
The days of my years,
The hours of my days,
They are all mine.
Mine to fill, quietly, calmly,
But to fill completely, up to the brim,
To offer them to you, that of their insipid water
You may make a rich wine such
as you once made in Cana of Galilee.
I am not asking you tonight, Lord, for time to do this and then that,
But your grace to do conscientiously, in the time
that you have given me, what you want me to do."

Psalm 90 ends… ’Let the beauty of our God be upon us’. 

May it be so.