Life-Study of Psalms, by Witness Lee

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II. THE SAINTS’ DEEPER EXPERIENCE OF GOD
IN THE IDENTIFICATION WITH CHRIST

A. The Saints’ Deeper Experience of God

Psalm 90 unveils the saints’ deeper experience of God.

1. Taking God from Eternity to Eternity
as Their Dwelling Place

As we have pointed out, verses 1 and 2 speak of the saints’ taking God from eternity to eternity as their dwelling place. He has been our dwelling place in all generations. From eternity to eternity He is God.

2. Realizing the Short Span
of Human Life and Its Sins and Afflictions

If you take God as your dwelling place, you will realize that the span of your life on earth is short (vv. 3-11). In verse 10 Moses said, "The days of our years are in sum seventy years,/Or, if because of strength, eighty years;/But their pride is labor and sorrow,/For it is soon gone, and we fly away." With the Lord, however, a thousand years are "like yesterday when it passes by/And like a watch in the night" (v. 4). According to the Bible, the person who lived the longest was Methuselah; he lived nine hundred sixty-nine years. In the sight of God, however, this was less than a day.

The short span of our life is full of sins and afflictions. If one has such a realization, he must be one who takes God as his dwelling place. I want to dwell in God, living in Him every minute, for outside of Him there are sins and afflictions.

3. Asking God to Teach Them to Number Their Days

Moses, writing according to the realization that comes from dwelling in God, prayed, "Teach us then to number our days /That we may gain a heart of wisdom" (v. 12). Gaining a heart of wisdom enables us to live a glad and rejoicing life (vv. 13-17). Moses had the deep feeling that he needed to learn how to number his days so that he could live a happy life. As we look back upon yesterday, we may feel shameful. This indicates that we need to let God teach us how to number our days. Young people may not understand the meaning of this, but as an elderly person I can testify that I do know how to number my days. I number every day.

(Life-Study of Psalms, Chapter 35, by Witness Lee)