Read Psalm 90, Psalm 102:11, and Psalm 103:14-16. What is the human predicament?

 Fallen human existence is but a vapor in the light of eternity. A thousand years in God’s sight is “like a watch in the night,” which lasted three or four hours (Ps. 90:4, NKJV). Compared to divine time, a human lifetime flies away (Ps. 90:10). The strongest among humans are analogous to the weakest among plants (Ps. 90:5, 6; Ps. 103:15, 16). Yet, even that short life is filled with labor and sorrow (Ps. 90:10). Even secular people, who have no belief in God, mourn and lament the shortness of life, especially in contrast to the eternity that’s out there and that, they know, threatens to go on without them.

 Psalm 90 places the human predicament in the context of God’s care for people as their Creator. The Lord has been the dwelling place of His people in all generations (Ps. 90:1, 2). The Hebrew word ma’on, “dwelling place,” portrays the Lord as the shelter or refuge of His people (Ps. 91:9).

 God restrains His righteous wrath and extends His grace anew. The psalmist exclaims, “Who knows the power of Your anger?” (Ps. 90:11, NKJV), implying that no one has ever experienced the full effect of God’s anger against sin, and so, there is hope for people to repent and gain wisdom for righteous living.

 Wisdom in the Bible depicts not merely intelligence but reverence for God. The wisdom that we need is knowing how “to number our days” (Ps. 90:12). If we can number our days, it means that our days are limited and that we know that they are limited. Wise living means living with an awareness of life’s transience that leads to faith and obedience. This wisdom is gained only through repentance (Ps. 90:8, 12) and God’s gifts of forgiveness, compassion, and mercy (Ps. 90:13, 14).

 Our fundamental problem stems not from the fact that we are created as human beings but from sin and from what sin has wrought in our world. Its devastating effects are seen everywhere and in every person.

 Thanks to Jesus, however, a way has been made for us out of our human predicament (John 1:29, John 3:14-21). Otherwise, we would have no hope at all.