Lord, Stamp Eternity on My Eyeballs

(Honoring the Ministry of Pr. Dean Kurtz)

Psalm 90, attributed to Moses and the oldest psalm in the Bible, delivers a profound call to live with eternal perspective by confronting the brevity, fragility, and moral accountability of human life. It contrasts the everlasting nature of God with the fleeting duration of human existence—where a thousand years are as a single day, and even the longest life is marked by toil, sorrow, and sudden departure. The psalm exposes the illusion of human security, revealing that what seems certain is fragile, what appears hidden is fully known by God, and what feels long is vanishingly brief. Yet in the midst of this sobering reality, the central plea emerges: teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. This urgent invitation leads to a series of prayers for divine mercy, joy, and the establishment of our work by God's glory, affirming that though human life is small and temporary, it gains eternal significance when lived under God's favor and for His purposes. The message is not morbid, but deeply wise: only what is done for Christ will last, and thus every moment must be lived with eternity in view. The life of Jonathan Edwards, who resolved to live with all his might and to think constantly of his death, exemplifies the transformative power of this truth, proving that a life shaped by eternal awareness is the only truly meaningful one. The psalm concludes not in despair, but in hope—where the beauty of the Lord is upon us, and the work of our hands is established by an eternal God. This is the enduring legacy of a life lived not for the moment, but for the ages.