Psalm 90:12 Meaning and Application for Daily Life
Psalm 90:12 states, "So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" [1]. This verse is a central petition within Psalm 90, a prayer attributed to Moses, making it one of the most ancient texts in the Psalter [8].
Psalm 90 is a lament that reflects on the brevity of human life in contrast to the eternal nature of God [11]. It opens by declaring God as the dwelling place for all generations (Psalm 90:1) and then contrasts this with humanity's transient existence, likening life to a dream or grass that withers (Psalm 90:3-6). The psalm attributes this brevity and frailty to divine wrath against sin (Psalm 90:7-9). The lifespan of humans is given as seventy or eighty years, "yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away" (Psalm 90:10). This somber reflection sets the stage for the prayer in verse 12.
The phrase "number our days" does not simply mean to count them arithmetically, as anyone with basic math skills can do [7]. Instead, it refers to a deeper, spiritual reckoning of life's finite nature [6, 7]. John Gill explains that it is not about calculating how many days one has lived or how many are left, as the latter is hidden from humans [7]. Matthew Henry interprets "number our days" as "duly to consider how few they are, and how little a while we have to live in this world" [6]. This consideration is meant to lead to a "heart of wisdom."
The "heart of wisdom" (לֵבָב חָכְמָה, levav chokmah) implies a spiritual understanding and practical discernment that comes from acknowledging human mortality and God's sovereignty [1]. It is a wisdom that prioritizes eternal matters over temporal ones. This concept is cross-referenced with other wisdom literature, such as Proverbs 22:17 and 23:12, which emphasize heeding wise instruction and applying one's heart to knowledge [2, 3]. The idea of reflecting on the brevity of life to gain wisdom is also echoed in Psalm 39:4, where the psalmist prays, "Lord, make me to know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!" [4, 5].
Augustine, in his Expositions on the Psalms, connects this prayer to the broader theme of living a righteous life, where all works are directed towards a single end: "charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned" [10]. He sees the prayer as encompassing both the mortal and everlasting aspects of life, urging believers to seek wisdom that aligns with God's will [10]. The daily prayer of a believer, according to Augustine, helps in making "satisfaction for those daily sins of a momentary and trivial kind" [9]. He also discusses "daily bread" as spiritual sustenance, divine precepts to be meditated upon daily, which can be seen as part of gaining a heart of wisdom [13].
The psalm's context reveals a community seeking restoration with God based on His compassion and love (Psalm 90:13-14) [11]. The prayer for wisdom in verse 12 is thus a plea for divine guidance in light of human frailty and sin, aiming for a life that pleases God and receives His blessing (Psalm 90:16-17) [11]. The psalm functions as a model prayer for those afflicted, teaching them to pray for a "sanctified use of the sad dispensation they were now under" [6].
In Jewish tradition, Psalm 90 is not listed among the daily psalms recited by the Levites in the Temple, unlike other psalms such as Psalm 24 or Psalm 48 [12, 14]. However, its themes of divine eternity and human transience are fundamental to Jewish thought.
The application of Psalm 90:12 for daily life involves a conscious effort to live with an awareness of one's limited time, prompting a re-evaluation of priorities and a focus on what truly matters from an eternal perspective. This wisdom leads to a life lived in greater alignment with God's purposes, seeking His favor and making the most of the time allotted.
Sources
- Psalms “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. -- Psalms 90:12”
- OpenBible.info “Cross-reference: Ps.90.12 → Prov.22.17 (confidence: 12 votes)”
- OpenBible.info “Cross-reference: Ps.90.12 → Prov.23.12 (confidence: 14 votes)”
- OpenBible.info “Cross-reference: Ps.39.4 → Ps.90.12 (confidence: 20 votes)”
- OpenBible.info “Cross-reference: Ps.90.12 → Ps.39.4 (confidence: 62 votes)”
- Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 90:12: These are the petitions of this prayer, grounded upon the foregoing meditations and acknowledgments. Is any afflicted? Let him learn thus to pray. Four things they are here directed to pray for: - I. For a sanctified use of the sad dispensation they were now under. Being condemned to have our days shortened, "Lord, teach us to number our days (Psa 90:12); Lord, give us grace duly to consider how few they are, and how little a while we have to live in this world." Note, 1. It is an excellent art rightly to number our days, so as not to be out in our calculation, ”
- Psalms (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Psalms 90:12: So teach us to number our days,.... Not merely to count them, how many they are, in an arithmetical way; there is no need of divine teachings for that; some few instructions from an arithmetician, and a moderate skill in arithmetic, will enable persons not only to count the years of their lives, but even how many days they have lived: nor is this to be understood of calculating or reckoning of time to come; no man can count the number of days he has to live; the number of his days, months, and years, is with the Lord; but is hid from him: the living know they shall d”
- Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 90 (introduction): The foregoing psalm is supposed to have been penned as late as the captivity in Babylon; this, it is plain, was penned as early as the deliverance out of Egypt, and yet they are put close together in this collection of divine songs. This psalm was penned by Moses (as appears by the title), the most ancient penman of sacred writ. We have upon record a praising song of his (Ex. 15, which is alluded to Rev 15:3), and an instructing song of his, Deu. 32. But this is of a different nature from both, for it is called a prayer. It is supposed that this psalm”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 3: Augustine — On the Holy Trinity — CHAP. 71.--THE DAILY PRAYER OF THE BELIEVER MAKES SATISFACTION FOR THE TRIVIAL SINS THAT DAILY STAIN HIS LIFE.: Now the daily prayer of the believer makes satisfaction for those daily sins of a momentary and trivial kind which are necessary incidents of this life. For he can say, "Our Father which art in heaven,"(4) seeing that to such a Father he is now born again of water and of the Spirit.(5) And this prayer certainly takes away the very small sins of daily life. It takes away also those which at one time made the life of the believer very wick”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 8: Augustine — Exposition on Psalms — PSALM XC.(1) (part 12): with a view to one work. For then are works righteous, when they are directed to this one end: "for the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned."(14) There is therefore one work, in which are all, "faith which worketh by love:"(15) whence our Lord's words in the Gospel, "This is the work of God, that ye believe in Him whom He hath sent."(16) Since, therefore, in this Psalm, both old and new life, life both mortal and everlasting, years that are counted for nou”
- Psalms (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Psalms 90:1: Ps 90 Although the Lord’s people have made their home in him for generations, their sin widens the gap between them and their infinite Lord. The Lord’s wrath against a person’s sin might last a lifetime and yet be only a taste of his displeasure with sin. This lamentable situation calls the community to seek the Lord’s light. Taking the first step means seeking restoration with the Lord on the basis of his compassion and love (90:13-14). He alone makes his servants glad and blesses their future generations (90:16-17). 90:title Moses led God’s people from slavery i”
- Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Tamid 33b.11: MISHNA 7:4 The following is a list of each daily psalm that the Levites would recite in the Temple. On the first day of the week they would recite the psalm beginning: “A psalm of David. The earth is the Lord’s and all it contains, the world and all who live in it” (Psalms, chapter 24). On the second day they would recite the psalm beginning: “A song; a psalm of the sons of Korah. Great is the Lord and highly to be praised in the city of God, on His sacred mountain” (Psalms, chapter 48). On the third day they would recite the psalm beginning: “A psalm of Asaph.”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 6: Augustine — Homilies on the Gospels — CHAP. VII.--25. The fourth petition is, "Give us this day our daily bread." Daily bread is put either for all those things which meet the wants of this life, in reference to which He says in His teach (part 2): should understand the daily bread as spiritual, that is to say, divine precepts, which we ought daily to meditate and to labour after. For just with respect to these the Lord says, "Labour for the meat which perisheth not." That food, moreover, is called daily food at present, so long as this temporal life is measured off by means of da”
- Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Tamid 67b.66:11: MISHNA 7:4 The following is a list of each daily psalm that the Levites would recite in the Temple. On the first day of the week they would recite the psalm beginning: “A psalm of David. The earth is the Lord’s and all it contains, the world and all who live in it” (Psalms, chapter 24). On the second day they would recite the psalm beginning: “A song; a psalm of the sons of Korah. Great is the Lord and highly to be praised in the city of God, on His sacred mountain” (Psalms, chapter 48). On the third day they would recite the psalm beginning: “A psalm of Asa”