The inscription at the top of Psalm 90 reads “A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.” Not every psalm begins with an inscription; all of the inscriptions appear to have been added later than the original text; and many of the inscriptions do not match well with the psalm to which they are attached. In the case of Psalm 90, most modern scholars argue that it cannot have been written by Moses. They may be right. Yet I would propose that there are reasons to suppose that this poem could indeed have come from Moses himself.

The first ten verses are a meditation on a time of desolation that has lasted for “generations” (Psalm 90:1), a time that goes on for enough centuries to feel like “a thousand years” (90:4) – this is as brief “a watch in the night” (90:4) to the everlasting God (90:2), but it is many lifetimes to mortals who live 70 years (90:10), who are like grass that flourishes in the morning and withers by evening (90:5-6). This could easily be a recognition of Israel’s four centuries of slavery in Egypt, a “span” of “toil and trouble” (90:10).

In response we need to learn “to count our days that we may gain a wise heart” (90:12), and we plead with God to turn and “have compassion on us” (90:13), to bless us now for all the days and years of affliction we have suffered (90:15). And the Psalm closes with an entreaty that God would “prosper the work of our hands” (90:17). This suggests a transition: one that is about to happen, or perhaps is just beginning. The way forward is difficult and unknown. This could be the Exodus: we are now out of Egypt, but we still have a long way to go to get to the Promised Land.

It is in this situation that Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, spoke up to tell Moses that his method of administering justice to the people was not sustainable: “What you are doing is not good” (Exodus 18:17). The job was too big for one man: “the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone” (18:18). It will take many people, working together, to accomplish the work of establishing Israel in the Promised Land, in answer to Moses’ prayer that God would “prosper the work of our hands.”

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Help us, Lord! We have not suffered across many centuries, but we feel the burden of hard work with little to show for it. We need your strength; we need your grace. Enable us to work together for the sake of your kingdom: and prosper for us the work of our hands!

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