Psalm 90:12-14 Now Available by Anabeth Morgan

Feb 25

Psalm 90:12-14 is now available on all streaming platforms!

THE VERSE

So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Psalm 90:12-14 ESV

Ash Wednesday is a strange day in the Christian calendar. It invites us to do something that most of us try to avoid at all costs: to look at our mortality long and hard in the face… In a sense, the day is an embodied meditation of Genesis 3:17 which says, “...for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” All of our days are numbered; some more and some less, but our days are numbered all the same. We all will die.

A couple weeks ago I met with a financial adviser who asked me some questions about finances as well as when I wanted to retire. After our meeting, she crunched some numbers and sent me a financial report projected for the future. It was strange to look at this report and consider not just retirement, but inevitably when me and my wife’s end would come. After retirement, how long would I have to live? It brought a degree of sadness and sobriety as I considered my own death and in particular the death of my spouse. In a sense, I was invited to number my days.

Moses understood this sober reality. In the only psalm he penned in the Psalter, Moses invites us to do the same. To number our days; to count them out; to realize that we are finite! But note where Moses takes us: this numbering of our days isn’t meant to invoke perpetual sadness or despair but rather to lead us into a life of wisdom. Moses knew the answer wasn’t to run from the reality of death but rather to run to God for perspective and joy.

This numbering of our days isn’t meant to invoke perpetual sadness or despair but rather to lead us into a life of wisdom. Moses knew the answer wasn’t to run from the reality of death but rather to run to God for perspective and joy.

Psalm 90:12-14 and Ash Wednesday are an invitation not to obsess over death, but rather consider death so that we might live. This death-aware life can bring about greater clarity, intentionality, intimacy with God, and even joy!

Listen to the song. If it helps you, write it out in your journal.
What words or phrases stand out to you? What is God speaking to you through this verse?
Consider your own death. How many more years do you think you have? Count out the years, and even break them into days. Ask God to give you wisdom to leave these days with intentionality and purpose and a healthy fear of God.
Have you ever been to a cemetery and walked around reading the epitaphs? Imaginatively picture your own epitaph. What would you like it to say at the end of your life?
In the midst of all this consideration of death, ask God to satisfy you with Himself. Ask that your days, however long they may be, would be filled with a counterintuitive rejoicing because you know God’s steadfast love that outlasts death itself and leads you into eternal life.

THE SONG & THE ARTIST

Anabeth Morgan is a worship leader, songwriter, recording artist, and worship pastor at the Mile High Vineyard church in Denver, Colorado. Anabeth and Joel Limpic, co-founder of Verses, have worked out together for years and finally got together to write music. This song was the first song they worked on together! They wrote it, and then recorded the song with Lafayette’s songwriter and producer Dave Wilton (his solo work is “A Boy and His Kite” and is a member in “Loud Harp”) at Coalesce Audio, who in turn mixed and mastered it. Anabeth shared some of her thoughts with us on writing and recording the song:

“The emotional dynamics of these 3 verses is so profound to me. They seem to start from a dark place of knowing that our days are "numbered" and then turn so quickly to ”I want to be with you Lord. How long must I wait?” The last verse ends with the expressed desire for God to “come daily and satisfy me so I can live in rejoicing”. This is such a holistic and emotional journey we can all connect with.
Singing scripture is so powerful and it puts God’s Word so deeply in our hearts. I also love that it helps practically with memorization! It was a simple and beautiful process working with Joel Limpic. We opened the scripture, ran with melodies, and began putting pieces together. I loved being introduced to the way Verses approaches songwriting with God’s Word.”

You can find Anabeth on Instagram or at www.anabethmorgan.com .

Download the chord chart here.