Faith Daily Lectio Saturday, October 31, 2026 Evening Psalm
Saturday, October 31, 2026 · Reformation Day
Evening Psalm
Oratio (prayer)
Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Send Your Holy Spirit as I pray Psalm 90 this evening, that I may number my days and rest in Your mercy through Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Meditatio (meditation)
Psalm 90
A Prayer of Moses the man of God.
1Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
2Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
3Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.
4For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
5Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.
6In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.
7For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.
8Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
9For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.
10The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
11Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.
12So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
13Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.
14O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.
16Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.
17And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.
Consider even rereading in another translation.
You could also consider listening to this chapter, narrated:
KJV (Max McLean) · ESV (Max McLean) · NIV (dramatized)
You might read the whole reading slowly, aloud, more than once.
Consider this verse, for example:
“Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.” (Psalm 90:1)
What other lines speak to you?
The Law Moses does not hide the truth about us: "For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled" (v. 7). God has "set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance" (v. 8). Our lives are short, like grass that "in the evening it is cut down, and withereth" (v. 6).
The Gospel Yet Moses calls this same God our home: "Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations" (v. 1). He prays, "O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days" (v. 14). In Jesus Christ that mercy has come. His death has borne the wrath we deserved, and His rising gives life that does not wither. He is God "even from everlasting to everlasting" (v. 2), and He is your God.
Prayer Lord, I confess my secret sins and the days I have wasted. Forgive me for Jesus' sake. Teach me to number my days, and satisfy me with Your mercy. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Tentatio (trial)
As years pass, it may feel as though life flies by. Moses knew it: "we spend our years as a tale that is told" (v. 9). Under trial it may help to pray his closing words, "establish thou the work of our hands upon us" (v. 17). In Christ, nothing done in faith is lost.
Evening prayer Lord, as this day ends, be my dwelling place. Let Your beauty be upon me, and establish the work of my hands. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version.
My church home: Peace Lutheran Church, McMurray, PA. Looking for a church? See About Daily Lectio.
