12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply
12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
12 Oh! Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well!
12 So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
12 Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.
71 It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.
71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.
71 It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.
71 My troubles turned out all for the best - they forced me to learn from your textbook.
71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.
71 My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.
(Read Psalm 119:65-72)
However God has dealt with us, he has dealt with us better than we deserve; and all in love, and for our good. Many have knowledge, but little judgment; those who have both, are fortified against the snares of Satan, and furnished for the service of God. We are most apt to wander from God, when we are easy in the world. We should leave our concerns to the disposal of God, seeing we know not what is good for us. Lord, thou art our bountiful Benefactor; incline our hearts to faith and obedience. The psalmist will go on in his duty with constancy and resolution. The proud are full of the world, and its wealth and pleasures; these make them senseless, secure, and stupid. God visits his people with affliction, that they may learn his statutes. Not only God's promises, but even his law, his percepts, though hard to ungodly men, are desirable, and profitable, because they lead us with safety and delight unto eternal life.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Psalm 90:12
Commentary on Psalm 90:12-17
(Read Psalm 90:12-17)
Those who would learn true wisdom, must pray for Divine instruction, must beg to be taught by the Holy Spirit; and for comfort and joy in the returns of God's favour. They pray for the mercy of God, for they pretend not to plead any merit of their own. His favour would be a full fountain of future joys. It would be a sufficient balance to former griefs. Let the grace of God in us produce the light of good works. And let Divine consolations put gladness into our hearts, and a lustre upon our countenances. The work of our hands, establish thou it; and, in order to that, establish us in it. Instead of wasting our precious, fleeting days in pursuing fancies, which leave the possessors for ever poor, let us seek the forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance in heaven. Let us pray that the work of the Holy Spirit may appear in converting our hearts, and that the beauty of holiness may be seen in our conduct.