He who daily remembers that he will die is one who easily despises all worldly things.
— St. Jerome
Psalm 90 (please see the text below the video link) is the only Psalm attributed to Moses, perhaps written after the people sinned in the wilderness, or possibly at the end of his life. Martin Luther summarizes the theology of this Psalm:
| The 90th Psalm is a psalm of instruction in which Moses teaches the origin of death, namely sin, which, though known only by God and hidden from the world, is yet inborn in all from Adam to us. It shows that life here is not only short but also miserable, so that it may well be called a daily death. Nevertheless, the Psalmist says that such a life is good, so that through it we would be driven to see God’s grace and His help to deliver us from it all. . . . The psalm ends with the prayer that God would show us His work, namely His deliverance from sin and death, that is, that He would send Christ. (Reading the Psalms with Luther, p. 215). |
The opening statement of Psalm 90 (“Lord, Thou has been our refuge”) is a bit of a reversal of the usual concept of dwelling in the Sacred Scriptures. We often read that the believer dwells in the Lord, but here we see the good news that God sets Himself up as a refuge and dwelling place for the believer. He is God, from everlasting to everlasting, and He offers eternal refuge from sin, death, and the devil. Psalm 90 has occasionally been called “a meditation on the wrath of God,” and that is certainly the case in verses 3–11. Here Moses reminds us that we are dust, and to dust we shall return. To use Lutheran language, he proclaims the full strength of the Law for the sake of the full consolation of the gospel. In verse 12, however, there is a turning point: “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Moses takes refuge in God and the promises of the Gospel. The Lord will have pity on his servant (v. 13), satisfy him with steadfast love (v. 14), replace affliction with gladness (v. 15), and establish all the gifts of the gospel from generation to generation (vss. 16–17).
In addition to Psalm 90, the composer integrates the first stanza of Isaac Watts’ (1674–1748) hymn after Psalm 90:
In addition to Psalm 90, the composer integrates the first stanza of Isaac Watts’ (1674–1748) hymn after Psalm 90:
| Our God, our Help in ages past, our Hope for years to come, our Shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal Home. |
The musical setting by Ralph (pronounced “RAFE” in England) Vaughan Williams is a musical form known as the hymn anthem, i.e., a sacred choral work that includes a familiar hymn tune. Vaughan Williams composed a significant number of sacred works, including two well-known hymn tunes: DOWN AMPNEY ("Come Down, O Love Divine") and SINE NOMINE ("For All the Saints"), along with the harmonization for SINE NOMINE. As an English composer, organist, and scholar, he was familiar with the rich resources of the Cathedral choir tradition, as they are reflected in the following video. The conductor stands in the middle of the nave, flanked on either side by members of The Westminster Abbey Choir of London (boy sopranos, with professional male altos, tenors, and basses). The “live” acoustic, with vast vaults and wide expanses, is similar to the architecture of the Chapel of Trinity College Cambridge (see the artwork above), where the composer completed his undergraduate work. It is no wonder that the composition naturally flourishes in the following performance for the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain:
| Lord, Thou hast been our refuge from one generation to another, before the mountains were brought forth or ever the earth and the world were made. Thou art God from everlasting and world without end. Thou turnest man to destruction; again Thou sayest Come again ye children of men. For a thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday, seeing that is past as a watch in the night. |
| O God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come. Our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home. |
| As soon as Thou scatterest them They are even as asleep and fade away suddenly like the grass. In the morning it is green and groweth up, but in the evening it is cut down, dried up and withered. For we consume away in Thy displeasure and are afraid at Thy wrathful indignation. For when Thou art angry all our days are gone; we bring our years to an end as a tale that is told. The years of our age are three score years and ten, and though men be so strong that they come to fourscore years, yet is their strength but labour and sorrow. So passeth it away and we are gone. Turn Thee again, O Lord, at the last. Be gracious unto Thy servants. O satisfy us with Thy mercy and that soon. So shall we rejoice and be glad all the days of our life. Lord, Thou hast been our refuge from one generation to another, before the mountains were brought forth or ever the earth and the world were made. Thou art God from everlasting and world without end. And the glorious Majesty of the Lord be upon us. Prosper Thou, O prosper Thou the work of our hands. O prosper Thou our handywork. — translation from Book of Common Prayer (1662) |
A small choir (Choir I) begins with the opening verses of the Psalm. Shortly thereafter the full choir (Choir II) enters with the hymn, sung softly and in doubled note values. Notice how the two choirs overlap and interlock, even though they are not always singing in the same key. About midway through the work, the unaccompanied section ends and the organ enters with an abrupt key change. After some tonal ambiguity, both choirs enter to boldly proclaim in unison, “Lord, thou hast been our refuge!” A lone trumpet enters with the hymn tune, ST. ANNE (“Our God, Our Help in Ages Past”), inviting the listener to recall the words of the hymn. At 6:56 in this video, the dam breaks, the full forces are unleashed, and all creation seems to proclaim, “O prosper Thou our handywork!” The final measures are marked Rallentando, literally “a drawing out,” which adds to the glorious majesty of the text, tune, and context of what might be Vaughan Williams’ most profound choral work, certainly among the best of the troubled twentieth century.
As you watched and listened to this video, you probably noticed that the work requires two well-rehearsed choirs, a professional organist, an intermediate trumpet player, and significant rehearsal time, leaving it out of reach for many volunteer parish choirs. One viable option is to schedule this work in a context where you have access to the full resources of several parishes, such as church anniversary services (often held in the afternoon), or possibly for conventions, hymn festivals, and other large gatherings. The repetition of verses 1–2 as an Antiphon make it especially fitting for anniversaries (congregation, circuit, district, synod, etc.), perhaps complimented by a sermon on verses 1, 2, 16, and 17.
There is another fitting context for this hymn anthem, however, that must not be overlooked. The theology of living and dying in God’s good time (“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” [v. 12]) explains why Psalm 90 is fitting for funerals and memorial services. In a day when the unbelievers are numbering their days as their own gods (a couple in Canada, for instance, had a family night out, including dinner and dancing, before retiring to their home for a couples’ assisted suicide!), the words of Johann Gerhard (1582–1637) ring true:
As you watched and listened to this video, you probably noticed that the work requires two well-rehearsed choirs, a professional organist, an intermediate trumpet player, and significant rehearsal time, leaving it out of reach for many volunteer parish choirs. One viable option is to schedule this work in a context where you have access to the full resources of several parishes, such as church anniversary services (often held in the afternoon), or possibly for conventions, hymn festivals, and other large gatherings. The repetition of verses 1–2 as an Antiphon make it especially fitting for anniversaries (congregation, circuit, district, synod, etc.), perhaps complimented by a sermon on verses 1, 2, 16, and 17.
There is another fitting context for this hymn anthem, however, that must not be overlooked. The theology of living and dying in God’s good time (“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” [v. 12]) explains why Psalm 90 is fitting for funerals and memorial services. In a day when the unbelievers are numbering their days as their own gods (a couple in Canada, for instance, had a family night out, including dinner and dancing, before retiring to their home for a couples’ assisted suicide!), the words of Johann Gerhard (1582–1637) ring true:
| Indeed, he who prepares himself for a happy death by a true and serious conversion, labors after sincere godliness, patiently endures adversity, and with heart-felt feeling burns with an ardent desire for eternal life. Moses prays, “Teach us, O Lord, to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom” (Ps. 90:2). (Handbook of Consolations for the Fears and Trials That Oppress Us in the Struggle with Death, p. 3). |
The believer, guided by Psalm 90, daily remembers that he will die in the Lord. Therefore, he makes the Lord His dwelling place, numbers his days in thankfulness, and enjoys the favor of God in Christ alone. Those who believe and are baptized shall live and die in the quiet confidence of praying to Christ, “Be Thou our guard while life shall last and our eternal home” (Lutheran Service Book 733.6).
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