Psalms 90:17
And 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. And 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.
Psalm 90:17 is a prayer for the beauty, favor and glory of the Lord to rest upon His people and to shine through faithful workers, and for God to make the work of their hands firm, fruitful, lasting and successful. It belongs to a psalm that contrasts God's eternity with the brevity of human life, and it follows a plea for God to show His work to His servants and His glory to their children. The beauty of the Lord resting on people means souls corrupted by sin are purified and transformed by Christ's grace, clothed in that beauty and restored to God's image, giving hope even to those who feel despised, fallen or spiritually dead. That beauty is seen in present holiness when Christ's character becomes visible in a person and works through them to re-create others, and it will be fully seen when Christ at the resurrection restores what sin defaced, changing mortal bodies into perfect, beautiful and immortal bodies and removing sin's blight from the whole earth. Work done in Christ's service receives God's blessing which gives it lasting value, so those gathering souls, young people going out to serve, institutions managed for God, and parents raising children may pray for Him to establish both the work of their hands and their hearts.
Prayer for Favor and Endurance
The prayer stands at the close of a psalm that sets the everlasting life of God against the shortness of human life, and it comes directly after the plea for God to make His work appear to His servants and His glory to their children. It asks that the beauty, favor, and glory of the Lord our God rest upon His people. That beauty is not only to rest upon them but to shine through the lives of faithful workers. Those who serve Christ in gathering souls may make this their own prayer for the Lord's beauty and blessing upon them.
The second half of the prayer asks God to establish the work of human hands. To establish means to make that work firm and fruitful, lasting and effective, enduring and successful. The establishing reaches beyond outward deeds to inward life, for hearts also are to be established. The same establishing is sought for the work of institutions, that what is done under trust be made to stand.
Beauty Transforming and Restoring
The beauty of the Lord resting upon people means that souls corrupted by sin are purified and transformed by Christ's grace, clothed in that beauty as they are restored to God's image. By that grace they are changed into what God intends them to be. Christ sees the possibility of this transfiguring change in every person, and by treating them with hope and confidence He awakens hope, trust, desire, and faith. Even those who feel despised, fallen, or spiritually dead can thus long for a new life and to become worthy of His regard.
The prayer for that beauty to be upon us points to a life clothed with the beauty of holiness. When the mind is fixed on what is true, just, pure, lovely, and worthy of praise, holiness is revealed in the life even now. Christ's character then becomes visible in the person, and His word's creative power works through that person to re-create others in the Lord's beauty, by a gentle and persuasive influence. After the conflict between sin and righteousness is over, that beauty will be fully seen.
The redeemed will appear in the beauty of the Lord, reflecting His perfect image in mind, soul, and body. At the resurrection Christ restores what sin defaced, changing mortal, corruptible bodies into perfect, beautiful, immortal bodies. Then the last traces of sin's curse are removed, with every blemish and deformity and all of sin's damage taken away. When sin's blight is removed and creation is restored, the beauty of the Lord will be seen throughout the whole earth.
Established Work in Service
Work done in the service of Christ receives the blessing of God resting upon it, and that blessing gives it lasting value. Those who serve Christ in the work of gathering souls may pray for the beauty of the Lord and His blessing to be upon them, and for Him to establish their labor and make it successful and lasting.
Young people going out to serve the Lord are to offer this prayer that His favor and beauty may rest upon His people and that the work of the Lord may endure through their service. It is a prayer that God will establish the work of their hands and also establish their hearts, making their labor firm and fruitful.
The prayer applies to the work of institutions, that the beauty and holiness of the Lord may rest upon what His people do and that He may establish it. Their departments are to be managed by those who serve God wholeheartedly, and those placed in positions of trust are to labor honestly and faithfully. It applies also to the raising of children, expressing the plea that God establish the work of human hands. Parents must faithfully perform the responsibility entrusted to them, and God helps and cooperates with their sincere, unselfish efforts.