
850 AD to 870 AD, Psalm 90: Answer.
This generation is that of the 850s and the 860s.
The Christian empire [1] of the West divided into three kingdoms, those of Lothaire, Louis and Charles the Bald since the Treaty of Verdun in 843 is the subject of several threats: Lothaire undergoes Muslim attacks that go so far as to threaten Rome in 846. The Muslims are content to plunder the Basilica of St. Peter, they take many cities in Italy. It is also threatened by the Vikings who are multiplying incursions into Europe including Muslim Spain and the kingdoms of Louis and Charles.
During this generation, Louis seeks to invade the territory of Charles facing new Viking threats. With the support of the clergy and these vassals, Charles succeeds in preserving his territories. The advantages granted to the vassals initialize the feudal power which will be of setting throughout the Middle Ages. The kingdom of Lothaire is shared between his three sons at his death in 855.
This revival is accompanied by a new advance of Christianity on pagan lands. Photios emissaries carry the « good word » in the Slavic countries, which by opening themselves to Christianity participate in the extension of the role of Europe in the history of the world, thus enlarging the « valley of weeping ».
(extract of the psalm 90 associated to this generation, verses 1 to 4 )
- A prayer of Moses, the man of God. O Lord, You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.
- Before the mountains were born, and You brought forth the earth and the inhabited world, and from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
- You bring man to the crushing point, and You say, « Return, O sons of men. »
- For a thousand years are in Your eyes like yesterday, which passed, and a watch in the night.
(extract of the psalm 90 associated to this generation, verses 5 to 7 )
- You carry them away as a flood (men) ; they are like a sleep; in the morning, like grass it passes away.
- In the morning, it blossoms and passes away; in the evening, it is cut off and withers.
- For we perish from Your wrath, and from Your anger we are dismayed.
- And He said [2], « You will not be able to see My face, for man shall not see Me and live. »
- And the Lord said: « Behold, there is a place with Me, and you shall stand on the rock.
- And it shall be that when My glory passes by, I will place you into the cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with My hand until I have passed by.
- Then I will remove My hand, and you will see My back but My face shall not be seen. »
(extract of the psalm 90 associated to this generation, verses 8 and 9 )
- You have placed our iniquities before You, [the sins of] our youth before the light of Your countenance.
- For all our days have passed away in Your anger; we have consumed our years as a murmur.
(extract of the psalm 90 associated to this generation, verse 10 )
- The days of our years because of them are seventy years, and if with increase, eighty years; but their pride is toil and pain, for it passes quickly and we fly away.
(extract of the psalm 90 associated to this generation, verses 11 to 17 )
- Who knows the might of Your wrath, and according to Your fear is Your anger.
- So teach the number of our days, so that we shall acquire a heart of wisdom.
- Return, O Lord, how long? And repent about Your servants.
- Satiate us in the morning with Your loving-kindness, and let us sing praises and rejoice with all our days.
- Cause us to rejoice according to the days that You afflicted us, the years that we saw evil.
- May Your works appear to Your servants, and Your beauty to their sons.
- And may the pleasantness of the Lord our God be upon us, and the work of our hands establish for us, and the work of our hands establish it.
[1] According to: Christian Bonnet and Christine Descatoire « The Carolingians (741-987) ». Chapter: « The dislocated empire (843-888) ». (French: « Les Carolingiens (741-987) ». Chapitre : « L’empire disloqué (843-888) ». (p. 82 à 88) ).
[2] Shemot – Exodus – Chapter 33, verses 20 to 23