Word of Encouragement (12/29/2020)
“Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. You return man to dust and say, "Return, O children of man!" For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers” (Ps. 90:1-6).
Good morning! Yesterday, we began our reflection on Ps. 90 as we finish up this year. We pointed out the significance of Moses’ authorship of this Psalm and its placement at the beginning of Book 4. As Book 3 ends with the breakdown of the Davidic kingship, Ps. 90 was intended to remind Israel who their true King was.
In this first section of the Psalm (vv. 1-6), we see a clear contrast between God and man—more specifically, between God’s eternity and man’s ephemerality. God has been the dwelling place of God’s people in all generations (v. 1) and He is God from everlasting to everlasting (v. 2). On the other hand, man, made of dust, returns to dust (v. 3). We know that he lasts only a brief moment, especially in comparison to the eternal God. A thousand years is a long time for man. But they are “but as yesterday” in God’s sight (v. 4). Isn’t that an interesting expression? A thousand years are so short to God that the moment He thinks about them, as it were, they are already gone as yesterday!
What is the relationship between the eternal God and the transient man? Moses begins this Psalm by saying, “Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations” (v. 1). From the physical perspective, this world, which is made up of time and space, is our dwelling place. But from the spiritual perspective, God is: “'In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). God is the ultimate reality behind and beneath the physical realm in which we exist.
But Moses is not just speaking of this general truth. Think of Moses’ situation at the time of writing this Psalm. Probably he was leading Israel through the wilderness. During those forty years, the people of Israel had to live in tents. Every so often, whenever the glory cloud moved in the form of the pillar of cloud and fire, they had to pack up everything and follow the Lord. When the pillar rested, they too stopped their journey and pitched their tents all over again until the pillar started moving again. How they must have longed for the Promised Land where they could build their homes and settle down so they didn’t have to live in tents anymore!
But as you know, Moses was not allowed to enter the land. Maybe that was what made him realize that the Promise Land in Canaan was not Israel’s true dwelling place, just as their tents in the wilderness and their huts and houses in Egypt were not. The only true dwelling place for the people of God has been God Himself in all generations! It is only in God that we find our true security and protection and rest for all eternity.
As this year draws to a close, we are reminded yet again that days and years come and go. With the passage of time, things and people come and go, too. And while we are here, we cannot escape the process of change and decay. But God is eternal and He does not change. He assures us that He is our dwelling place in all generations. If He should be our dwelling place, change and decay will not be our final end. We can confidently declare, “I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” Eternal security and protection and rest will be ours as long as we dwell in Him.
“Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day; earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away; change and decay in all around I see; O thou who changes not, abide with me.” Have a blessed day!