Psalms 90:1-17: a reflection

1Lord, you have been our dwelling place for all generations. 2Before the mountains were born, before you had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God. 3You turn man to destruction, saying, “Return, you children of men.” 4For a thousand years in your sight are just like yesterday when it is past, like a watch in the night. 5You sweep them away as they sleep. In the morning they sprout like new grass. 6In the morning it sprouts and springs up. By evening, it is withered and dry. 7For we are consumed in your anger. We are troubled in your wrath. 8You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. 9For all our days have passed away in your wrath. We bring our years to an end as a sigh. 10The days of our years are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty years; yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for it passes quickly, and we fly away. 11Who knows the power of your anger, your wrath according to the fear that is due to you? 12So teach us to count our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 13Relent, LORD! How long? Have compassion on your servants! 14Satisfy us in the morning with your loving kindness, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. 15Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen evil. 16Let your work appear to your servants, your glory to their children. 17Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us. Establish the work of our hands for us. Yes, establish the work of our hands.

This psalm sets the fleeting brevity of our lives against the everlasting nature of God, and finds our home in him. Lord, you have been our dwelling place for all generations, it begins. Before the mountains were born, before you had formed the earth, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God. Our days are brief, seventy years or eighty, passing quickly, and we fly away; but God is from everlasting to everlasting, and he has been our dwelling place through all generations. Amid our fleeting lives, the eternal God is our home, our constant dwelling, unchanging while we and our days pass away.

Notice the contrast, and the comfort: our lives are fleeting, but the eternal God is our dwelling place. Our days pass quickly; we are like grass that springs up in the morning and withers by evening, here for a brief span and then gone. But God is not fleeting; he is from everlasting to everlasting, unchanging, eternal. And this eternal God has been our dwelling place through all generations, our home, our constant refuge, while everything else passes away. Amid the transience of our lives, we have a home in the eternal God, who does not pass away. Our fleeting days find their home in the everlasting God; he is our dwelling place, stable and eternal, while we and our days are fleeting.

That is worth resting in, for amid our fleeting lives, the eternal God is our dwelling place, our home. We can feel the brevity and transience of our lives, here for a short span and then gone, with nothing stable to hold onto; but the psalm points us to the eternal God as our dwelling place, our home through all generations, unchanging while we pass away. Amid our transience, we have a home in the everlasting God. When you feel the brevity of your fleeting life, remember that the eternal God is your dwelling place, your home, stable and unchanging. Find your home in the eternal God, your dwelling place amid your fleeting life, as the psalm declares the Lord has been our dwelling place for all generations, from everlasting to everlasting; for our days are brief and passing, but God is eternal and unchanging, and amid our transience we have a home in him who does not pass away, our constant dwelling place.

Lord, this psalm sets the fleeting brevity of our lives against your everlasting nature, and finds our home in you. Lord, you have been our dwelling place for all generations, it begins. Before the mountains were born, before you had formed the earth, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God. Our days are brief, seventy years or eighty, passing quickly, and we fly away; but you are from everlasting to everlasting, and you have been our dwelling place through all generations. Amid our fleeting lives, you, the eternal God, are our home. Show me the contrast, and the comfort: our lives are fleeting, but you, the eternal God, are our dwelling place. Our days pass quickly; we are like grass that springs up in the morning and withers by evening. But you are not fleeting; you are from everlasting to everlasting, unchanging, eternal. And you have been our dwelling place through all generations, our home, our constant refuge, while everything else passes away. Amid the transience of our lives, we have a home in you, who do not pass away. Let me rest in that, for amid my fleeting life, you, the eternal God, are my dwelling place, my home. I can feel the brevity and transience of my life, here for a short span and then gone, with nothing stable to hold onto; but the psalm points me to you as my dwelling place, my home through all generations. When I feel the brevity of my fleeting life, help me remember that you, the eternal God, are my dwelling place, Lord, stable and unchanging. Help me find my home in you, my dwelling place amid my fleeting life, as the psalm declares you have been our dwelling place for all generations.