“A prayer of Moses the man of God.” “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, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” Psalm 90:1-2.
The book of Psalms can be divided into five different parts; book one consists of Psalms 1-41, the second book Psalms 42-72, the third book Psalms 73-89, the fourth book which includes this Psalm, extends from Psalm 90 through 106, the fifth and last section is Psalm 107-150.
Some have identified these segments as corresponding to the themes of the first five books of the Bible, which are, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, in the same order as the above divisions.
Our study of Psalm 90 falls into the section attributed to the book of Numbers which expositor H. A. Ironside says is the book of testing and experience.
Reasonable since the book of Numbers describes the testing of the children of Israel in the desert for forty years.
Psalms 90 and 91 go together, because the theme of 90 is death and the theme of Psalm 91 which is called a Messianic Psalm is one of life.
While 91 is a psalm of great comfort for the Christian, we will cover it later. Meanwhile, you would do well to read it for yourself when you can.
“Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.” Psalm 90:1.
This first verse in Psalm 90 presents the eternal God as a dwelling place for all who will come to Him.
One expositor rephrases this to say, “You have been a dwelling place”. In either case God presents Himself to mankind with the desire that we turn away from the temporal glitter of the things in the world, which only distract, and come to Him in whom dwells all the riches of the present, and eternity.
“…[I, the Apostle Paul pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.” Ephesians 1:17-21.
“For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.” Psalm 86:5.
“The Lord is righteous in all His ways, gracious in all His works. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him [reverently trust, love Him]; He also will hear their cry and save them.” Psalm 145:17-19.
“For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek [Gentile, non-Jew], for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” Romans 10:11-13.
The open door between God and man has always been open to whosoever will come. This door is one leading to the eternal God, the mighty God.
“I am the door. If anyone enters by Me [Jesus], he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” John 10:9.
Let us reread our opening verse.
“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” Psalm 90:2.
There are those along with Satan who would like to kick God off of His throne; but man is frail, and Satan is nothing more than a created being, God’s own creation that rebelled against Him, just how would one accomplish that?
While it is true that men think that they have removed God from His throne here on earth, this is an illusion created by demented minds.
“Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed [Christ], saying, ‘Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.’ He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure: ‘Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.’” Psalm 2:1-6.
When the Lord Jesus returns to earth to reign, these corrupt individuals will be consigned to the trash heap of the lake of fire, Gehenna, see Mark 9:42-49.
“But whoever causes one of these little ones [a child] who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off [figuratively]. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched [literally] – where ‘their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’” Mark 9:42-44.
“He who overcomes [accepts Jesus Christ as Savior, 1 John 5:5] shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:7-8.
“Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” 1 John 5:5.
Bear in mind that the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and liars mentioned above can repent, turn to Jesus, accept Him as Savior and avoid an eternity in the lake of fire.
But it must be done now, after death it is too late.
“You turn man to destruction, and say, ‘Return, O children of men.’” Psalm 90:3.
The word for man here is enosh, meaning frail man. Other words translated man are, adam which refers to mankind in general, ish is an individual, and geber refers to man in his strength.
One translation of the above Psalm 90:3 goes roughly as follows.
“Thou makest frail man [enosh] dust, and say, ‘Return, O children of men [to dust].’” Psalm 90:3.
This aligns with the curse of Genesis 3:19.
“In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:19.
“For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night.” Psalm 90:4.
How often have we anticipated a vacation which is many weeks away, then suddenly it is upon us, then over. And when we return to work it was as in a dream; a few photographs, stories, and memories, all past, evaporating like a wisp of smoke from a match?
It must have been like that before the flood of Noah when folks would live nearly a thousand years; then as they lay down on their bed for the last time, life was but a dream.
Yet it is different with God, a thousand years passes like a watch in the night, mere hours, however God is “from everlasting to everlasting”.
“But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” 2 Peter 3:8.
“You carry them away like a flood; they are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows up: In the morning it flourishes and grows up; in the evening it is cut down and withers.” Psalm 90:5-6.
Men and women are swept away, they are here one moment, and in the next they are no more. As in an irresistible catastrophic flood they fall asleep and soon, even the memory of them is washed away.
“Yet He is not partial to princes, nor does He regard the rich more than the poor; for they are all the work of His hands. In a moment they die, in the middle of the night; the people are shaken and pass away; the mighty are taken away without a hand.” Job 34:19-20.
Man is like the grass under his feet which grows up and flourishes in the morning and in the evening it is cut down and decays.
“As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him…” Psalm 103:15-17a.
“Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens, and Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O Lord, You preserve man and beast. How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.” Psalm 36:5-9.
“Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the well. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.” Ecclesiastes 12:6-7.
Enosh, Frail Man, Frail Woman, Part 1, taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 9-20-15, updated on 10-9-23.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.