Our Everlasting Dwelling Place

Psalm 90:1,2

What Moses wrote in Psalm 90:1, 2 might seem strange to us. There he wrote, "Lord, thou host been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God."

That last part we can understand, namely, that He is God. But that He is our dwelling place is something else. Had he written, as David did in Psalm 46:1, "God is our refuge and our strength," we would say that he presents an important truth. But, God is our dwelling place? Is that not an insult? Moses wrote these words when the Israelites were dwelling in tents. God is a tent? He is a dwelling place that wears out and cannot stand the winds and hail of the storms?

No, God Himself inspired Moses to write this, and it is a praiseworthy statement. The idea is that in Him we have our life and its comforts. As Paul said, according to Acts 17:28, "In Him we live, and move and have our being." Apart from Him there is no life and no existence. As Moses writes in verse 2, God existed before any creature was brought forth. From everlasting He is God.

Take note of that fact that He is GOD. He is not a creature, but the Creator of all things. Our dwelling places were made by men, whether they were tents or houses of wood and stone. But God as our dwelling place is eternal, living before there were any mountains or trees, and before there was an earth and a world.

This means that He needs nothing that is outside of Himself, and that all that which we need comes from Him. As His children we have an endless store of blessings. All our spiritual life as well as our physical existence comes from Him and through His Son. The forgiveness of our sins comes from Him and life everlasting.

With confidence we may sing (PRC Psalter):

Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place
Through all the ages of our race;
Before the mountains had their birth,
Or ever Thou hadst formed the earth
From everlasting Thou art God,
To everlasting our abode.

Read: Psalm 90
Psalter versification: #245:1
(Words and Music of the Psalter)

Meditations on the Heidelberg Catechism

****

Song for Meditation: Psalter #354
Why not sing along??

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Jeremiah 30 ; Jeremiah 31:1-26
1 Timothy 2:1-15
Psalm 87:1-7
Proverbs 25:18-19
****
Quote for Reflection:

Quite suddenly it happens, and we call it "accident;"

Yet all the while we know it well- This thing was heaven-sent. 'Twas not by chance that it occurred, It was a planned event; And all our human care and thought, Could not change or prevent. How good to know-come joy or pain, It is our Father's will. It is not ours to question, "Why?" But hear Him say, "Be still!" And when we hear His loving voice, The restlessness departs; The chafing and frustrations cease, And His peace fills our hearts.

"My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever."