Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 90:1
A Prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
1. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place ] The Psalmist addresses God not by the covenant Name Jehovah (Lord), but by the title which designates Him as the Ruler of the world. He not merely is, but has proved Himself to be, Israel’s home, age after age, in all the vicissitudes of its history. The same word is used in Psa 91:9. (A.V. habitation), and (in a slightly different form) in Deu 33:27, to which the Psalmist may be alluding. Some editors would change m‘n, ‘dwelling-place,’ into m‘z, ‘stronghold.’ In Psa 71:3 (see note) there has probably been a confusion between these words, but it is unnecessary to alter the text here.
in all generations ] More forcibly the Heb., in generation and generation, i.e. in each successive generation. So Deu 32:7 (A.V. many generations).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
1 6. The Psalmist’s confession that God is Israel’s refuge; that He alone is the Eternal; that He is the sovereign Disposer of human life.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Lord – Not Yahweh here, but ‘Adonay. The word is properly rendered Lord, but it is a term which is often applied to God. It indicates, however, nothing in regard to his character or attributes except that he is a Ruler or Governor.
Thou hast been our dwelling-place – The Septuagint renders this, refuge – kataphuge. So the Latin Vulgate, refugium; and Luther, Zuflucht. The Hebrew word – maon – means properly a habitation, a dwelling, as of God in his temple, Psa 26:8; heaven, Psa 68:5; Deu 26:15. It also means a den or lair for wild beasts, Nah 2:12; Jer 9:11. But here the idea seems to be, as in the Septuagint, Vulgate, and Luther, a refuge; a place to which one may come as to his home, as one does from a journey; from wandering; from toil; from danger: a place to which such a one naturally resorts, which he loves, and where he feels that he may rest secure. The idea is, that a friend of God has that feeling in respect to Him, which one has toward his own home – his abode – the place which he loves and calls his own.
In all generations – Margin, generation and generation. That is, A succeeding generation has found him to be the same as the previous generation had. He was unchanged, though the successive generations of men passed away.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 90:1-17
Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations.
The prayer of Moses
The propriety of the title is confirmed by the psalms unique simplicity and grandeur; its appropriateness to his times and circumstances at the close of the error in the wilderness; its resemblance to the law in urging the connection between sin and death; its similarity of diction to the poetical portions of the Pentateuch (Exo 15:1-27; Deu 32:1-52; Deu 33:1-29), without the slightest trace of imitation or quotation; its marked unlikeness to the psalms of David, and still more to those of later date; and finally the proved impossibility of plausibly assigning it to any other age or author.
I. The great contrast (Psa 90:1-6). The poet says what God has been, but he implies what He still was, and would continue to be. His Divine being reaches from an unlimited past to an unlimited future. Far otherwise is it with mans days. He has no independent existence. The Being who made him turns him back to the dust from which he came (Gen 3:19), and when He say, Return, there is none to refuse obedience. He whose existence is timeless endures, but men soon perish. He swoops them away as with a driving storm which carries everything before it. Their life consequently is as unsubstantial as a dream.
II. Death is the wages of sin (Psa 90:7-12). The psalmist is a stranger to the fond notion that man is the victim of circumstances; that he deserves compassion rather than penalty. His brief life and swift death may seem mysterious, but they are not an accident. Like the flower he does not simply fade away, but is cut down. Various instrumental agencies may be employed to terminate mans existence, but the real cause is Gods wrath against sin. How must iniquity take on a dreadful hue when contrasted with the unsullied purity of heaven, the resplendent glory of the Holy One of Israel? This dark shadow extends over the whole of life, and not only its close. All our days bear the same stamp, and even when they stretch out into years, still they fly away as a thought, a comparison used by Homer and Theognis, yet without the underlying thought of Moses that the flight is retributive (verse10). The best comment on this sad confession is the statement of Goethe made near the close of his long life. Men have always regarded me as one especially favoured by fortune Yet after all it has been nothing but pains and toil. But besides this there is no permanence. An end does come, must come, even to the longest term of years. As the man of God looks over the record of the forty years error, he cries out, who knoweth, who regards and feels the force of Thine anger? Who has such a conception of it as befits a becoming reverence for God? The implication is that there is none. Hence the devout entreaty, So teach us, etc. Such is the power of sin, the seductive influence of a worldly mind, that we shall not know the link between Gods wrath and our own mortality unless we get instruction from above.
III. Prayer for the return of Gods favour (Psa 90:13-17). Here Moses returns to the starting point of the psalm. Whither should the contemplation of mortality as related to sin, and of Divine wrath against sin, cause us to turn but to God, our eternal home? The loss of His favour is, as usual, represented as His absence, and hence the entreaty for His return. The fervour of this request is well set forth by the abbreviated question, How long? i.e. How long wilt Thou retain Thine anger? Calvins letters show that this Domine quousque was his favourite ejaculation in his times of suffering and anxiety. The literal version of the other member of the couplet is, Let it repent thee concerning, i.e. so change Thy dealing with them as if Thou didst repent of afflicting them–a bold form of speech used by Moses elsewhere (Exo 32:12; Deu 32:36). The next verse asks to be sated, abundantly supplied, with the lovingkindness of Jehovah in the morning, i.e. early, speedily; and the object of this prayer is stated to be that the offerers may have reason to sing for joy and be glad during the whole remainder of their lives. But if this be true of the Old Testament, that an early experience of grace gladdens all ones subsequent course, much more must it be of the New Testament with its fuller light, better covenant and larger promises. The next couplet is an affecting reminder of past trials, which are here made to be the measure of future blessings. The desire is that former sorrows may be compensated by proportionate enjoyments in time to come. The weary sojourn in the desert, where each halting-place was a graveyard and their march was marked by the tombs they left behind them, they desire to forget in the enjoyment of a permanent home in a land flowing with milk and honey. The same request is renewed in asking for the manifestation of Gods work, that is, His gracious care for His chosen, the course of His providential dealings on their behalf. A beautiful and suggestive variation of this wish is given in the next clause where the term work is exchanged for majesty, intimating (Rom 9:23) that the glory of God shines conspicuously in His grace. This display of the sum of the Divine perfections is asked on behalf of the children of generations yet unborn, God being the God not only of His people, but of their seed and their seeds seed (Isa 59:2). The closing verse of the psalm comprehends both the Divine and the human side of the work given to Gods people. First, the psalmist prays for the beauty of Jehovah, that is, all that which renders Him an object of affection, His wondrous graciousness, to be revealed to them in the way of experience. But this, so far from superseding rather implies their own activity. Hence the next petition mentions the work of our hands, a favourite Mosaic phrase for all that we do or undertake, which God is requested to establish, i.e. to confirm and bring to a favourable issue. The repetition of the words is not merely a rhetorical beauty, but an expression of the importance, the necessity of such Divine aid. (T. W. Chambers, D.D.)
The psalm of the wanderings
Throughout this psalm two threads are twisted, the one sombre with gloom, the other bright with golden light. We will not dwell on the former. There is plenty of that already in the lives of most of us. Suffice it to say that to Moses the plaintive chords of sorrow appears to have been composed of three notes–the rapid flight of the ages, the anger of God incurred by sin, and the afflictions which beset human life. But opposite to these the aged lawgiver gives three thoughts, on which he rested his soul.
I. God. What great thoughts Moses had of God.
1. As Creator. To God he ascribes the birth of the mountains, which in their grandest aspects and in magnificent confusion were heaped in that Sinaitic peninsula. To God also he ascribes the moulding touch which shaped the universe of matter, and gave form to the earth. What though seas and rivers, glacier action and earthquake, were his graving tools, yet the maker and former of all things was God.
2. As eternal. He is not only God, El, the strong. He is Lord, Jehovah, the i am. And he labours hard to give us some true conception of His everlastingness. He speaks of the eighty years of human life as being, in comparison with it, short and soon; much in the same way as we should describe the duration of an insects life, which passes through all the stages of existence from youth to age, between dawn and sunset in comparison with the life of man. He recites the generations of mankind, and describes their passing in to God like guests into a hostelry, their life to His being brief and transitory as a night-sojourn when compared with the permanence of the building in which it is spent. He goes back through the long process of creation, and says that God comprehends it in the extent of his being as a very little thing.
3. But the thought that helps us most is the conception of God as the dwelling-place, the asylum, the home of the soul. Moses needed it, if ever a man did.
II. Gladness-making mercy. As Moses reviewed the desert pilgrimage it seemed one long line of transgression, each halting-place marked by its special graves, the monuments of some sad outbreak. He pined for gladness; he knew that there was gladness in the heart of the blessed God, enough to make him glad, and not him alone but all who were weary and heavy laden throughout the precincts of the camp; and having confessed their sins he now turned to God his exceeding joy and said, Make us glad. And his demand for gladness was not a small one. He asked that it might be according to the days in which they had been affiliated and the years in which they had seen evil. It was a great request, but not unreasonable, for days and years of sorrow often give us capacity for receiving blessing. Let us, too, ask Him to put gladness into our hearts. Let us believe that it will honour and please Him if we dare to lay claim to blessedness, such as He alone can give, and when He gives does so with full measure, pressed down, and running over. The plea must be made to His mercy. We have no claim on any other attribute of God. And beyond that we must ask Him to satisfy us. We have sought satisfaction in all beside: in health and flow of spirits, in success and friendship, in books and affairs; but we have found it nowhere, and we shall never find it unless in Himself.
III. Work, or co-operation between God and man. Moses complaint about the shortness of life indicates that he was no idler. The days were not long enough for all he had to do, and therefore life seemed to pass so quickly through his hands. Amid all that made him sad, he found solace in the thought that what he did would last. The leaves fall, but each, ere it finds a grave in the damp autumn soil, has done something to the tree that bore it, which will be a permanent gain for summers yet unborn. The preacher dies, but his words have furnished impulses to souls which have become part of their texture and will be part for ever. The workman finds a nameless grave beneath the shadow of the great unfinished minister, but the fabric rises still and will rise; his work will be part of it for ever, a joy and beauty for coming generations. But after all our work in itself is not sufficient to resist the disintegrating forces of time, which, more than all else, tries and tests its quality. And, therefore, we need to ask that Gods work may become manifest through ours. In my work let Thine appear; through my weak endeavours may that hand achieve which made the worlds and built cosmos out of chaos. Let Thy work appear. And in asking that Gods work may appear, we make a request which involves His glory. The one cannot appear without the other, so that in all coming time children and childrens children may behold it, and as that glory shines upon their faces it must transform and transfigure them so that the beauty of the Lord our God will be upon them. (F. B. Meyer, B.A.)
God our home
There was a tradition among the Jews, although these traditions are not altogether trustworthy, that Moses, the man of God, wrote this psalm or prayer. And it has always been felt that the psalm seemed to have some special connection with, or reference to, the experience and the impressions of the children of Israel in the days that they were doomed to wander up and down in the wilderness without being allowed to enter into the promised land. And there is much in the psalm that corroborates that view. It is the psalm of a generation of men who felt themselves to be wasting away under Gods wrath, consumed by His anger. They are spending their years as a tale that is told. The vanity and emptiness of life are pressed home upon them with great severity. At the same time, it is not a psalm of mere wailing and lamentation. There is the exercise of faith in it, not only in the first verse, but in the appeal to God to come and dwell with them as their case requires, and make them experience His mercy. Now, if we are to take this idea, and see.how far it will carry us through this psalm, we must remember this, that when the children of Israel were leaving Egypt they were very much exercised about the hope of a habitation. They were leaving one habitation–the land of Egypt. It was a house of bondage; still, a house is a house, even if it be a house of bondage, and it is wonderful how men often shrink from breaking up some accustomed state of things, not discerning well what is to replace it. But the objections of the Egyptian rulers and the hesitations of the people were mightily overcome, and by and by they found themselves on that famous march through the wilderness towards the land which God had sworn to give them for an inheritance. It was to be their habitation, and it was not only to be their habitation, but also Gods habitation. The value of it was that He was to dwell in it with them, watching over them; and accordingly at the Red Sea they sang: Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of Thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which Thou hast made for Thee to dwell in. Many thoughts about this wonderful habitation, many expectations about what it should prove to be, must have been in their minds. By and by there fell out that rebellion upon the report of the spies, which carried away the people as will a flood. One or two stood out against it, but the general cry of the people was to go back to Egypt. They despaired of that promised land, of that goodly inheritance. I think it would be a mistake for us to take it for granted that all those who had joined in this defection, all those who were involved in this unbelieving revolt from God, wore even then mere carnal and unbelieving men. It may have been the case that some of them were men and women who had some good thing in them towards the Lord God of Israel. It is not such a rare thing, unfortunately, it is not such a surprising thing, to find persons Who have the root of the matter in them and are believers, carried away by a stream of defection and by a sentiment of unbelief, as if they could not stand against it. And certainly we may suppose, when we look to the ends that God has in chastening, which is not for our destruction but for our salvation, that among those who were visited by this great disappointment some were brought to faith by the very chastening which was inflicted upon them. That agrees with the ends which God has in chastening. We are told that the people mourned greatly. They strove, as it were, to reverse the sentence which could not be reversed; but I should be disposed to believe that there might be among them persons who either were or came to be men of desire and men of faith towards the Lord God of their fathers. But if we are to open our minds to an idea of that kind, then what a tremendous disappointment fell upon those who belonged to this class, and how difficult it must have been for them to know what to say or do. As to the mere unbelievers, they were disappointed, of course; but they would perhaps turn to the ordinary avocations of the camp in the wilderness, prepared to make the best of it until the end of their pilgrimage had come. But those who had any trust in God and any longing for the experience of Gods favour, how must it have been with them? All hope was over now of that habitation to which they had set out to go. No more dwelling with God in the land of which their fathers told them. Their children should go in; the very bones of Joseph should go in; but they were to be shut out. Indeed, one would say that they would turn to the duties that fell upon them in connection with daily life, unable to speak to any man the thoughts that were in them. It was so hard the feeling that all was over; and yet the deep longing in the heart protesting against its being all over. Yes, and yet, when we come to think of it, we may see how such souls were visited, and how they found their way to God through that experience. We may see how God brought good out of evil and light out of darkness. For still they were under Gods care; still the manna was supplied to them and still the waters ran to satisfy their thirst. Still in the midst of their tents one tent arose which was Gods tent, who was dwelling in the midst of them. He was providing for them, caring for them, and they could go to Him in His tabernacle with their vows and their free-will offerings; and no doubt in the month Abib they would draw together and remember that they were Gods firstborn whom He had brought out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and with a stretched-out arm. To those who had no care about God, all that would be nothing, but it might be a great deal to these who were ready to say with Jonah, I am cast out of Thy sight, yet I will look again towards Thy holy temple. For what did it come to, after all? That God was their dwelling-place even now. In His shadow they dwelt, His food they ate, His protection was extended to them, and if He chastened them, might they not remember that as a man chastenteth his own son, so the Lord God chasteneth them? And if they were enabled to get so far, if they were enabled to look upward out of that desolate condition of theirs and to claim a relation to God in which He was their dwelling-place, then they would not only be able to look upward, but to look forward too. I dare say it was one of the thoughts in their hearts, when they set their faces to go out of Egypt to that promised land, that when they came to die, as die they must, their tombs would be in that land on which God looked from the one years end to the other. That was over now; there was nothing for them now but to leave their bones lying anywhere, wherever they might drop in the wilderness. Yet even so, they might believe that Gods promise would hold and that Gods goodness would not fail, and that when the great days of the fulfilling should come, they also, wherever their nameless grave might be, should not be altogether forgotten or left out of the blessedness of His people. And if God was their dwelling-place, how natural that their prayer should take this course of appealing to God to make them feel their interest in Him, to make them feel Gods interest in them. The pledges that they had once looked to see fulfilled had been swept away, and they stood face to face with God, and if they were to live a life of faith in God they required help. O satisfy us early with Thy mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days wherein Thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. Let Thy work appear unto Thy servants, and Thy glory unto their children. How that sentence on their lives expressed the vanity of their lives, they could make nothing of them; they would lead to no result. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us; and establish Thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish Thou it. We also are passing through our pilgrimage to the land which God has set before us, and in the case of many of us our experiences are very different from those of which we have been thinking in connection with this psalm. But there are others of us whose experience prepares them to join in some of the reflections and especially in some of the prayers of this psalm. Perhaps there are some who cannot see the use of their lives. Their expectations in life have been crossed; sorrows have come where they hoped to have prosperous and progressive times. They have difficulty in understanding any Divine purpose in their lives, or any human purpose that a person could follow out with cheerfulness, with a sense of accomplishment and success. And they are apt to feel that God is not thinking about them. Such persons deserve the sympathy of all those who have not been so tried as they have been. Perhaps there have been circumstances in their lives, temptations and failures that lead them to feel that this failure of their lives, this want of an outlook and an upward prospect before them, has been duo to their own sin, and their own foolishness, which has perplexed their heart, and which has brought upon them the experiences which often do follow sin and folly–and it may be so. But it is true that you need a dwelling-place, and so also it is true that through these many experiences of yours you may be enabled to find your way to the faith that God is your dwelling-place; that He has not been forsaking you, but has been sweeping away treasures that were too lightly contemplated, and too lightly held, to make room for His coming in Himself into your lives, with a new manifestation of His grace, with a new sense of your own sin and unworthiness, and at the same time a new experience of His goodness. We have all homes, or have had homes, and what idea do we associate with the home, the dwelling-place to which we naturally belong? First of all the idea is of protection. A little child feels sure of protection in its own home, and it is right; there are people there who would die rather than let it come to harm. Then there is provision–wants met; forethought exercised that we may be provided for. Then there is a sense of peace, a sense of familiar surroundings, of being at home, at peace with all that is around you. There is also a sense of enjoyment, a sense of love and gladness that make a cheerful and happy place. We need this, and in a measure it comes to us in our own homes, but they may pass away. They are to teach us that we need the true home, and the Lord must be our dwelling-place, in whom is protection–He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep; in whom there is provision, Bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. And then there is gladness. Some of us, perhaps, cannot realize true, simple, childlike gladness in connection with religious faith or experience, but that is not because there is any doubt about the gladness, but because we are not far enough on. And, therefore, if I speak to any who find a difficulty in the experiences of their life is recognizing the Divine care and goodness, I would say to you, Is your case worse than the case of those men and women of whom I have been speaking? And if this was the very way in which God taught them what He was and what He could be to them, and enable them to say, Lord, Thou art our dwelling-place, then should we not learn the same lesson; learn it when sorrows and perplexities and troubles come to us, to go to God for deliverance, and for a knowledge of what it is to yield ourselves to God, and our members as instruments of righteousness unto God. It is a sad business to think of those who are living in happy homes, in homes which have much happiness, and many elements of good about them, and yet have no outlook further; as if when by and by the materials of that earthly home fall away, they will pass out into eternity houseless and homeless. That will not do; we are very clearly told that if we are to find that blessedness we must seek it now. (R. Rainy, D.D.)
Man and his Maker
I. In the safe guardianship of God (Psa 90:1).
1. In other places God is represented as the dwelling-place of human souls (Isa 4:6; Deu 33:27; Psa 91:9). Human souls want a home, a place where they can rest in confidence, sheltered from the storm, protected from the burning rays, and shielded from every danger and every foe.
2. What a dwelling-place is God!
(1) How safe! The combined armies of hell cannot enter it; the strongest storm in the universe cannot affect it.
(2) How happy! In it there is everything to charm the imagination, gratify the love, delight the conscience, transport the whole soul in raptures of joy.
(3) How accessible. Its doors are open to all. Untold millions have entered it, and yet there is room.
(4) How enduring! The strongest castles rumble before the breath of time, and the material universe may be dissolved, but this dwelling-place will stand for ever.
II. In physical contrast to God (Psa 90:2-6). Here is the Eternal in antithesis with man the evanescent, the absolute in contrast with man the dependent.
1. Man is mortal. Dust we are and to dust we must return. But this event occurs not by accident, or disease or fate. No. Thou turnest man to destruction. There are no accidental deaths in the world.
2. Emblems of the brevity of human life.
(1) A watch. This, according to Hebrew chronology, was only one-third of the nocturnal season. Life is spoken of, not as a year or a month, but as a third part of a night, so brief it is.
(2) Sleep, Sleep ceases, says Luther, ere we can perceive it or mark it; before we are aware we have slept, sleep is gone. When the oldest man, as he is about passing away, looks back on his past life, the whole seems only as a vision of the night.
(3) Grass. What are men? Merchants, warriors, emperors, armies? Grass, nothing more. The wind passeth over them and they are gone. Oh, what is man to God? (Homilist.)
The gate to Gods acre
It is the oldest of stories, sung in this oldest of psalms; of human weakness, turning in dismay from the change and decay about it, to find refuge in the eternity of God. We are not suffered to waste time in the attempt to comprehend the abstract truth of Gods eternity. We are lifted for the moment, in order that we may descend; suffered to grasp a few of the treasures of the Divine glory, that we may carry them back to glorify our earthly life.
1. This splendid thought of the Divine eternity is made to touch the shifting and inconstant character of our earthly state, by the single word dwelling-place. I am a wanderer on earth, there is an eternal home for me; I am sick of confusion and change, there is eternal abiding in Him who is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, and only a change into the same image from glory to glory.
2. But a correct view of the eternity of God conveys warning as well as comfort. The more it is studied, the stronger is the contrast into which it throws the brevity and uncertainty of human life.
(1) The eternal power of God convicts us of helplessness. Notice the sharp contrast. From everlasting to everlasting, O God, Thy life is self-sustained–in Thine own power: mans life, that gift in which he so exults and on which he presumes to play such fantastic tricks before high heaven,–that which flowers out in his pride and high endeavour, in his ambitions, plans, and grand enterprises, is a thing so little in his power, that Thou turnest him even unto the finest dust with a word; and, with another word,–Return, ye children of men–callest others into being to fill his place.
(2) The eternal being of God is used to convict us of delusion. We measure life by false standards. The psalm brings us back to the true rule of measurement (Psa 90:4; Psa 90:12).
3. These suggestions are enforced by the figures which follow. Each of them sets forth a truth of its own.
(1) There is, first, the fact that man passes swiftly from life. Thou carriest them away as with a flood. Thou carriest men away from life, as a mountain torrent, rising in an hour, sweeps away the frail but that man has built.
(2) Take the next figure: and to the same thought of the swift passage of life, we have added that of its unsubstantial, unreal character, and of mans unconsciousness of its passage. They are as a sleep in the morning.
(3) Again, look at the third image: the grass which flourisheth in the morning and is cut down at evening. Here still is the old key-note–the quick passing of the life; but with a new thought, namely, how the beauty and strength and aspiration of life are disregarded in the swift flight of time. It is cut down. Why this strong expression, as if it were not left to wither of itself, but were destroyed by violence?
4. The question marks the transition to the next portion of the psalm, embraced in the next four verses. This matter of brief life and swift death is a mystery, is it also an accident? Then, as now, men were prone to say, Man is to be pitied: man is the victim of circumstances: man is not guilty, but unfortunate: man is not depraved, but fettered: man deserves not punishment, but compassion: sin is no ground for wrath, but for tolerance. True it is that the Bible is an evangel of love, and pardon, and compassion; true that like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him; but also true that the Bible, from beginning to end, blazes like Sinai with Gods hatred of sin, resounds with warnings of mans danger from sin, and sets forth as in letters of fire that man is responsible for sin, and liable to its penalties; true that history, and prophecy, and psalm, and gospel, and epistle are grouped round one definite purpose, to save him from the power, dominion, and consequences of sin. In view of these terrible facts, and of mens persistent blindness to the power of Gods anger then, as now, is it strange that Moses prayed, is there not good cause for us to pray, Teach us to number our days? Whither shall a sinful, short-lived man flee, but to a holy and eternal God? Thither turns the prayer of these last five verses, and turns with hope and confidence. Man is the subject of Gods wrath, but there is mercy with Him to satisfy him who flees from the wrath to come. Man is a pilgrim and a stranger, with no continuing city, but there is gladness and rejoicing in God for all his brief days. Mans beauty consumes as the moth, but the beauty of the Lord our God shall be upon him, and that beauty is immortal, untouched by time and change. Mans work is fragmentary, his plans often disconcerted, his grandest enterprises nipped in the bud by death, but Gods touch upon human work imparts to it the fixedness of eternity; and if He establish the work of our hands, it shall abide though the world pass away and the lust thereof. He will make good the sufferings of sin by the joys of Holiness. (M. R. Vincent, D.D.)
God a dwelling-place
I. The eternity of God.
1. The existence of God never had a beginning.
2. The existence of God will never have an end; it stretches into futurity further than our minds can follow it or angels trace it; it is an everlasting life, a deep and mysterious stream which never began, and will never cease, to flow.
II. In what relation this everlasting being stands to ourselves. We are reminded of the power by which He formed the earth and the worlds; we are reminded of the eternity in which He dwelt before there was a creature to know and adore Him; and for what end?–that a world of destitute sinners may be encouraged to consign themselves to His care and to trust in His love. He is our dwelling-place, our refuge, our habitation, our home.
1. A refuge from dangers.
2. The seat of our comforts.
3. The place of our abode.
III. What feelings the contemplation of God in this light ought to excite.
1. Grateful acknowledgment.
2. Satisfaction.
3. Humility.
4. Confidence.
5. To the careless and ungodly–terror.
Other enemies may be incensed against us, but while they are preparing to execute their purposes of wrath, their breath goeth forth; they die; and there is an end of their terror. But an avenging God never dies. The weapons of His indignation are as lasting as they are strong. (C. Bradley, M.A.)
The glorious habitation
I. Explanation.
1. The dwelling-place of man is the place where he can unbend himself, and feel himself at home, and speak familiarly. With God you can be always at home; you need be under no restraint. The Christian at once gives God the key of his heart, and lets Him turn everything over. The more God lives in the Christian, the better the Christian loves Him; the oftener God comes to see him, the better he loves his God. And God loves His people all the more when they are familiar with Him.
2. Mans home is the place where his affections are centred. Christian man, is God your habitation in that sense? Have you given your whole soul to God?
3. My next remark is concerning the lease of this dwelling-place. Sometimes, you know, people get turned out of their houses, or their houses tumble down about their ears. It is never so with ours; God is our dwelling-place throughout all generations. Christian, your house is indeed a venerable house, and you have long dwelt there. You dwelt there in the person of Christ long before you were brought into this sinful world; and it is to be your dwelling-place throughout all generations. You are never to ask for another house; you will always be contented with that one you have, you will never wish to change your habitation.
II. Improvement.
1. Self-examination. It is remarkable that almost the only scriptural writer who speaks of God as a dwelling-place is that most loving apostle, John. He gives us (1Jn 4:12) one means of knowing whether we are living in God: If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us. And again, further on, he says, And we have known and believed the love that God is to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. You may then tell whether you are a tenant of this great spiritual house by the love you have towards others. In the 13th verse is another sign: Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit. Have you actually the Spirit of God within you? If so, you dwell in God. But the apostle gives another sign in the 15th verse: Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. The confession of our faith in the Saviour is another sign that we live in God. But there is one more sign whereby: we ought to examine ourselves, in the third chapter 24th verse: He that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. Obedience to the Commandments of God is a blessed sign of a dwelling in God. Some of you have a deal of religious talk, but not much religious walk; a large stock of outside piety, but not much real inward piety, which develops itself in your actions.
2. Congratulation to those who dwell in God. I congratulate you, Christians, first, that you have such a magnificent house to dwell in. You have not a palace that shall be as gorgeous as Solomons,–a mighty place as immense as the dwellings of the kings of Assyria, or Babylon; but you have a God that is more than mortal creatures can behold, you dwell in an immortal fabric, you dwell in the Godhead–something which is beyond all human skill. I congratulate you, moreover, that ye live in such a perfect house. There neer was a house on earth that could not be made a little better; but in God you have all you require. I congratulate you, moreover, that you live in a house that shall last for ever, a dwelling-place that shall not pass away; when all this universe shall have died out like a spark from an expiring brand, your house shall live and stand more imperishable than marble, self-existent as God, for it is God! Be happy then.
3. One word by way of warning. Do you know, poor soul, that you have not a house to live in? You have a house for your body but no house for your soul. Have you ever seen a poor girl at midnight sitting down on a doorstep crying? Somebody passes by, and says, Why do you sit here? I have no house, sir. I have no home. Where is your father? My fathers dead, sir. Where is your mother? I have no mother, sir. Have you no friends? No friends at all. Have you no house? No; I have none. I am houseless. And she shivers in the chill air, and gathers her poor ragged shawl around her, and cries again, I have no house–I have no home. Would you not pity her? Would you blame her for her tears? Ah! there are some of you that have houseless souls here this morning. It is something to have a houseless body; but to think of a houseless soul!(C. H. Spurgeon.)
God our home
There is pathos in the fact that the author of this psalm never had an earthly home in the truest sense. For the first fifty years of his life he was the foster son of an alien; for the next, a fugitive; and for the last, a wanderer in the wilderness. But God is the best home, after all. How one feels the blessing of a pleasant home after long travel. What should a home be?
I. A place of shelter. And God is that, from wrath, sin, sorrow.
II. A place of supply. There we go for our daily bread. And it is God who gives us that.
III. Of enjoyment. Those do not know God who have never found delight in Him.
IV. Rest.
V. Love. (M. B. Riddle, D. D.)
Jehovah our home
I. Man needs A home. Like the climbing plant, without the strongest stem to support it, the sensibilities of our frail but wonderful nature trail in the dust.
II. God reveals himself as humanitys home. The perfection of our home in God is seen in three particulars.
1. Physical adaptation. This world is fitted up for mans accommodation; fitted to engage energy and repay toil. It is not for the idlers comfort.
2. Intellect finds a home in God. Never talk of religious dulness. Our Father spreads out for the education of His children the grandly-illustrated page of nature, and the letter of His love.
3. Heart and soul–our moral being–find a home in God. In all generations. Religion, under every different form, and with every varied accompaniment: patriarchal simplicity, Mosaic picture, Christian manhood–has ever been the same, ever fitted to mans heart.
III. Our home in God is inviolable. Out of God, there is no resting-place for the jaded spirits of men.
IV. God our home: then it is eternal.
V. This home is to be reached through Christ. (Homilist.)
The abiding-place
I. How did Moses come to win this foil against his sense of the brevity of life? He sought to purge his vision of every film, and he trained his mind to detect a presence of God underneath the veils of nature and behind the masks of history, till the very earth around him was haunted ground. God was quite as invisible to him as to you or me, and yet, according to the apostle, he lived as seeing Him. God had become a dwelling-place to Moses, because thought and desire had made a well-worn path toward Him, and He was a refuge to which he continually resorted. Such realization of God cannot be extemporized. A solid and substantial fabric which shall afford thought and feeling, all the repose and solace of a home, can be ours only as we acquaint ourselves with God, and enter into such familiarity with Him that He shall grow to be as definite and real to us as any of the daily facts of our common world.
II. What it meant to Moses that God should appear as a dwelling-place. Through all the years of his earthly career he had never had a permanent home. He had been a pilgrim and sojourner on the earth, and learned the full meaning of the word homelessness. But, as one weary with long marches behold afar some stately mansion where love and welcome wait to greet him, so on the thought of Moses dawned the great vision of a quiet and enduring home, where his tired limbs and aching spirit should find balm and ease. His life had been driven hither and thither at the caprice of circumstances; in no sunny nook or sequestered vale of peace could he stay; goaded on, he had to leave behind him whatever engaged his interest, and where he fain would tarry. But from that gleaming dwelling-place yonder he should go out no more for ever. Instead of change there would be permanency; instead of the vicissitudes and fluctuations of fickle fortune there would be the constancy of unharassed tranquillity. You say, such a faith is an experience to be coveted. You sigh, and wish that it might be yours. But note that he had no monopoly of such a dwelling-place. He says that it is just as available, just as accessible, to us as to him. God is a Dwelling-place for His people in all generations. And, in spite of the murky vapours which hide our heavens, many a one since has found it true that it is possible to have in God all the security and rest of a dwelling-place. In all generations the great fact stands; it has never been annulled; its wide doors are sealed against the approach of none. We may conceive of the glorious attributes of our God as so many various chambers or retiring-rooms, places of security, of gratification, or of repose, to which it is our present privilege to resort. When disconcerted with the mysteries of life, we will rest in the omniscience of God, and remember that the all-knowing One cannot err. When our desires seem to fail, we will rest in His fidelity who will never break His word of promise. When life grows bitter, we will resort to Him, like the sobbing child that pillows its head on a mothers bosom, because He has sent us this message: As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort thee. As I close, I want to ask whether or not you, any of you, feel at home with God. I have read of some who remembered God and were troubled. If it is thus with you, He cannot be your Dwelling-place. You may have paid Him occasional visits at distant intervals, but he that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High abides under the shadow of the Almighty. (J. G. Van Slyke, D.D.)
House and home
(with Isa 57:15):–Here are two homes. In the one case, God is a home for the human heart. In the other, the heart becomes a home for God. This double doctrine has in it the very soul and marrow of real religion. The most complete description of man the sinner is that he is without God. The most complete description of man the saved is that he is in God, he dwells in God and God in him. I once beard a negro bid good-bye to the missionary who had found a way into his heart for Jesus and himself too. You lib here, said he, putting his hand upon his heart. You lib right in my heart. You came to me, an you say, I love you, John, I open the door and you come right in, an I say, youse welcome to all Ise got. You say, John, do this; John, dont do that; an you love poor John; till my heart warm through and through. Massa, good-bye; but you lib here all same till I die. Verily the man of God was in Johns heart. Jesus wants to come into the contrite heart! To you He says, Come down; for to-day I must abide in thy house! But when God dwells in us by His Spirit, and makes our heart His home, He becomes our dwelling-place and our home. It is not possible to retain in perpetuity any earthly home, but this home, the heart of God, can never fail through all the years. These walls can never crumble; this roof-tree can never decay; these foundations can never fail. From everlasting to everlasting He is God. Neither is there any eviction possible; nor any room for alarm at the approach of hostile foot or invading arm. The Lord is my fortress, my strong tower. A safe stronghold our God is still! That was the thunderous victor-song of Luther and his fellows, and all the armies of Pope and devil could not dislodge them. The Christians dwelling-place is a safe home! For the eternal God is his refuge, and around him are the everlasting arms. Only cross the threshold, and you shall go out no more for ever. The Lord our dwelling-place. That speaks to us of shelter. When the cold winds blow, and the tempest beats, and the storm of rain or snow goes driving through the streets, how sweet to cross the threshold and gain the shelter of our home. We can hear the hurly-burly outside–the noise of the rain against the window-pane; the moaning of the blast; but none of these things move us–we are safe at home. Our dwelling-place. How the word tells us of comfort; of content; of rest and home delights. By the ingle and the hearth we are able to forget the tedious toil and moil of the day. The toil-worn limb, the tired hand, the weary foot, the aching head, the jaded brain find at home a welcome quiet, a refreshing rest, a comforting repose. To dwell in God is to win that refreshment and obtain that rest. And does not the word speak to us also of supplies? Our dwelling-place, God. Food lies on His table; the finest of bread; honey in the combs; wines well refined, fatlings of the flock; all this and more tells the story of the bountiful provision, the sumptuous fare provided for every one who dwells in God, housed and homed in the loving heart of Jesus Christ. (J. J. Wray.)
God as a dwelling-place
Perhaps the noblest form of dwelling-place, and the one most akin to Moses meaning, is that of human friendship. As little children, when taken among strangers, we looked all around for mother, and if only she were there we rushed to her, and hid in her, covering our face, but feeling safe, and able presently to look out on the guests as from a window in a house on a crowd. Or, in later life, it has been our lot to be misrepresented and misunderstood by all except by one man of noblest fashion. And it has seemed as if we were almost indifferent to all beside, so long as He is pleased and satisfied. Let the cruel winds of slander come, we have cried, and reproach, and hate; He understands and appreciates me; judged by His standard, I am true; tested by His opinion, I am right against a world in arms, I am content to abide in His approval and be at peace. Or, in other circumstances still, you have learnt to love, with all your heart and soul, so that your existence seems almost to have passed into that of another, and to be safe, restful, almost careless of all else, so long as that house stands unsmitten by the tempest which whirls around. All these are dwelling-places to which souls betake themselves, destined, alas! all of them, to perish, except that human love which, in so far as it is threaded with the Divine, partakes of the nature of God Himself, and is eternal. But none of them can give to the soul such blessed rest as to be able to say to God, Thou, O Lord, art my rock, and my fortress, my shield, and my high tower. It was thus that the apostles made their dwelling-place in the nature of their Lord. Their life was hid with Christ in God. So our blessed Lord lived in God His Father. Just as a child looks out on a mob in the streets from the security of the strong castellated dwelling, where it sits on its fathers knee, so did Jesus look out on the malice and hatred of men from His rest in the very heart of God. This is the true life, which, thank God! is within the reach of us all. Put God between yourself and men with their strife, or sorrow with its fret and care, chafing like the perpetual wash of the wave which retreats only to return. Ask what God says of you measure yourself only by His standards. Seek only His well-done. Dwell deep in God. And because thou shelf have made the Lord, even the Most High, thy habitation, there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. As the cathedral of Cologne rears itself in incomparable majesty beyond the trailer houses around, offering a permanence which storms and time cannot impair, so does God rear Himself as our all-sufficient dwelling-place amid the passage of creation, of generations, and of centuries. (F. B. Meyer, B.A.)
God–the Home of the soul of man
Heinrich Heine, a Jew by birth, not by conviction, professed Christianity in 1825. This profession, however, was merely formal, a necessary preliminary to his practising as a lawyer in Germany. Compelled to leave Germany, he lived in Paris, where he was one of the most brilliant figures in the brilliant society of his day. During many years his wittiest gibes were directed against religion; irreverence was rife in the world around him, and he never hesitated to give it sparkling utterance. But towards the end of his life came a change. A few years before death he wrote, Yes! I have returned to God like the prodigal son, after my long swineherdship . . . Is it misery that sends me home? Perhaps a less miserable reason. A heavenly homesickness overtook me. Still later: I die believing in God one and eternal, Creator of the world. I implore His mercy upon my immortal soul.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
PSALM XC
The eternity of God, 1, 2;
the frailty of the state of man, 3-9;
the general limits of human life, 10;
the danger of displeasing God, 11;
the necessity of considering the shortness of life, and of
regaining the favour of the Almighty, 12;
earnest prayer for the restoration of Israel, 13-17.
NOTES ON PSALM XC
The title of this Psalm is, A Prayer of Moses the man of God. The Chaldee has, “A prayer which Moses the prophet of the Lord prayed when the people of Israel had sinned in the wilderness.” All the Versions ascribe it to Moses; but that it could not be of Moses the lawgiver is evident from this consideration, that the age of man was not then seventy or eighty years, which is here stated to be its almost universal limit, for Joshua lived one hundred and ten years, and Moses himself one hundred and twenty; Miriam his sister, one hundred and thirty; Aaron his brother, one hundred and twenty-three; Caleb, four-score and five years; and their contemporaries lived in the same proportion. See Clarke on Ps 90:4. Therefore the Psalm cannot at all refer to such ancient times. If the title be at all authentic, it must refer to some other person of that name; and indeed ish Elohim, a man of God, a divinely inspired man, agrees to the times of the prophets, who were thus denominated. The Psalm was doubtless composed during or after the captivity; and most probably on their return, when they were engaged in rebuilding the temple; and this, as Dr. Kennicott conjectures, may be the work of their hands, which they pray God to bless and prosper.
Verse 1. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place] maon; but instead of this several MSS. have maoz, “place of defence,” or “refuge,” which is the reading of the Vulgate, Septuagint, Arabic, and Anglo-Saxon. Ever since thy covenant with Abraham thou hast been the Resting-place, Refuge, and Defence of thy people Israel. Thy mercy has been lengthened out from generation to generation.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Although we and our fathers, for some generations, have had no certain and fixed habitation, but have been strangers in a land that was not ours, and afflicted for four hundred years, according to thy prediction, Gen 15:13; and although we now are, and have been for some time, and still are like to continue, in, a vast howling wilderness, having no houses but dwelling in tents, and wandering from place to place, we know not whither; yet thou, O Lord, hast fully supplied this want, and hast been instead of and better than a dwelling-place to us, by thy watchful and gracious providence over us in all places and exigencies. And this is a very proper preface to this Psalm, to intimate that all the following miseries were not to be imputed to God, but unto themselves, who by their own sins had brought these mischiefs upon themselves.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1. dwelling-placehome(compare Eze 11:16), as arefuge (De 33:27).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations,…. Even when they had no certain dwelling place in the world; so their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, dwelt in tabernacles in the land of promise, as in a strange land; and their posterity for many years served under great affliction and oppression in a land that was not theirs; and now they were dwelling in tents in the wilderness, and removing from place to place; but as the Lord had been in every age, so he now was the dwelling place of those that trusted in him; being that to them as an habitation is to man, in whom they had provision, protection, rest, and safety; see
Ps 31:2 so all that believe in Christ dwell in him, and he in them, Joh 6:56, they dwelt secretly in him before they believed; so they dwelt in his heart’s love, in his arms, in him as their head in election, and as their representative in the covenant of grace from eternity; and, when they fell in Adam, they were preserved in Christ, dwelling in him; and so they were in him when on the cross, in the grave, and now in heaven; for they are said to be crucified, buried, and risen with him, and set down in heavenly places in him, Ga 2:20, and, being converted, they have an open dwelling in him by faith, to whom they have fled for refuge, and in whom they dwell safely, quietly, comfortably, pleasantly, and shall never be turned out: here they have room, plenty of provisions, rest, and peace, and security from all evils; he is an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the storm. Some render the word “refuge”; a such is Christ to his people, being the antitype of the cities of refuge; and others “helper”, as the Targum; which also well agrees with him, on whom their help is laid, and is found.
z Huillus Patriarch. in Origen. apud Hieron. adv. Ruffin. l. 1. fol. 67. L. a “refugium”, V. L. Vatablus; “asylum”, Gejerus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The poet begins with the confession that the Lord has proved Himself to His own, in all periods of human history, as that which He was before the world was and will be for evermore. God is designedly appealed to by the name , which frequently occurs in the mouth of Moses in the middle books of the Pentateuch, and also in the Song at the Sea, Exo 15:17 and in Deu 3:24. He is so named here as the Lord ruling over human history with an exaltation ever the same. Human history runs on in , so that one period ( ) with the men living contemporaneous with it goes and another comes; the expression is deuteronomic (Deu 32:7). Such a course of generations lies behind the poet; and in them all the Lord has been to His church, out of the heart of which the poet discourses. This expression too is Deuteronomic (Deu 33:27). signifies a habitation, dwelling-place (vid., on Psa 26:8), more especially God’s heavenly and earthly dwelling-place, then the dwelling-place which God Himself is to His saints, inasmuch as He takes up to Himself, conceals and protects, those who flee to Him from the wicked one and from evil, and turn in to Him (Psa 71:3; Psa 91:9). In order to express fuisti was indispensable; but just as fuisti comes from fuo , , ( ) signifies not a closed, shut up being, but a being that discloses itself, consequently it is fuisti in the sense of te exhibuisti . This historical self-manifestation of god is based upon the fact that He is , i.e., might absolutely, or the absolutely Mighty One; and He was this, as Psa 90:2 says, even before the beginning of the history of the present world, and will be in the distant ages of the future as of the past. The foundation of this world’s history is the creation. The combination shows that this is intended to be taken as the object. (with Metheg beside the e4 of the final syllable, which is deprived of its accent, vid., on Psa 18:20) is the language of address (Rashi): that which is created is in a certain sense born from God ( ), and He brings it forth out of Himself; and this is here expressed by (as in Deu 32:18, cf. Isa 51:2), creation being compared to travail which takes place amidst pains ( Psychology, S. 114; tr. p. 137). If, after the example of the lxx and Targum, one reads as passive (Bttcher, Olshausen, Hitzig) from the Pulal , Pro 8:24, – and this commends itself, since the pre-existence of God can be better dated back beyond facts than beyond the acts of God Himself, – then the conception remains essentially the same, since the Eternal and Absolute One is still to be thought of as . The fact that the mountains are mentioned first of all, harmonizes with Deu 33:15. The modus consecutivus is intended to say: before the mountains were brought forth and Thou wast in labour therewith…. The forming of the mountains consequently coincides with the creation of the earth, which is here as a body or mass called , and as a continent with the relief of mountains and lowlands is called (cf. , Pro 8:31; Job 37:12). To the double clause with seq. praet. (cf. on the other hand seq. fut. Deu 31:21) is appended as a second definition of time: before the creation of the world, and from eternity to eternity. The Lord was God before the world was – that is the first assertion of Psa 90:2; His divine existence reaches out of the unlimited past into the unlimited future – this is the second. is not vocative, which it sometimes, though rarely, is in the Psalms; it is a predicate, as e.g., in Deu 3:24.
This is also to be seen from Psa 90:3, Psa 90:4, when Psa 90:3 now more definitely affirms the omnipotence of God, and Psa 90:4 the supra-temporality of God or the omnipresence of God in time. The lxx misses the meaning when it brings over from Psa 90:2, and reads . The shorter future form for stands poetically instead of the longer, as e.g., in Psa 11:6; Psa 26:9; cf. the same thing in the inf. constr. in Deu 26:12, and both instances together in Deu 32:8. The poet intentionally calls the generation that is dying away , which denotes man from the side of his frailty or perishableness; and the new generation , with which is combined the idea of entrance upon life. It is clear that is intended to be understood according to Gen 3:19; but it is a question whether is conceived of as an adjective (with mutable aa), as in Psa 34:19, Isa 57:15: Thou puttest men back into the condition of crushed ones (cf. on the construction Num 24:24), or whether as a neutral feminine from (= ): Thou changest them into that which is crushed = dust, or whether as an abstract substantive like , or according to another reading (cf. Psa 127:2) , in Deu 23:2: to crushing. This last is the simplest way of taking it, but it comes to one and the same thing with the second, since signifies crushing in the neuter sense. A fut. consec. follows. The fact that God causes one generation to die off has as its consequence that He calls another into being (cf. the Arabic epithet of God el – mud = , the Resuscitator). Hofmann and Hitzig take as imperfect on account of the following : Thou didst decree mortality for men; but the fut. consec. frequently only expresses the sequence of the thoughts or the connection of the matter, e.g., after a future that refers to that which is constantly taking place, Job 14:10. God causes men to die without letting them die out; for – so it continues in Psa 90:4 – a thousand years is to Him a very short period, not to be at all taken into account. What now is the connection between that which confirms and that which is confirmed here? It is not so much Psa 90:3 that is confirmed as Psa 90:2, to which the former serves for explanation, viz., this, that God as the Almighty ( ), in the midst of this change of generations, which is His work, remains Himself eternally the same. This ever the same, absolute existence has its ground herein, that time, although God fills it up with His working, is no limitation to Him. A thousand years, which would make any man who might live through them weary of life, are to Him like a vanishing point. The proposition, as 2Pe 3:8 shows, is also true when reversed: “One day is with the Lord as a thousand years.” He is however exalted above all time, inasmuch as the longest period appears to Him very short, and in the shortest period the greatest work can be executed by Him. The standpoint of the first comparison, “as yesterday,” is taken towards the end of the thousand of years. A whole millennium appears to God, when He glances over it, just as the yesterday does to us when ( ) it is passing by ( ), and we, standing on the border of the opening day, look back upon the day that is gone. The second comparison is an advance upon the first, and an advance also in form, from the fact that the Caph similitudinis is wanting: a thousand years are to God a watch in the night. is a night-watch, of which the Israelites reckoned three, viz., the first, the middle, and the morning watch (vid., Winer’s Realwrterbuch s. v. Nachtwache). It is certainly not without design that the poet says instead of . The night-time is the time for sleep; a watch in the night is one that is slept away, or at any rate passed in a sort of half-sleep. A day that is past, as we stand on the end of it, still produces upon us the impression of a course of time by reason of the events which we can recall; but a night passed in sleep, and now even a fragment of the night, is devoid of all trace to us, and is therefore as it were timeless. Thus is it to God with a thousand years: they do not last long to Him; they do not affect Him; at the close of them, as at the beginning, He is the Absolute One ( ). Time is as nothing to Him, the Eternal One. The changes of time are to Him no barrier restraining the realization of His counsel – a truth which has a terrible and a consolatory side. The poet dwells upon the fear which it produces.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| God’s Care of His People; Frailty of Human Life. | |
A Prayer of Moses the man of God.
1 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. 3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men. 4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. 5 Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up. 6 In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.
This psalm is entitled a prayer of Moses. Where, and in what volume, it was preserved from Moses’s time till the collection of psalms was begun to be made, is uncertain; but, being divinely inspired, it was under a special protection: perhaps it was written in the book of Jasher, or the book of the wars of the Lord. Moses taught the people of Israel to pray, and put words into their mouths which they might make use of in turning to the Lord. Moses is here called the man of God, because he was a prophet, the father of prophets, and an eminent type of the great prophet. In these verses we are taught,
I. To give God the praise of his care concerning his people at all times, and concerning us in our days (v. 1): Lord, thou hast been to us a habitation, or dwelling-place, a refuge or help, in all generations. Now that they had fallen under God’s displeasure, and he threatened to abandon them, they plead his former kindnesses to their ancestors. Canaan was a land of pilgrimage to their fathers the patriarchs, who dwelt there in tabernacles; but then God was their habitation, and, wherever they went, they were at home, at rest, in him. Egypt had been a land of bondage to them for many years, but even then God was their refuge; and in him that poor oppressed people lived and were kept in being. Note, True believers are at home in God, and that is their comfort in reference to all the toils and tribulations they meet with in this world. In him we may repose and shelter ourselves as in our dwelling-place.
II. To give God the glory of his eternity (v. 2): Before the mountains were brought forth, before he made the highest part of the dust of the world (as it is expressed, Prov. viii. 26), before the earth fell in travail, or, as we may read it, before thou hadst formed the earth and the world (that is, before the beginning of time) thou hadst a being; even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God, an eternal God, whose existence has neither its commencement nor its period with time, nor is measured by the successions and revolutions of it, but who art the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, without beginning of days, or end of life, or change of time. Note, Against all the grievances that arise from our own mortality, and the mortality of our friends, we may take comfort from God’s immortality. We are dying creatures, and all our comforts in the world are dying comforts, but God is an everliving God, and those shall find him so who have him for theirs.
III. To own God’s absolute sovereign dominion over man, and his irresistible incontestable power to dispose of him as he pleases (v. 3): Thou turnest man to destruction, with a word’s speaking, when thou pleasest, to the destruction of the body, of the earthly house; and thou sayest, Return, you children of men. 1. When God is, by sickness or other afflictions, turning men to destruction, he does thereby call men to return unto him, that is, to repent of their sins and live a new life. This God speaketh once, yea, twice. “Return unto me, from whom you have revolted,” Jer. iv. 1. 2. When God is threatening to turn men to destruction, to bring them to death, and they have received a sentence of death within themselves, sometimes he wonderfully restores them, and says, as the old translation reads it, Again thou sayest, Return to life and health again. For God kills and makes alive again, brings down to the grave and brings up. 3. When God turns men to destruction, it is according to the general sentence passed upon all, which is this, “Return, you children of men, one, as well as another, return to your first principles; let the body return to the earth as it was (dust to dust, Gen. iii. 19) and let the soul return to God who gave it,” Eccl. xii. 7. 4. Though God turns all men to destruction, yet he will again say, Return, you children of men, at the general resurrection, when, though a man dies, yet he shall live again; and “then shalt thou call and I will answer (Job 14:14; Job 14:15); thou shalt bid me return, and I shall return.” The body, the soul, shall both return and unite again.
IV. To acknowledge the infinite disproportion there is between God and men, v. 4. Some of the patriarchs lived nearly a thousand years; Moses knew this very well, and had recorded it: but what is their long life to God’s eternal life? “A thousand years, to us, are a long period, which we cannot expect to survive; or, if we could, it is what we could not retain the remembrance of; but it is, in thy sight, as yesterday, as one day, as that which is freshest in mind; nay, it is but as a watch of the night,” which was but three hours. 1. A thousand years are nothing to God’s eternity; they are less than a day, than an hour, to a thousand years. Betwixt a minute and a million of years there is some proportion, but betwixt time and eternity there is none. The long lives of the patriarchs were nothing to God, not so much as the life of a child (that is born and dies the same day) is to theirs. 2. All the events of a thousand years, whether past or to come, are as present to the Eternal Mind as what was done yesterday, or the last hour, is to us, and more so. God will say, at the great day, to those whom he has turned to destruction, Return–Arise you dead. But it might be objected against the doctrine of the resurrection that it is a long time since it was expected and it has not yet come. Let that be no difficulty, for a thousand years, in God’s sight, are but as one day. Nullum tempus occurrit regi–To the king all periods are alike. To this purport these words are quoted, 2 Pet. iii. 8.
V. To see the frailty of man, and his vanity even at his best estate (Psa 90:5; Psa 90:6): look upon all the children of men, and we shall see, 1. That their life is a dying life: Thou carriest them away as with a flood, that is, they are continually gliding down the stream of time into the ocean of eternity. The flood is continually flowing, and they are carried away with it; as soon as we are born we begin to die, and every day of our life carries us so much nearer death; or we are carried away violently and irresistibly, as with a flood of waters, as with an inundation, which sweeps away all before it; or as the old world was carried away with Noah’s flood. Though God promised not so to drown the world again, yet death is a constant deluge. 2. That it is a dreaming life. Men are carried away as with a flood and yet they are as a sleep; they consider not their own frailty, nor are aware how near they approach to an awful eternity. Like men asleep, they imagine great things to themselves, till death wakes them, and puts an end to the pleasing dream. Time passes unobserved by us, as it does with men asleep; and, when it is over, it is as nothing. 3. That it is a short and transient life, like that of the grass which grows up and flourishes, in the morning looks green and pleasant, but in the evening the mower cuts it down, and it immediately withers, changes its colour, and loses all its beauty. Death will change us shortly, perhaps suddenly; and it is a great change that death will make with us in a little time. Man, in his prime, does but flourish as the grass, which is weak, and low, and tender, and exposed, and which, when the winter of old age comes, will wither of itself: but he may be mown down by disease or disaster, as the grass is, in the midst of summer. All flesh is as grass.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Psalms Book IV
(Psalms 90-106)
Psalms 90
The Frailty of Man
Scripture v. 1-17:
This psalm was written by Moses about 1500 B.C., near the end of Israel’s wandering in the wilderness. Its theme is the frailty of man and the beauty of life in comparison with the eternity of God. This is also the first Psalm of the Fourth Book of Psalms , 90-106, which corresponds with Numbers of the Pentateuch.
Verse 1 asserts that the Lord had been Israel’s real dwelling place or “home refuge,” in all generations, especially since they had left Egypt, where they had had no home, except tents, for some forty years earlier. God was (existed as) their home, their true refuge and soul-retreat, Deu 33:27; Exo 33:12; Psa 89:1; Psa 91:1; Isa 4:6.
Verse 2 declares that before the mountains were “brought forth”, or that the Lord had “formed” the earth and the world, (terms used regarding the manner of a child’s birth), from everlasting to everlasting God existed. Thus His eternity is certified in contrast with the frailty and brevity of man’s existence, Job 38:4-6; Pro 8:25; Psa 33:11; Deu 32:40. See too Gen 49:26; Deu 33:15; Heb 3:6.
Verse 3 states that God, by decree, turns men to destruction (physical death) the penalty of depravity or original sin, Rom 5:12; Jas 1:15; Heb 9:27. It is added that He says, “return, ye children of men,”, certifying that He not only assures the resurrection of all men from the grave, as well as the replenishing of the earth with men, to take the place of those who die, Gen 3:16-19; Ecc 12:7; Job 10:9; Job 4:19; 2Sa 14:14. Of such one wrote:
“One by one God sends His call,
One by one the workers fall;
One by one by God’s own grace,
Other workers take their place;
The workers fall … The work goes on,”
Anon.
Verse 4 adds ” for a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. 1) Time is “eternal now”, with God who sleeps not, and knows the whole of life as a “present now;” 2) Time is temporary, fleeting, like a “watch in the night” that is soon gone, overtaken by death to man, and bird, and beast; one can’t beat death! Rom 5:12; Rom 6:23; Heb 9:27; Heb 13:8; 2Pe 3:8; Psa 39:5; Exo 14:24; Mat 14:25.
Verses 5, 6 further relate that all men at best are soon gone, as swept away by a flood-torrent in an unexpected cloud-burst, Isa 25:4; and as sleep or a dream; Each is gone, life is over before we are aware of it, Job 20:8; Job 22:16. Beauty of life is further compared with rapid growing grass that is changed overnight, flourishes at sunrise, then is cut down, withered and gone by nightfall, in the evening, Isa 40:6; Psa 92:7; Psa 103:15; Job 14:2; Jas 4:14-15; 1Sa 20:3.
Verses 7-9 explain that man’s beauty and frailty of life is a result of Divine judgment for sin. Man is consumed by God’s anger and troubled because of His wrath against one’s sin, Deu 8:5; 2Ki 22:13; Psa 102:10.
Verse 8 asserts that God has set man’s iniquities before him, even his secret sins are open to His countenance, His observation, with wrath; So that none can sin and escape without either repentance or judgment, or sometimes both, Jer 16:17; Job 14:17: Psa 130:3; Pro 15:11; Psa 19:12; Heb 4:12; 2Ki 17:9; Isa 29:15; 1Co 4:4-5; Ecc 12:13-14.
Verse 9 concludes that all man’s days are spent under God’s wrath, and his years as a tale that is told, waiting with meditation to be filled, even in death to await heaven or hell, for which ever man has prepared in this life, Mat 25:34; Mat 25:41;1 Chronicles 28; 1 Chronicles 9 : Psa 78:33; Gen 47:9; Psa 102:11.
Verse 10 seems to set forth that life after the flood-curse was reduced to about 70 years expectancy, or eighty by reason of strict obedience to the laws of God; But even in lengthened days there were and are increasing pain and sorrows, so that all soon pass, Deu 5:33. Life at the best, in the tabernacle of flesh, is a temporary dwelling or tenting place, in comparison with life hereafter, 2Co 5:1; Gen 5:29; Gen 47:9.
Verse 11 laments the power of God’s just judgment anger against man’s willful sin; Though death brings those who have received the Lord to an hour of assured gain, victory, and liberation, Heb 2:15; 2Co 5:1-2; 2Co 5:8, of the inevitableness of death,
Thomas Gray wrote:
“The boast of heraldry, The pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth are gone,
Await alike the inevitable hour …
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.”
Verse 12 appeals “So teach us to number our days,” or to know our days are numbered (limited),” that we may apply our hearts (affections) unto wisdom, Job 28:28; Deu 4:6; Deu 32:19.
Men, wise men, make plans before they make a long journey; They prepare for it. And heaven is a long-way-journey from sin and this life, and only such as make preparations and a reservation for that place of rest before death will reach it safely. On the breeze of the early morning air, under noonday sun, or the evening, or midnight darkness, death soon comes to all, to require the soul. Life’s beauty calls for man to prepare, Amo 4:12. Seven things set forth the brevity of man’s life:
1. A shadow, 1Ch 29:15; Job 8:9; Job 14:2.
2. A flying shuttle, Job 7:6.
3. A swift messenger’s post, Job 9:25.
4. A hand’s breadth, Psa 39:5; Psa 89:47.
5. A weaver’s web, Isa 38:12.
6. A vapor, Jas 4:14.
7. Grass, cut down, withered, Psa 90:3-6; Psa 102:11; Isa 40:7; Isa 51:12.
It is so true that:
“This world can never give the bliss for which men sigh,
Tis not the whole of life to live, nor all of death to die.”
2Co 5:1; Rev 21:8.
Verse 13 appeals “Return, O Lord how long?” How long will you be angry with us? “And let it repent thee concerning thy servants,” Exo 32:12. God is the same God of love when He punishes for sin as when He comforts and restores joy to the penitent sinner. But He would not be holy, righteous, or just if He did not punish sin in the sinner, before turning to give him joy, and comfort, See? Psa 94:3; Psa 135:14. See also Exo 32:14; Deu 32:36; Psa 6:3; Psa 106:45; Psa 135:11; Hos 11:8.
Verses 14, 15 plead for the Lord to satisfy Israel early (very soon) with His mercy, that they might rejoice and be glad all the rest of the days of their lives, Psa 46:5; Deu 12:7; Deu 21:8.
Verse 15 asks that Israel be given gladness in harmony with the days wherein He had afflicted them, even the (40) years wherein they had seen or beheld evil, God’s chastening hand over them as they had wandered about and their elder men had nearly all died in the wilderness because of their unbelief, 2Ch 30:21; Deu 8:5; Psa 31:10.
Verse 16 prays, “Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children,” a compassionate desire of Moses for his people Israel, though he was soon to be taken in death and leave them, Num 14:15-24; Psa 44:1; Hab 3:2; Let it be noted that great men live and die interested not only in their own generation but also in that one to follow, as Paul, 2Ti 4:1-8; as Peter, 2Pe 1:12-15. See also Psa 8:3; Psa 44:1; Psa 77:12; Psa 92:4; Exo 24:17; Isa 61:7.
Verse 17 concludes by Moses’ strong prayer that God will let His beauty be upon (seen in) Israel and establish the work of their hands in Israel to His glory, as set forth Isa 26:1-2; 2Th 2:16-17; Deu 24:19; See too 2Ch 15:15; 2Ch 20:20.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
1 O Lord! thou hast been our dwelling-place. In separating the seed of Abraham by special privilege from the rest of the human family, the Psalmist magnifies the grace of adoption, by which God had embraced them as his children. The object which he has in view in this exordium is, that God would now renew the grace which he had displayed in old time towards the holy patriarchs, and continue it towards their offspring. Some commentators think that he alludes to the tabernacle, because in it the majesty of God was not less conspicuous than if he had dwelt in the midst of the people; but this seems to me to be altogether out of place. He rather comprehends the whole time in which the Fathers sojourned in the land of Canaan. As the tabernacle had not yet continued for the space of forty years, the long duration here mentioned — our dwelling-place from generation to generation — would not at all be applicable to it. It is not then intended to recount what God showed himself to be towards the Israelites from the time that he delivered them from Egypt; but what their fathers had experienced him to be in all ages, even from the beginning. (565) Now it is declared that as they had always been pilgrims and wanderers, so God was to them instead of a dwelling-place. No doubt, the condition of all men is unstable upon earth; but we know that Abraham and his posterity were, above all others, sojourners, and as it were exiles. Since, then, they wandered in the land of Canaan till they were brought into Egypt, where they lived only by sufferance from day to day, it was necessary for them to seek for themselves a dwelling-place under the shadow of God, without which they could hardly be accounted inhabitants of the world, since they continued everywhere strangers, and were afterwards led about through many windings and turnings. The grace which the Lord displayed in sustaining them in their wanderings, and shielding them with his hand when they sojourned among savage and cruel nations, and were exposed to injurious treatment at their hands — this grace is extolled by Moses in very striking terms, when he represents God as an abode or dwelling-place to these poor fugitives who were continually wandering from one place to another in quest of lodgings. This grace he magnifies from the length of time during which it had been exercised; for God ceased not to preserve and defend them for the space of more than four hundred years, during which time they dwelt under the wings of his protection.
(565) “ The earth and the world. The latter of those words properly means, the habitable world; that part of the earth which, by its fertility, is capable of supporting inhabitants.” — Walford.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
INTRODUCTION
Superscription.A prayer of Moses the man of God. The Psalm is described in the title, says Hengstenberg, as a prayer. This description shows, as Amyraldus saw, that the kernel of the Psalm is the second part, and that the design of the first is to prepare the way for the second, and lay down a basis on which it may rest. For denotes only prayer in the proper sense, supplicatory prayer. On as used hero Fuerst says: is a peculiar kind of song in the Psalter. Its primary meaning he gives as prayer. And on its use in Psa. 72:20, he says: The first two books of the Psalter are termed in the subscription probably because they contain supplications for the most part. Certainly the word prayer better represents the character of this Psalm than the word Psalm, or hymn.
Of Moses. The correctness of the title which ascribes the Psalm to Moses, says Professor Alexander, is confirmed by its unique simplicity and grandeur; its appropriateness to his trials and circumstances; its resemblance to the law in urging the connection between sin and death; its similarity of diction to the poetical portions of the Pentateuch, without the slightest trace of imitation or quotation; its marked unlikeness to the Psalms of David, and still more to those of later date; and finally, the proved impossibility of plausibly assigning it to any other age or author. And Amyraldus says: But as this ode is most ancient. so it bears strong marks of the genius and character of antiquity. It is grave, full of majesty and authority, adorned with various comparisons, splendid with figures, but these rare and little used, and for the understanding of which there is needed extraordinary attention of mind. The late Dr. James Hamilton points out that it is one of the oldest poems in the world. Compared with it Homer and Pindar are, so to speak, modern, and even King David is of recent date. That is to say, compared with this ancient hymn the other Psalms are as much more modern as Tennyson and Longfellow are more modern than Chaucer. In either case there are nearly five centuries between.
The man of God. Moses is thus described also in Deu. 33:1; Jos. 14:6; and Ezr. 3:2. The term is very appropriately applied to him because of his singularly noble character, his distinguished rank, and the great part which he played in carrying out the purposes of God concerning our race. Moses was faithful in all his house, as a servant. Luther points out that the words the man of God give additional weight to the Psalm. He says: As one who has such a duty assigned to him by God, so that we should believe in him and in his instructions no less than in God Himself.
Occasion. It is impossible to decide upon what occasion the Psalm was composed; but the probability is, that it was written towards the close of the forty years wandering in the wilderness. It was written, says F. W. Robertson, evidently in the wilderness, after years of apparently fruitless wandering; its tone is that of deep sadnessretrospective; its images are borrowed from the circumstances of the pilgrimagethe mountain flood, the grass, the night watch of an army on the march.
Divisions. The Psalm consists of a Meditation (Psa. 90:1-11), and a Prayer (Psa. 90:12-17).
HUMAN FRAILTY AND DIVINE GREATNESS
(Psa. 90:1-6)
In these verses, the Psalmist brings before us
I. The greatness of God. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even front everlasting to everlasting Thou art God.
1. He existed before the world. The word earth is used by the Psalmist to denote our world as distinguished from the heavens; and the word world signifies an inhabited fruitful land, or a land fitted for habitation. The mountains are mentioned first, because of all created things they appear most ancient, stable, and enduring. Upon all the generations that have ever trod this planet, with all their anxieties and cares, all their strifes and commotions, the old hills have cast their calm and silent shadows. They seem as though they had ever been where they are and as they are, and that they would for ever continue so. They are most impressive symbols of the unchangeable and the eternal. In the poetic diction of the Bible they are spoken of as eternal. Jacob spake of the everlasting hills. And Moses, of the ancient mountains, and of the lasting hills. And Habakkuk, of the everlasting mountains, and the perpetual hills. Yet they had a beginning. There was a time when they were not. However ancient the earth may be, it has not been from everlasting. The world is not eternal. God existed before the mountains were brought forth, before the world was created.
2. He created the world. He is said by the Psalmist to have formed the earth and the world. As Gods existence before the world proclaims the fact that it is not eternal, so His creation of the world proclaims the fact that it is not the product of chance. The sublime mountains were not upreared, the smiling valleys were not laid by any fortuitous concourse of atoms. God created the heaven and the earth. He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.
3. He is eternal. From everlasting to everlasting Thou art, O God. To understand eternity is difficult; to explain it is more difficult; to comprehend it is impossible to all except the Eternal. We are acquainted with creatures which have a beginning, live for a few hours, or days, or months, or years, and then cease to be. We are also acquainted with creatures who have been called into existence and will never pass out of existence. Such are we, and probably such are the angels. A little while ago, and we were not. Now we are called into being, and shall continue to be for ever. Our bodies shall change and pass away, our memory shall cease from amongst men upon the earth. But we shall never cease to be. To everlasting Thou art, O man! But God has never had a beginning, and will never have an end.
(1) He is without beginning. From everlasting. Time, says Charnock, began with the foundation of the world; but God, being before time, could have no beginning in time. Before the beginning of the creation and the beginning of time there could be nothing but eternity; nothing but what was uncreated,that is, nothing but what was without beginning. To be in time is to have a beginning; to be before all time is never to have a beginning, but always to be; for, as between the Creator and creatures there is no medium, so between time and eternity there is no medium. It is as easily deduced that He that was before all creatures is eternal, as He that made all creatures is God. If He had a beginning, He must have it from another, or from Himself; if from another, that from whom He received His being would be better than He,so more a God than He. He cannot be God that is not supreme; he cannot be supreme that owes his being to the power of another. He would not be said only to have immortality as He is (1Ti. 6:16), if He had it dependent upon another; nor could He have a beginning from Himself; if He had given beginning to Himself, then He was once nothing; there was a time when He was not. If He was not, how could He be the cause of Himself? He is without beginning of days. He is from everlasting.
(2) He is without end. To everlasting. The reason that anything decays is either its own native weakness, or a superior power of something contrary to it. There is no weakness in the nature of God that can introduce any corruption, because He is infinitely simple without any mixture, nor can He be overpowered by anything else. A weaker cannot hurt Him, and a stronger than He there cannot be; nor can He be outwitted or circumvented, because of His infinite wisdom. As He received His being from none, so He cannot be deprived of it by any: as He doth necessarily exist, so He doth necessarily always exist. He is the SELF-EXISTENTthe I AM. The Father, said Christ, hath life in Himself. The idea of omnipotence is associated with His eternity in the mind of the Psalmist,His omnipotence to guard His people. Luther says, If we look at it (His eternity) in a right way, it includes all the properties of the Godhead. For, inasmuch as He is eternal, it follows that He is immortal, omnipotent, blessed, and wise. And Schleiermacher: The eternity of God is to be understood only as the omnipotent eternity, as that in God which conditionates time itself, as well as all that is temporal. How incomprehensibly great is God! When imagination has done her utmost to picture His eternity, it has failed in the attempt. We may add ages to ages, and multiply them by the leaves of the forest in the leafy month of June, and multiply them again by the blades of grass upon the face of the earth, and again by the grains of sand upon the seashore, and again by the particles of dust on the earth, and we shall be as far as ever from the measurement of the ages of eternity. Great God, how infinite art Thou!
II. The frailty of man. In the verses in which the Psalmist sets this forth there are three things which call for notice
1. The extreme brevity of mans life upon earth. This is variously represented. How short is human life in the sight of God! A thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. A day when it is past and gone appears to us but a very short time. To God a thousand years are as brief as one past day is to us. Nay, to Him a thousand years are as brief as a watch in the night is to us. The Jews divided the night into watches, each watch representing the time during which a sentinel remained on duty. Among the ancient Hebrews there were three such watches; the first, or the beginning of the watches (Lam. 2:19); the second, or the middle watch (Jdg. 7:19); and the third, or the morning watch (Exo. 14:24). These would last respectively from sunset to 10 p.m., from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., and from 2 a.m. to sunrise. A thousand years appear to God as brief as a night watch to the Israelites. Man lives not a thousand years: The days of our years are threescore years and ten. How short, then, must mans life upon earth appear to God! To man a life of seventy years, especially when it is in prospect, appears very long. To God, who sees all things clearly and truly, mans life, even if it should stretch to a thousand years, would appear brief as a night watch does to us. The Psalmist also speaks of human life as carried away as with a flood. We have seen the river swollen with heavy rain rushing rapidly and irresistibly onward to the ocean. So the human family is carried away. Generation after generation is hurried from time into the vast ocean of eternity as by an impetuous and roaring torrent. The man of God goes on to say that human life is like a sleep in the morning. Barnes suggests that the words in the morning should be attached to the middle clause of the verse, and expounds the clause thusThey are as sleep appears to us in the morning, when we wake from itrapid, unreal, full of empty dreams. Martin Luther says: We know that sleep is such a thing that it ceases ere we can perceive it or mark it; for, before we are aware that we have slept, sleep is gone and ended. Wherefore truly our life is nothing else than a sleep and a dream, for before we are rightly conscious of being alive, we cease to live. There is much of unreality in human life upon earth.
We are such stuff as dreams are made of,
And our little life is rounded by a sleep.
Moses also compares our life to the grass. The last clause in the fifth verse is rendered in the marginlike grass which is changed. Hengstenberg translates, It vanishes like grass. BarnesLike grass, it passeth away. The sixth verse Hengstenberg rendersIn the morning he blooms andperishes; in the evening he is cut down and withers. The idea is clear: like the grass or flower which in the morning is green or blossoming in beauty, and in the evening is cut down and withered by the sun, is mans life upon earth. As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field so he flourisheth; for the wind passeth over it and it is gone, and the place thereof shall know it no more. How frail is human life, and how uncertain! Every day many go forth in the morning in apparent health and vigour, and before night they are cut down by disease or accident. And even at its longest our life cannot be compared to the cedar or even to the oak, but to the frail grass of the field.
2. The mournful end of mans life upon earth. Thou turnest man to destruction, and sayest, Return, ye children of men. Perowne: Thou turnest frail man to dust. There is without doubt a reference here to the curse pronounced upon our race, Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. The human body must return to dust, however noble or beautiful it may be. Kings and the meanest of their subjects, millionaires and paupers, the learned and the ignorant, the beautiful and the deformed, the saint and the sinner, must all alike, as regards their bodies, return to the earth. Let the remembrance of the fact humble us. Let those who are proud of their stateliness or beauty remember that in a little time they will have no pre-eminence over the most deformed and repulsive-looking of their fellow-mortals. Let the rich, who look down with contempt and scorn upon the poor, remember that, though after death their bodies may be carried with pomp and laid in some splendid mausoleum, yet in this respect they have no advantage over those who are buried in a parish coffin and a paupers gravethe bodies of all alike must return to dust.
3. The great sovereign of mans life upon earth. The Psalmist regards human life as entirely under the control of God. THOU turnest man to destruction, &c. THOU carriest them away, &c. It is not disease or chance that removes men from this world. Man returns to the dust not because of the decree of fate, or the operation of some inevitable or irresistible law, but because God wills it. He has the keys of death and hades. Mans days are determined, the number of his months are with Thee, Thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass. All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. In the Lords hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. Thou changest mans countenance and sendest him away. The time, the place, and the circumstances of our death are all determined by God. He is the great sovereign of our life upon earth.
III. The relation between the great God and frail man. Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations. When Moses penned this Psalm the Israelites were homeless wanderers. Indeed, up to this time they never could be said to have had any settled home. Their father Abraham after his call from his own country lived a wandering life, a stranger in a strange land. Isaac and Jacob also had no settled dwelling-place, but dwelt in tents, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Then the people went down into Egypt to sojourn there, and it was not long before their lives were made miserable by the oppressions of the Egyptians. And after their emancipation from Egypt there followed their long, tedious, homeless, and apparently fruitless wandering in the wilderness. It was probably this unsettled, homeless condition that led them to estimate highly the worth of a habitation, and which suggested the employment of the figure in the first verse. In their defenceless, homeless state God Himself had been their home and defence. By His providence He had preserved them in existence as a people, had supplied their wants, and protected them from harm. Homeless wanderers they were, yet they found their home in God. Here we have no continuing city. By many and earnest voices God is calling to usArise ye and depart, for this is not your rest. We crave a dwelling-place, a lasting home, a permanent rest for the soul; but we cannot find it here. Here fairest things soonest fade, brightest prospects soon are lost in darkness, the most exquisite pleasures are speedily succeeded by the most painful trials. The home of the soul is not here. The heart seeks rest and home in the love of dear relatives and friends; but these may fail us in our time of need, or may be summoned from us by death. The best and truest of relatives or friends cannot meet all the souls cravings for protection, and rest, and home. The home of the soul is not in the creature. The home of the soul is in God.
1. We are weak, and rest in His omnipotence. The difficulties and dangers which we encounter on our pilgrimage overmatch us, but by the strength of the Lord we are enabled to surmount them. The soul that finds its home in Him is inviolably secure.
2. We are short-lived and rest in His eternity. We are but of yesterday and know nothing, because our days on the earth are as a shadow.
Like clouds that rake the mountain summits,
Or waves that own no curbing hand;
so generation follows generation into the land of the great departed. We are hastening after the great multitude who have passed from earth for ever. Nothing rests here. Here nothing abides. Change, decay, death are stamped upon all earthly things. Yet we crave the permanent and the immutable. Oh, for some rock amid this surging sea! Oh, for some thing or being in which these restless, craving hearts may find satisfaction and repose! God is that Being. Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations, &c. He lives through all generations. He is the Sovereign of all generations. He is the same through all generations. Here we find rest. Our permanent home is in Him. He is supremely, unchangeably, eternally great and good. In Him let us confide. The generations that have passed away have gone at His bidding. He is the God of our life. Our age, our time of residence here, our departure from here, are all regulated by Him. And when we pass hence He is still our home, our refuge, and our rest. Then we need not mourn the brevity of life or the changes of time. We rest in the eternal and unchangeable God.
THE HOME OF THE SOUL
(Psa. 90:1)
I. The soul of man needs a home. I argue this from
1. Our sense of weariness and longing for rest. The heart often aches in loneliness, droops by reason of exhaustion, and yearns unspeakably for repose. Like worn and weary pilgrims we long for rest.
2. Our sense of peril and longing for protection. Like Israel in the wilderness we are exposed to danger, and need some strong defence. We crave the shelter and the security of a home.
3. Our shrinking from death and longing for immortality. The soul recoils from the idea of going forth from this life unclothed and alone into the unknown. What is there beyond the mystery which we call death? Is there anything? If there is, what is it that is there? The mere thought of ceasing to be is painful. We long deeply for immortality. In the awful loneliness and dread mystery of death where shall we find a refuge and a home?
II. The soul of man may find a home in God. He has been the dwelling-place of His people in all generations.
1. In Him alone can the soul find the rest it craves. We want rest from the accusations of conscience and the burden of guilt. He alone can pardon. The rest of satisfied affections; the rest of harmony and progress of being; rest from the dread of death;He alone can impart this full and blessed rest.
2. In Him alone can the soul find the security it craves. He is our only sure defence against spiritual perils; and in the sorrows and trials of life He is the only adequate support. Storms are sure to fall; He only can shelter us from their fury. He can even bring strength and joy to us out of our griefs and trials. His power, wisdom, and love are the pledge of our security.
3. In Him alone can the soul find the permanence it craves. He only hath immortality. The continuance in being and blessedness for which we long He, and He alone, can impart. A perpetuity of bliss is bliss. He gives eternal life. At His right hand there are pleasures for ever more. So shall we ever be with the Lord.
We enter this home through Christ. By Him we rise into fellowship and union with God. No man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.
GODS ABSOLUTE CONTROL OVER MANS LIFE
(Psa. 90:3)
We pass away at the command of God. Not chance, not disease, not accident, not war, but Thou turnest man to destruction! Thou carriest them away as with a flood! We are a family whose members are separated and summoned away only by the word and hand of the great Lord of the house. We regard this great power of God over us as
I. A reason for acknowledging Him. As His power over us is irresistible and righteous, we should bow to His will. It is madness to resist Him. Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like Him? He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against Him, and prospered? His rule is a fact. He is moving onward to the most complete and universal supremacy. Let us loyally acknowledge Him as our King and our God. Let us move in the line of His purposes.
II. A reason for seeking His favour. His power over us being so absolute it is surely our interest to seek friendship with Him. He is condescending and gracious, He is kind and merciful; we may obtain His favour. He calls us to friendship with Himself. Through Christ we may attain unto assured confidence in His favour and friendship,may know Him not simply as the absolute Sovereign of our life, but also as our supreme Friend.
III. A consolation in bereavement. It is consolatory to know that our loved ones who have passed from us were not the victims of chance. Their departure was in all respects ordered by a God of infinite wisdom and kindness. They left us by the appointment of His will, which is ever good. He doeth all things well.
IV. An encouragement to labour. Do not fear to attempt great things in life. Let not the dread of death unnerve your spirit and paralyse your arm. You are immortal till your work is done. Until your education in these sublunary scenes is completed, your life is invulnerable against the shafts of death.
V. An antidote against the fear of death. If through Christ we are brought into friendship with God, when the body returns to dust, the spirit will pass into the immediate presence of God. To the good man death is the voice of the Father summoning His child home to Himself. Why should we fear such a voice or such a summons?
CONCLUSION. Let us be thankful that our times are in His hand. Let us tread the path of life with trustful and fearless hearts, for we are safe in the hands of the eternal God.
HUMAN FRAILTY THE RESULT OF HUMAN SIN
(Psa. 90:7-11)
In this section of the Psalm Moses represents the brevity of the life of the Israelites in the wilderness as the result of the Divine anger with them by reason of their sin. Their apparently fruitless lives and their death in the wilderness were the punishment of their sin. By reason of some heinous or aggravated offence many were suddenly cut off by God. See Num. 11:31-35; Num. 16:41-50; Num. 21:4-6. Moreover all those, from twenty years old and upward, who went forth from Egypt were cut down in the wilderness because of their unbelieving hearts and murmuring tongues, save Caleb and Joshua. There they were doomed to wander till the unbelieving generation had passed away. Little or nothing is recorded of them from the second year of their departure from Egypt until the fortieth year. The only end of their wanderings during those years seems to have been the consumption of the faithless generation. Well does Mr. Spurgeon say: Moses saw men dying all around him; he lived among funerals, and was overwhelmed at the terrible results of the Divine displeasure. The Psalm has a solemn and affecting interest, as a penitential confession of the sins which had entailed such melancholy consequences on the Hebrew nation; and as a humble deprecation of Gods wrath; and as a funeral dirge upon those whose death had been pre-announced by the awful voice of God. So far all is clear. Concerning those of whom Moses wrote it is literally true that their frailty was the result of their sin. They perished in the wilderness because of their unbelief and ingratitude and rebellion. But is it true of mankind as a whole that human frailty is the result of human sin? Is death the penalty of sin? Some passages of the Holy Word say, Yes. The evidence of geology and other sciences says, No. We firmly believe that both are correct. In what way, then, and to what extent, is death the penalty of sin? This is the subject suggested by this portion of the Psalm, and upon which we shall offer some suggestions.
What is death? Death, says one, is simply another name for discontinuance. Death, says another, is the dissolution of the body. But the word is used to express quite distinct and different things. In the Bible the word has at least three uses; indeed it has more, but let us look at these. It is used to denote physical dissolution. (See Gen. 21:16; Gen. 27:7; Gen. 27:10; Deu. 33:1; and many others.) It is used to denote the moral condition of unrenewed men. (See Joh. 5:24; Eph. 2:1; 1Jn. 3:14; et al.) It is also used to denote the future punishment of the wicked. (See Rev. 2:11; Rev. 20:14; Rev. 21:8.) No one will dispute that many of the passages which speak of death as the penalty of sin speak of spiritual death, not of physical dissolution. Thus: In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die, cannot fairly be applied to our first parents in regard to corporeal death; for, according to the record in Genesis, Adam lived for centuries after his disobedience, and begat sons and daughters. And if the words of St. Paul to the Romans, The wages of sin is death, be applied to physical dissolution, then saint and sinner pay the penalty alike, nay, in some cases, the physical dissolution of the saint may be more painful than that of thousands of most hardened and corrupt sinners. Still there are passages of scripture in which corporeal death seems to be represented as the result of sin. In the punishment pronounced upon Adam for his disobedience, it is said, In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground, for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. St. Paul, in writing to the Romans, says, By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. But here we may not limit the meaning of death to physical dissolution. It signifies, says Alford, primarily, but not only, physical death: as , so , is general, including the lesser in the greater, i.e., spiritual and eternal death. (See also Stuarts commentary in loco.) In no instance, we believe, where the word death is used to express the penalty of sin should its meaning be limited to the dissolution of the body. For the dissolution of the body is natural, and would have taken place even if man had not sinned. We conclude thus
1. Because of the testimony of geology. We are confronted, says Mr. Froude, with evidence that death has reigned through all creation from the earliest period, of which the stratified rocks preserve the record. The world had been familiar with death for ages before the creation of man.
2. Because of the nature of the physical constitution of man. Birth, growth, and arriving at maturity, as completely imply decay and death as the source of a river implies the termination of it, or as spring and summer imply corn-fields and reaping. Hence, whatever the vigour and the powers of repair that may pertain to any given structure, whatever resistance it may offer to the shocks of ages, Time, sooner or later, dissolves it; careful, however, to renew whatever it takes away, and to convert, invariably, every end into a new beginning. There is not a grave in the whole circuit of nature that is not at the same moment a cradle.
3. Because of the limited accommodation which the world affords as a home for man. The command given both to animals and man, to be fruitful and multiply, implies the removal of successive races by death; otherwise the world would long since have been overstocked; plants, for their part, are described as created yielding seed, which carries with it the same inevitable consequence. The produce of so minute a creature as a fly would, if unchecked, soon darken the air, and render whole regions desolate; the number of seeds ripened by a single poppy, were they all to grow and be fruitful in their turn, would in a few years suffice to clothe a continent.
4. Because the material body is a hindrance to mans complete spiritual freedom and perfection. The human body as it is in this world seems to us to imprison and impede the souls action and growth. We have faculties which cannot be fully developed here and under our present conditions. We that are in this tabernacle do groan being burdened, &c. (See 2Co. 5:1-4.)
For these and other reasons which may be adduced, we hold that in itself the dissolution of the body is not the result of sin. How, then, are we to regard death as the penalty of sin? In what way is human frailty the result of human sin? We reply: in the sufferings with which death is associated.
I. Death is associated with physical sufferings, and these are the result of sin. It is true that there are some who die without any physical suffering. But in the great majority of instances the death of man is a thing of strange and severe suffering. The diseases of which men die are most of them very painful, and death itself is a mysterious and probably a painful thing. But the sufferings are the result of sin. If man had not sinned, death would probably have resembled sinking into an easy and gentle slumber, and have been as sweet as sleep is to the weary; it would have been that euthanasia to all men which Augustus Csar used so passionately to desire, and which is predicated of the Christian in a well-known and beautiful hymn
How blest the righteous when he dies!
When sinks a weary soul to rest,
How mildly beam the closing eyes,
How gently heaves the expiring breast!
So fades a summer cloud away,
So sinks the gale when storms are oer,
So gently shuts the eye of day,
So dies a wave along the shore!
Barbauld.
Had it not been for sin, the probability is that no one would have died from disease; dissolution would have been entirely freed from physical sufferings, and would have been as a gentle wafting to immortal life.
II. Death is associated with mental sufferings, and these are the result of sin. These sufferings arise from
1. The dread of death. In the Epistle to the Hebrews Christ is represented as dying to deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. We are travellers in the valley of the shadow of death. That shadow projects itself over lifes fairest scenes. And the dread of death seizes us sometimes even in our brightest hours.
(1) This dread arises partly from the mystery of death. Who knows what strange anguish of body there may be in death? What mental sufferings utterly unknown to us may await us in dying? In the separation of the soul from the body may there not be an awful sorrow? Millions have passed through this experience; but not one has returned to tell us of the mysteries through which they passed. And those that were raised from death by our Lord uttered no word as to its nature. They removed none of the mystery. Each man must solve the mystery for himself. This mystery is distressing. But had it not been for sin it would probably not have existed. Man would probably have had a clear knowledge of the nature and meaning of the transition. And even if the mystery had existed it would certainly not have been distressing, for man would have had such firm and large faith in God as would have enabled him to rise above anxiety and fear.
(2) This dread is partly the dread of non-existence. Man shrinks from extinction. The thought of passing into utter nothingness, of not being, is full of pain to him. But is there life after death? Is not death the end of man? What is there but darkness, oblivion, nothingness, beyond this present and manifest life? Who has not sympathised with the afflicted patriarch in his meditations and questionings? There is hope of a tree if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, &c. (Job. 14:7-14). Is there anything after death but a long, unconscious, never-ending sleep?
When shall spring visit the mouldering urn?
Oh, when shall it dawn on the night of the grave?
But this dread of non-existence is one of the results of sin. Had man not sinned he would have known that death was but transition; nay, that it was the birth of his spirit into a higher state of being.
(3) This dread is partly the dread of a miserable existence. The consciousness of guilt leads man to dread a future of misery and endless woe. The guilty conscience arrays God in aspects of terror, and pictures a future of terrible suffering as the punishment of sin. But had man not sinned, the future would have been to him bright, beautiful, and inviting, rich in enjoyment and rich in promise.
2. The sorrows of bereavement. In the case of those who are called to die, the greatest anguish which they suffer frequently arises from having to leave those whom they love as their own soul. Inconceivable must be the anguish of the loving mother when summoned away from her tender, helpless babe. And who can conceive the deep and silent grief of the kind husband and father who is leaving his wife and children, widowed and orphaned, to fight lifes battle without the aid of his strong arm, or wise head, or loving heart? The sorrow of the bereaved is also very great. Tennyson has given utterance to the feeling of thousands of bereaved mourners:
For this alone on Death I wreak
The wrath that garners in my heart;
He put our lives so far apart,
We cannot hear each other speak.
Oh, the hearts that are almost breaking in loneliness and unutterable distress because of the bereavements of death! But all this distress is the result of sin. If man had not sinned the dying mother would confidently leave her cherished babe, and the dying husband and father his wife and children, to the wise and loving and all-sufficient care of the Heavenly Father. If man had not sinned we should not mourn the departure of our loved ones. With clear perceptions of the spiritual universe, we should see that the separation was more apparent than real, we should know that they are in the enjoyment of a higher, fuller life, a life of blessedness, and that we should soon join them in their high spheres and Divine services. Oh, it is sin that makes bereavement painful! The sting of death is sin. Take away sin, and though death remain, its repulsiveness and painfulness would be entirely gone. Sin has made dissolution physically painful; sin has shortened mens lives by diseases and crimes; sin has robed death in mystery; sin has made man to shrink from death lest it should lead to non-existence or miserable existence; sin has caused all the anguish of bereavements, all and everything that is painful in death is the result of sin.
CONCLUSION.
1. Brothers, let us hate sin. Let us have nothing to do with sin except to resist it, oppose it, save men from it.
2. Let us be thankful for the Gospel. Christ is the conqueror of death. He has taken away its sting. He is the Saviour from sin. Those who believe on Him shall become holy and heavenly. To them death is no longer a foe, but the kind messenger of the loving Father.
SIN ESTIMATED BY THE LIGHT OF HEAVEN
(Psa. 90:8)
The appearance of objects, and the ideas which we form of them, are very much affected by the situation in which they are placed with respect to us, and by the light in which they are seen. No two persons will form precisely the same idea of any object, unless they view it in the same light, or are placed with respect to it in the same situation. God sees all objects just as they are; but we see them through a deceitful medium, which ignorance, prejudice, and self-love place between them and us. Apply these remarks to the case before us. Thou hast set our iniquities, &c. That is, our iniquities or open transgressions, and our secret sins, the sins of our hearts, are placed, as it were, full before Gods face; and He sees them in the pure, clear, all-disclosing light of His own holiness and glory. Now, if we would see our sins as they appear to Him, that is, as they really are; if we would see their number, blackness, and criminality, and the malignity and desert of every sin, we must place ourselves as nearly as possible in His situation, and look at sin as it were through His eyes. Recollect, that the God in whose presence you are, is the Being who forbids sin, the Being, of whose eternal law sin is the transgression, and against whom every sin is committed. Keeping this in mind, let us
1. Bring forward what the Psalmist, in our text, calls our iniquities, that is, our more gross and open sins, and see how they appear in the light of Gods countenance. Have any of you been guilty of impious, profane, passionate, or indecent, corrupting language? How does such language sound in heaven? in the ears of angels, in the ears of that God, who gave us our tongues for noble purposes? Is this fit language for God to hear? Let every one inquire whether he has ever violated the third commandment, by using the name of God in a profane or irreverent manner. If he has, let him bring forward his transgressions of this kind, and see how they appear in the light of Gods presence. Have any of you been guilty of uttering what is untrue? If so, bring forward all the falsehoods, all the deceitful expressions, which you have ever uttered, and see how they appear in the presence of the God of truth; of that God, who has declared, that He abhors a lying tongue, and that all liars shall have their portion in the burning lake. Oh, what is it to stand convicted of falsehood before such a God as this! After the above manner treat the sins of perjury, Sabbath-breaking, adultery, fraud, injustice or dishonesty, and intemperance.
While attending to the preceding remarks, probably many of my hearers may have felt as if they were not personally concerned in them, as if they were guilty of none of those gross iniquities. I would indeed hope that of some of them, at least, none of you are guilty. But these are by no means the only iniquities of which God takes notice; for our text further informs us, that He has set our secret sins, the sins of our hearts, in the light of His countenance. Let us then
II. Bring our hearts into heaven, and there, laying them open to view, see how they will appear in that world of unclouded light and unsullied purity.
What a disclosure is made, when, with the dissecting knife of a spiritual anatomist, we lay open the human heart, with all its dark recesses and intricate windings, and expose the lurking abominations, which it conceals, not to the light of day, but to the light of heaven! Even in this sinful world, the spectacle which such a disclosure would exhibit could not be borne. The man whose heart should thus be laid open to public view would be banished from society; nay, he would himself fly from it, overwhelmed with shame and confusion. Of this every man is sensible, and therefore conceals his heart from all eyes with jealous care. And if the heart laid open to view would appear thus black in this dark, sinful world, who can describe, or conceive of the blackness which it must exhibit, when surrounded by the dazzling whiteness of heaven, and seen in the light of Gods presence, the light of His holiness and love? How do proud, self-exalting thoughts appear, when viewed in the presence of Him, before whom all the nations of the earth are less than nothing, and vanity? Speak of self-will, impatience, discontent; angry, envious, revengeful feelings; and wanton, impure thoughts. If all the evil thoughts and wrong feelings which have passed in countless numbers through either of our hearts were poured out in heaven, angels would stand aghast at the sight, &c. To the omniscient God alone would the sight not be surprising. He alone knows what is in the heart of man; and what He knows of it He has described in brief but terribly expressive terms. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, &c.
III. Let us take a similar view of our sins of omission. Our sins of omission are by far the most numerous, and by no means the least criminal offences of which we are guilty. Speak of Gods perfections, His glory, His goodness to us, and of our obligations to Him. Does He not deserve to be loved, and feared, and served with all the heart, and soul, and mind, and strength? Yet from Him we have all withheld our affections and services. Our whole lives present one unbroken series of duties neglected, of favours not acknowledged. And, oh, how do they appear when we review them in the light of Gods countenance!
While Gods law requires us to love Him with all the heart, it also requires us to love our neighbour as ourselves. And this general command virtually includes a great number of subordinate precepts, precepts which prescribe the duties of the various relations that subsist between us and our fellow creatures. How far have we obeyed these precepts? Oh, how much more might we have done, than we actually have done, to promote the temporal and eternal happiness of all with whom we are connected!
Nor do our sins of omission end here. There is another Being whom we are under infinite obligations to love, and praise, and serve with supreme affection. This Being is the Lord Jesus Christ, considered as our Redeemer and Saviour, who has bought us with His blood. We are required to feel that we are not our own, but His; to prefer Him to every earthly object, to rely upon Him with implicit confidence, to live, not to ourselves, but to Him, and to honour Him even as we honour the Father. Every moment, then, in which we neglected to obey these commands, we were guilty of a new sin of omission. How grossly have we failed in performing this part of our duty! How must the manner in which we have treated the beloved Son appear in the sight of God!
A day is approaching in which you will be constrained to see your sins as they appear in the light of Gods countenance. When that day arrives, His eternal Son, the appointed Judge, will be seen coming in the clouds of heaven, &c. Be persuaded now to come to the light, that your deeds may be reproved, and set in order before you; exercise such feelings respecting them, and so judge yourselves, that you may not be condemned of the Lord on that day.E. Payson, D.D. Abridged.
LIFE AN EXCLAMATION
(Psa. 90:9)
We spend our years as a tale that is told.
The word translated tale occurs twice: in Job. 37:2, Hear attentively the noise of His voice, and the sound that goeth out of His mouth; and Eze. 2:10, And there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe. In the first passage the reference is to the thunder, which is the voice, the utterance, the grand soliloquy of God. In the second passage the word describes the broken accents of grief, the abrupt and incomplete exclamation of deep and overwhelming sorrow. So when life is described in the text, the meaning is that it is a brief and broken exclamation, a hurried voice, a short and startling sound which is soon lost in the silence of eternity.
I. The main idea of the text is the transientness of life: it has the brevity of a cry. And does not this accord with fact? The utterances may be of different lengths, but life is always short. Some lives have only one word, some several, yet is each an exclamation. Some have the completeness of finished sentences; some fail in the midst; some have only a beginning, rather intimate that there is something to be said than say it. Then is life short, indeed, when man dies, not because he has exhausted a force so much as because he has met with an obstruction. And yet how often is this the case! The days are cut off: the sun goes down while it is yet day: the flower fadeth. Why did they live at all? What was the reason of their being?
And then, also, is life short when, though its voice fails not at the commencement of its utterance, it is broken off in the midst, and gives no complete expression to the deep meaning with which it is charged. And yet how often is it as an unfinished cry! How often do men pass away before they have half revealed the significance of their being!
But the brevity assigned to life in the text belongs to all life, and not to any lives in particular. It is brevity which marks it as a whole, marks it in its longest term.
Things are long and short in comparison. The sense of duration is not absolute. The insect that lives but a day has, or might have, the feelings with which we regard seventy years. And what those transient creatures are to us, that should we be to others proportionably longer-lived than we. Suppose a being to live two millions of years, he would look down on our existence of seventy years with the same feelings as those with which we regard the creature of a day. It is only eternity that is really longabsolutely long. Compared with that, all time is short. Whatever can cease is as nothing to that which never ceases; it is simply impossible to compare them. Life may seem long while it is going on, &c. But what is life when put against interminable years!
We may appropriate both terms, the transient and the endless. We may connect together the life that is but as a broken exclamation, and the life that is as an everlasting voice. I said we may connect them together, but the solemn truth is, that they are connected together independently of our act or thought. That besides which life is vanity will take its character from life. Eternity makes life nothing, and yet everything; sinks it to utter insignificance, and yet invests it with inconceivable importance. Consider the two as contrasted, and life vanishes in the presence of eternity. Consider the two as related, and life partakes of the augustness and awfulness of eternity.
II. If life is transient as a cry, it is a cry full of meaning. The importance of utterances does not depend on their length; it is not how long it takes to express a thing, but the nature of the thing expressed, which decides the greatness of the expression. A few words may reveal a world of meaning. It is the fulness of the heart which seeks relief in cries, and that which makes them short makes them significant. Then do fewest words suffice when many words are felt to be too few. Life is a cry, but what does it not reveal? The broken speech of our earthly days is the voice of souls. It shows what we are as souls; our principles, habits, &c. And, showing what we are, it shows also what we shall be, what we shall be for ever. And it does more than show what we shall be, it helps to make us it.
This is the view of life I wish you to take. Regarded alone, we may despise it; we may be angry with it; we may say, Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die; we may give way to despondency and depression; but, regarded along with what it indicates and prepares for, it will excite us to holy diligence, gird up our loins for hope and service. Thus regarded, its very vanity will only make it more precious, and we shall tremble to neglect the brief period which is the seedtime of eternity
I ask you, whose life is so evanescent, yet so significant, what are you saying? what is the meaning of that living word which issues forth, consciously or unconsciously, from your hearts? Many different cries proceed from our common nature. Life in some is a cry of wonder, an expression of amazement at this mysterious universe, and their own mysterious being. Life in some is a cry of pain, grief from physical suffering, grief from adversities of lot, grief from social pressure on the hearts affections. Life in some is a cry of joy, the rapid, incoherent speech of ecstatic feeling. I do not ask which of these your life is, nor does it much signify in relation to the most important of all matters. Be it the expression of wonder, pain, or joy, it may be sad or glorious; it may be the wonder of a believing or a sceptical spirit; it may be the pain of a patient or angry spirit; it may be the joy of a spirit whose portion is the world, or whose portion is the Lord. But I do ask you, what is the temper and the form of your life? With many, it is but an oath; a revelation of enmity against God and godliness; a forgetfulness of all that should be remembered, a neglect of all that should be cared for, a dislike of all that should be loved, a disobedience of all that should be submitted to. But there are many with whom life is a prayer; its exclamations are like ejaculatory supplications; the pouring out of the heart in adoration, petition, praise; the expression of dependence, desire, devotion, &c.
Let me ask you, what are you and what are you likely to be in that eternity which is so speedily to succeed the days which are as a shadow? Life must be sinful if your heart be not renewed by the Holy Ghost; must be wretched if you be not reconciled to God by the death of His Son. Time, which is so short, is the season for conversion, salvation; and without these, when it is passed, you will find yourselves in an eternity for which no preparation has been made. Everlasting life dates from regeneration, not from death; we cannot have the life immortal if we be not born again. Dying in sin, your destiny must be destruction; without God now, you will be without God for ever. Oh! if you have not yet yielded your soul to the Gospel, let me entreat you to awaken to the transient nature of this probationary period. This evanescent life is big with the fortunes of eternity, and you are deciding what they shall be. Be wise, repent, accept the atonement, go in the way of life, &c.A. J. Morris. Abridged.
HUMAN FRAILTY AN INCENTIVE TO SEEK THE DIVINE BLESSING
(Psa. 90:12-17)
The Psalmist passes from meditation to supplication. Having meditated upon the eternity of God and the transientness and misery of mans life upon earth, and traced mans sufferings to his sins, he here proceeds to implore the blessings of the eternal and unchangeable God upon His frail creatureman. He asks from God
I. Help in forming a correct estimate of life. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
It would have been reasonable to have concluded, that since mans life is so short and sad he would form a true estimate of it. Yet this he does not. All men count all men mortal but themselves. Though life is so uncertain, yet every man acts as though he had a certain future guaranteed unto him. Though life is so brief, yet each man acts as though he had a long earthly future before him. A correct estimate of life must include two things
1. That it is brief. Behold, Thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before Thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. (See remarks on the extreme brevity of mans life upon earth, Psa. 90:1-6.)
2. That it is preparatory. This world is a great school, and our life in it is educational. We are here to prepare characters for eternity; primarily and pre-eminently, but not exclusively, our own; and to help others in the formation and development of noble characters. What a vast and important work of preparation for eternity has to be done in this brief life! How much have we to do in and for ourselves! In us there are angry passions to be quelled, evil habits whose power must be broken, besetting sins to be conquered. And we have so much to acquire: our deficiencies and imperfections are so numerous, our moral power is so feeble, our spiritual aspirations are so irregular and weak. Verily, our preparation for eternity is advanced only a little way. We have much to do before our spiritual education will be anything like complete. Then we have much to do for others. The parent has many plans which he wants to see carried out concerning his children. The Christian minister feels that in the exposition and application of Divine truth, and in the oversight of the souls committed to his charge, he has a vast and unspeakably important work yet to do. Every man who takes an interest in his fellow-man must feel that he has much to do in helping to remove the ignorance and sin and suffering of men, by helping them to acquire knowledge, and by leading them to the Saviour from sin and the Healer of suffering. When life is thus estimated men will apply their hearts unto wisdom.
Tis not for man to trifle! Life is brief,
And sin is here.
Our age is but the falling of a leaf,
A dropping tear.
We have no time to sport away the hours,
All must be earnest in a world like ours.
Not many lives, but only one have we
One, only one;
How sacred should that one life ever be
That narrow span!
Day after day filled up with blessed toil,
Hour after hour still bringing in new spoil.
Bonar.
The Psalmist supplicates
II. The mercy of God in life. He prays that God would exercise His mercy towards them
1. In the removal of His anger. Return, O Lord, how long? and let it repent Thee concerning Thy servants. The Israelites in the wilderness were visited with some severe expressions of the wrath of God by reason of their sin. Their long, and mournful, and apparently fruitless wanderings in the wilderness were a punishment from God because of sin. For a long time they had been bearing the heavy judgments of the Lord; so they cry unto Him, How long? How long shall Thy wrath lie heavily upon us? The petition of this verse is very similar to a petition in a former prayer of Moses: Turn from Thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against Thy people. According to the usual phraseology of Scripture, says Calvin, God is said to repent, when, after dissipating sadness, and giving again occasions for joy, He appears as if He had changed. Yet really there is no change in God. Repentance is impossible to Him. But when man turns to Him in repentance, He turns to man in mercy. When He withdraws His anger it is not because a change has taken place in Him; but because man has changed, and taken a different position in relation to His law and government. So Moses prays that God would turn in mercy to them, and bring His judgments upon them to an end.
2. In the communication of satisfaction to them. O satisfy us early with Thy mercy. Literally, Satisfy us in the morning with Thy mercy. In the Scripture suffering and distress are frequently set forth by the emblem of night. Morning is an emblem of salvation and joy. (Comp. Job. 11:17; Psa. 30:5.) If God in mercy appeared to the Israelites, that appearance would be to them as the dawn of a joyous morning. They pray for satisfaction in the mercy of God. Under the displeasure of God there can be no satisfaction. If any soul is satisfied out of God, that soul is dead. In His favour is life. Only in God can the human soul, with its unutterable yearnings, its quenchless aspirations, and its profound cravings, find satisfaction and repose.
3. In granting gladness to them. In the petitions for gladness three things demand our attention.
(1) They seek gladness as a result of mercy. Satisfy us early with Thy mercy; That we may rejoice and be glad. The night of their mourning would end, and the day of their joy would dawn, when God satisfied them with His mercy. From the conscious possession of Gods favour the deepest, highest, purest, divinest joy springs.
(2) They seek gladness as a life-long experience. All our days. Much of sin, gloom, and suffering had been in their past life; they desire that in all their future life there may be the Divine mercy and holy joy. It is the privilege of the child of God to rejoice evermore. Your joy no man taketh from you.
(3) They seek gladness in proportion to their afflictions. Make us glad according to the days wherein Thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. It is a principle of Gods providential dealings that light and darkness, happiness and distress, in human life shall bear some proportion to each other. In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other. He balances the varying experiences of our lives. The Israelites in the wilderness had many days of His displeasure; they entreat as many days of His favour. They had passed through years of mournful wandering; they pray for a corresponding number of years of peace and joy. The Psalmist entreats
III. The manifestation of Gods power and grace in life. Let Thy work appear unto Thy servants, and Thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. Here is a prayer
1. That God would work manifestly on their behalf. Show to Thy servants Thy doing, is really a prayer for the interposition of God on their behalf; that He would display His great power in introducing them to prosperity. Moses knew how mighty in working Jehovah is, and so he prays that He would work for them and for their salvation.
2. That God would grant unto them of His grace. Show Thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. Gods glory consists of His goodness. When Moses prayed, I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory, the Lord answered, I will make all My goodness pass before thee. He is glorious in holiness, glorious in grace. It is probable that they prayed that Gods glory may be manifested to their children, because God had promised to lead their children into the land into which by reason of sin they entered not. That the glory of Divine grace and strength may be displayed to their children, even though themselves may not see it, they earnestly desire. It has been well pointed out that this prayer was answered. Though the first generation fell in the wilderness, yet the labours of Moses and his companions were blessed to the second. These were the most devoted to God of any generation that Israel ever saw. It was of them that the Lord said, I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after Me in the wilderness, in a laud that was not sown. Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the first fruits of His increase. It was then that Balaam could not curse, but, though desirous of the wages of unrighteousness, was compelled to forego them, and his curse was turned into a blessing. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us is also a petition for the favour of God; that the beauty of the Divine character may be revealed in them, and be revealed by them to others. If the grace of God dwell richly in us, it will radiate from us in lives of spiritual beauty and power. The Psalmist prays for
IV. The establishment of human work in life. Establish Thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish Thou it.
This petition, in its relation to Moses, has a very touching significance. He was to die without seeing the result of the great work of his life. The millions whom he led from Egyptian slavery remained slaves in spirit throughout life; and, because they were slaves and not men, they were not permitted to enter the promised land. Moses himself may see it, but must not enter therein. To a superficial observer his work must have appeared useless, and his life a failure of most magnificent faculties. But his life was no failure; his work was not in vain. That which he had commenced was carried forward to glorious completion. Dr. James Hamilton has truly remarked, that for forty years it had been the business of Moses to bring Israel into a right state politically, morally, religiously; that had been his work. And yet, in so far as it was to have any success or enduringness, it must be Gods work. The work of our hands do Thou establish; and this God does when, in answer to prayer, He adopts the work of His servants, and makes it His own work, His own glory, His own beauty.Human efforts in a good cause, when they are made earnestly and in humble dependence upon the blessing of God for success, cannot be in vain. God will establish them.
CONCLUSION.If man be ephemeral, God is eternal. And through Christ man may dwell in God, and be made a partaker of His character and blessedness. In ourselves we are insignificant, vain, worthlessbewildering and mournful enigmas; but in God we rise into harmony, holiness, power, usefulness; life grows deep in significance, brilliant in prospect, and divine in destiny. Through our Lord Jesus Christ let every man seek to become one with God.
AN ALL-IMPORTANT NUMERATION
(Psa. 90:12)
I. The Teacher. The eternal Lord God.
1. He thoroughly understands the subject. Our days, their number, their importance, &c., He knoweth perfectly.
2. He is thoroughly acquainted with the pupils. Our circumstances, temperament, aptitude or inaptitude as learners, He knoweth right well.
3. He has great influence over the pupils. He can influence our understanding, direct our judgment, work conviction in us.
II. The pupils. Frail men. Strange that we should need teaching on this subject. The remarkable frailty and the unspeakable importance of human life is constantly proclaimed by
1. The voice of history. All the generations of the past have gone the way to dusty death.
2. The scenes and circumstances of life. Crowded cemeteries, funeral processions, bereaved families.
3. Our own experience. Infirmities, pains, diseases, announce our frailty. Yet we need that God should teach us in this matter. This need indicates disorder in our moral judgment, disinclination to receive the fact of our frailty, &c.
III. The lesson. To number our days. It is to take the measure of our days as compared with the work to be performed, with the provision to be laid up for eternity, with the preparation to be made for death, with the precaution to be taken against judgment. It is to estimate human life by the purposes to which it should be applied, by the eternity to which it must conduct, and in which it shall at last be absorbed. He numbers his days well who
1. Mourns the time past which hat been misspent.
2. Diligently uses time present.
3. Trusts the time future entirely to God.
IV. The end. That we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. This wisdom is not speculative, but practical; not intellectual, but moral.
1. True religion is wisdom.
2. True religion requires application of heart.
3. The remembrance of lifes transientness is calculated to promote this application.
Therefore, So teach us to number our days, &c.
(See a fine sermon on this verse, by F. W. Robertson. Sermons, vol. iv.)
THE MERCY OF GOD SOLICITED
(Psa. 90:14)
On these words the following observations may be founded:
I. All men have sinned against God, and therefore need mercy.
II. The consideration that life is short and uncertain, has a remarkable tendency to impress this important truth upon the mind.
III. It is the duty of every one to implore the mercy of God by fervent prayer.
IV. The mercy of God is the only satisfying portion.
V. We ought not only to desire that this mercy may be granted, but should pray that it may be imparted early.
VI. The possessor of Gods mercy is qualified to rejoice and be glad all his daysThe Young Ministers Companion.
THE THREE PETITIONS
(Psa. 90:16-17)
Here are three petitions. Let us look at them in their logical order of thought, rather than their poetic expression.
I. The first petition asks for some visible results from the work attempted. Let Thy work appear. Is not this a most natural and lawful petition? The worker longs to see some fruit of his work, some positive testimony that he has not toiled in vain. Do not most men ardently desire this, no matter what the nature of their work? The statesman wishes it, the merchant, the farmer, the teacher, and why not the Christian? But the Christian is sometimes tempted to carry his desire too far. God may, therefore, think fit to withhold from his sight no small portion of the actual result, lest the servant forget whose the work really is, and what is his true relation to it. He so deals with us that our patience may take root and grow. He disappoints our desire for visible results to draw us nearer to Himself, to deepen our trust, &c. He helps us to understand what we are so slow to learn, that, from the very character of our work, we never can see in this world more than a few conspicuous ears. Yet the work of our handsall of itwill hereafter appear, not a grain of it lost, not a single product of that grain hidden or obscured. We may, therefore, still continue to offer the petition to the Lord of the harvest, for some visible results of our sowing; but do not let us be discouraged if, for reasons best known to Him, our prayer is not answered here and now.
II. The second petition asks for the stability of the work. And is not this as natural as the desire that the work should appear? No one wishes that the thing upon which he has bestowed his deepest thought, his severest and most conscientious labour, should be scattered and lost. It depends, humanly speaking, upon the character of the work, how long it will endure. It is so in material works. Good honest work, even if it be not of the highest type, is the only durable work. But what work can compare in value with turning men to righteousness? Many Christian workers, however, tremble for the future of their work. Losing faith in the power of its living energy, they have, as they thought, established it, lest it should die out and be no more seen; with what results a hundred damaging facts patent to our eyes declare. The work, in its root of life, is not mans but Gods; hence the appropriateness of the second petition, Establish Thou the work of our hands, &c. The repetition of the prayer is for the sake of emphasis. He began the good work; He alone can make it constant and firm. Establish Thou it, set it up, as a throne is set up, as a city is founded, as an altar is reared, &c.
III. The third petition asks for the succession and expansion of the work, for its widest possible influence. The beauty and glory have come upon us Thy servants. Let them also descend upon our children. This is the parents wish and continual prayer. We pray that our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth, &c. The sons of Christians are the hope of the Church. The children of Christians are the best workers in the Church to-day; in the home, in the school, in the sanctuary, in the mission-field.
But the petition is for our descendants, near or remote; for all who shall follow us in that grand and never-broken procession through the ages of living men. Nothing less than this expresses the fulness of the prayer, Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done as in heaven so in earth.
Two cautions we shall all do well to heed
1. Prayer without work is mockery.
2. Work without prayer is vain.J. Jackson Goadby. Abridged from The Evangelical Magazine.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
THE PSALMS
BOOK THE FOURTH[264]
[264] See Table II., ante.
Psalms 90
DESCRIPTIVE TITLE
A Prayer Against the Dominion of Death.
ANALYSIS
Stanza I., Psa. 90:1-2, A Foundation for Prayer, sought in the Proved Kindness and Abiding Might of the Sovereign Lord. Stanza II., Psa. 90:3-4, The Theme of the Psalm: a Two-fold Return. Stanza III., Psa. 90:5-12, The Dominion of Death; described mainly in its Divine Appointment, and its Origin in Human Sin and Divine Displeasure; and calling forth a Transitional Prayer for Divine Guidance, How to Number our Days. Stanza IV., Psa. 90:13-17, A Plea for the Overthrow of Deaths Dominion.
(Lm.) PrayerBy Moses, the Man of God.
1
Sovereign Lord!
a dwelling place[265] hast thou thyself become to us
[265] So M.T. (maon), as in Psa. 91:9. Some cod. (w. Sep., Vul.): refuge (maoz), as in Psa. 27:1, Psa. 28:8, Psa. 31:3-4, Isa. 25:4, Joe. 3:16, Nah. 1:7.
in generation after generation.
2
Before mountains were born,
or ever were brought forth the earth and the world
yea, from age even unto age
Thou art the MIGHTY ONE.
3
Thou causest man to return even unto atoms,[266]
[266] So Driver. Dust (as pulverised)O.G.
and (then) sayestReturn! ye sons of men.[267]
[267] Again thou sayest, Come again, ye children of men,P.B.V.
4
For a thousand years in thine eyes
are like yesterday when about to pass away,
or a watch in the night.
5
Thou didst flood them away with a rain-storma sleep they become,
In the morning they are like grass which sprouteth again,
6
In the morning it blossomethand hath sprouted again,
by the evening it is cut downand hath withered!
7
For we waste away in thine anger,
and in thy wrath are we dismayed:
8
Thou dost set our iniquities before thee,
our secret near the lamp[268] of thy face.
[268] Or: luminary.
9
For all our days decline,
in thy wrath we end our years;
10
Like a murmured meditation are the days of our years:[269]
[269] The words of these three lines are redistributed for better balance.
in them are seventy years,
or if in full strength eighty years;
Yet their extent[270] is travail and trouble,
[270] M.T.: pride. More probably (reading rhb instead rhb): width, extentO.G.
for it passeth quickly and we have flown away.
11
Who can know the strength of thine anger,
or whether like the fear of thee is thy wrath?
12
How to number our days so make thou known,
that we may get[271] a mind that hath wisdom.
[271] Ml.: bring in (i.e. from the field of our study).
13
Oh return thou Jehovah!how long?
and have compassion concerning thy servants:
14
Satisfy us in the morning[272] with thy kindness,
[272] Or: early.
that we may ring out our joy and be glad all our days.
15
Make us glad according to the days thou hast humbled us,
the years we have seen misfortune:
16
Shew unto thy servants thy work,[273]
[273] Some cod. (w. Aram., Sep., Syr., Vul.): worksGn.
and thy majesty[274] upon their children.[275]
[274] Or: state.
[275] Cp. Isa. 4:4-6.
17
And let the delightfulness of the Sovereign Lord our God be upon us,
and the work of our hands oh establish thou upon us,
yea the work of our hands establish thou it.
(Nm.)
PARAPHRASE
Psalms 90
A Prayer of Moses, the Man of God
Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!
2 Before the mountains were created, before the earth was formed, You are God without beginning or end.
3 You speak, and man turns back to dust.
4 A thousand years are but as yesterday to You! They are like a single hour![276]
[276] Literally, as a watch in the night.
5, 6 We glide along the tides of time as swiftly as a racing river, and vanish as quickly as a dream. We are like grass that is green in the morning but mowed down and withered before the evening shadows fall.
7 We die beneath Your anger; we are overwhelmed by Your wrath.
8 You spread out our sins before Youour secret sinsand see them all.
9 No wonder the years are long and heavy here beneath Your wrath. All our days are filled with sighing.
10 Seventy years are given us! And some may even live to 80. But even the best of these years are often emptiness and pain; soon they disappear, and we are gone.
11 Who can realize the terrors of Your anger? Which of us can fear You as he should?
12 Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should.
13 O Jehovah, come and bless us! How long will You delay? Turn away Your anger from us.
14. Satisfy us in our earliest youth[277] with Your lovingkindness, giving us constant joy to the end of our lives.
[277] Literally, early.
15 Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace the evil years with good.
16 Let us see Your miracles again; let our children see glorious things, the kind You used to do.
17 And let the Lord our God favor us and give us success.
EXPOSITION
That Moses the Man of God, the Leader of Israel out of Egypt, did write this psalm according to the inscriptional headline, is strongly confirmed by internal evidence, especially by the lonely sublimity and strong originality of the psalm; and nearly all the objections against such authorship are met by carrying back the time of its composition to the close of Moses sojourn in Midian, instead of assuming that he wrote it at the end of the forty years wandering in the wilderness. This modification of the opinion which adheres to the Mosaic authorship, not only removes the difficulty of supposing that Moses wrote of seventy or eighty years as the common length of human life when he himself was nearly a hundred and twenty, but fully accounts for the absence of any allusion to the Exodus and the marvellous incidents of the journey through the desert. Not only so, but this slight shifting back of the presumed time of authorship intensifies the cry of the writer, How long? (Psa. 90:13), by placing behind it, not merely forty years seeming delay, but nearly four hundred. It is not likely that, in sight of Canaan, Moses would have said, How long? when he very well knew that the crossing of the Jordan could not be much longer delayed; whereas, at the close of nearly forty years waiting in Midian, and still no commission received to go and deliver Israel,nothing could have been more natural than so to express himself respecting the threatening flight of years. Let thy work appear! would come with a hundred-fold more force from his pen when the first step in that work had not as yet been taken by the Divine Deliverer, than it would when a substantial and irreversible portion of that work like that of the Exodus had already been accomplished.
A FOUNDATION LAID FOR PRAYER (Stanza I., Psa. 90:1-2).Most appropriately does the Divine governmental name Adonai, Sovereign Lord, stand as the first word in a psalm which touches some of the weightiest problems in the Divine government of mankind. A dwelling-place comes with peculiar pathos from a homeless sojourner belonging to a homeless race. A sense of being at home with God, impresses the writer with the Divine kindness in drawing so near to him; and at the same time brings him into conscious fellowship with the men of the past to whom the Sovereign Lord had in like manner drawn near: hence, most comprehensively, he says: A dwelling-place hast thou thyself become to us in generation after generation. This is indeed a broad stepping-stone to prayer, which plants Moses, the Exile, beside Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and other men spiritually akin, and comprehended under the uniting pronoun our: our dwelling-place. A sojourner among the mountains of Arabia, who, guided by the sacred books in his possession, had many times pondered on the birth of the world, finds it natural to go backbehind the race of believing servants of the Sovereign Lord to which he belongsto the contemplation of the Mighty One Himself whose existence antedates both men and mountains: Before Mountains were born, Or ever were brought forth the earth and the world (THEN Thou wast, as Thou art still) the Mighty One. But, instead of taking two sentences to say the two things (wastart), the writer,taking advantage of the Hebrew custom of merely implying the verb to be,crowds into one sentence what might have made two: Thou wastThou art. Before the mountains were born, &c, thou wast El, the Mighty One. Yea, from olam to olamfrom on to onfrom concealed time in the past to concealed time in the futureor (more simply) from age to age, thou art El, the Mighty One: the father of all existing things, yea also the father of all coming times. Thus broad and firm is a foundation here laid for prayer.
THE THEME OF THE PSALM (Stanza II., Psa. 90:3-4.)Thou causest man to return even unto atoms, And (then) sayestReturn ye sons of men (Psa. 90:3). Are there here two returns, or is there only one? Is there first a return to dust, and then a return from dust? In other words, are the two clauses of which the verse is composed to be regarded as synonymous, both saying substantially the same thing; or as consecutive? With some confidence we reply, consecutive. There are two returns. The first clause expresses a return to dust; and the second, a return from dust. But the difference in result is so great as to lead us to ask how we may be sure which construction to prefer. Now there are two leading indications to guide us: first, the relation of these two clauses to each other, and then the connection between this verse and the next. First, as to the relation between the two clauses to each other: notice that the former clause expresses a fact, or states a Divine act, simply something doneThou causest, &c; whereas the latter tells, not of something done, but of something said, a Divine word or decree: Thou sayestReturn. Mark this well: first a Divine act, then a Divine decree. Now, is it likely that they would stand in this order, if they both referred to the same thing? Is it not more probable that they would have stood in the reverse order,first the decree, and then the act carrying out the decree? Would it not seem very awkward to represent God as first doing the actinflicting death, and then passing the decree calling for the infliction. The very order of the clauses, therefore, already makes for the conclusion that there are two returns in the verseone return executed, and then another decreed. But there is a second indication to help us; and that is, the connection between this third verse and the one which immediately follows itthe fourth. Evidently, there is a connection between the two, and that a logical connection; seeing that Psa. 90:4 opens with the important logical link For, thus shewing that the fourth verse gives a reason for the third. Hence, if we can seize upon the nature of this connection, we may hope to obtain further guidance as to how the point before us should be decided: namely, whether Psa. 90:3 speaks of two returns or of only one. What then, let us ask, is the general sense of Psa. 90:4 when put into simple language? That general sense is plainly this: That a long time in Gods sight is like a very short time in ours. Such being the case, Does that sense of Psa. 90:4 make for two returns, or for only one, in Psa. 90:3? Let us try these issues one by one. Assume that there is but one return in Psa. 90:3that it speaks of the return to dust and nothing more; and then how does our For carry us forward: Thou hast inflicted death on man, Because a long time in thy sight is as a short time in ours? What reason is there in that? There is none, that we can discover, What has length of timelonger or shorterto do with the one fact or process of inflicting death? It has no relation, that we can see. The infliction of death is going steadily on, occasioning no such sense of delay as to call for any explanation. Therefore, if only the infliction of death is comprehended in Psa. 90:3, Psa. 90:4 is wholly irrelevant. Now let us try the second issue, by asking: If there are two returns intended in Psa. 90:3, will that create a sufficient sense of delay, as to make welcome the soothing consideration supplied by Psa. 90:4? Obviously it will; seeing that, by including two great Divine processes, the second of which has scarcely if at all been begun, it instinctively calls forth the reflection: Yes! but what a long time such a double process bids fair to demand: a first process of causing man to return to dust is itself filling ages; but the second processbringing mankind back from the dustwhy, it has not yet commenced. How long will it be ere it is begun? How much longer, before it is finished? Just the very feeling to which the consideration in Psa. 90:4 is fitted to be addressed; because its purport is: A long timeperhaps thousands of years. Yea; but no length of time involved affects the Divine Worker: no amount of delay can either disable him or cause him to forget! On these sure grounds may we regard as settled the grave point at issue: concluding with confidence, both from the order and nature of the clauses in Psa. 90:3, and from the logical connection between Psa. 90:3-4, That it is even so; that the worthy theme of Moses mighty prayer is nothing less than a pleading protest against the prolonged and unbroken dominion of death. We have thus discovered the poles on which the whole psalm turns, and are prepared to see all the remainder of the psalm naturally resolve itself, as it does, intoThe Dominion of Death described; and, A Plea for the Overthrow of that dominion.
THE DOMINION OF DEATH DESCRIBED (Stanza III., Psa. 90:5-12).And, first, it is Divinely caused. The theme itself has already stated this: Thou causest man to return to atoms. And now, at the very entrance on this description of deaths dominion, the same thing is reasserted: Thou didst flood them away with a rain-storm. It matters not at all whether this is an allusion to the Flood: the point is, that this flooding away is executed by the Sovereign Lord addressed, even by him to whom a thousand years are as yesterday. It will not do to try to break the force of these statements by reminding us that every creature of God is good. True? but death is not a CREATURE: it is neither person, place nor thingit is essentially a negation, a negation in the sense of a withdrawal of life. It is therefore unwarranted, and indeed reckless, to assert that God cannot withdraw life when once he had bestowed it. It may be good for him to give it; and yet be both good and wise for him to withdraw it, after a time, longer or shorter. It may be good to withdraw it; either because it has served its purpose, or because it has been abused and forfeited. It may be just and wise and merciful, yea even necessary, to withdraw life as a Divine protest against sin already committed, and as a Divine prevention of further sin. It is, therefore, as unwise as it is unwarranted to allege that God cannot inflict death. It is taught here, and in endless other places of Holy Writ, that, in point of fact, God does inflict death.
Still, not without reason does he inflict it. In the case of other creatures, God may have other reasons for withdrawing lifethat is, inflicting death; but, in the case of man, there is a revealed reason, and that reason isSIN: Thou dost set our iniquities before thee, Our secret near the lamp of thy face. The iniquities here intended are the iniquities of the race; since individual iniquities do not count, as witness the death of infants and of the forgiven. In like manner, in all probability, our secret is the secret of our race; which, when Genesis was barely written and certainly not published, was in all likelihood in the keeping of Moses alone. This may seem a great and indeed startling thing to say; but let any man, with some strength of historical imagination, give a more likely application to this remarkable phrase, of which, be it observed, the plural word sins forms no part. This psalm, then, itself guides us to find the special reason for mans death in mans sin.
Nor is this all. Mans sin is the occasion of Gods displeasure. With surprising strength is this taught in the present psalm. Five times is this explicitly asserted during the course of this single stanza dealing with Deaths Dominion: anger, wrath; wrath, anger; wrath (Psa. 90:7; Psa. 90:9; Psa. 90:11). It really appears as though the writer gave up all attempts to measure the intensity of Gods anger against mans sinthe sin of the raceby taking refuge in a question: Who can know the strength of thine anger? And, if we rightly decipher the force of the duplicate question, it abundantly confirms the first member of the interrogatory: Or whether like (or accordingto) the fear of thee is thy wrath. Of the fear which unlimited power revealing itself by the infliction of death inspires, we all have some knowledge; and we can easily increase our apprehension thereof, either by studying ordinary histories of mankind or by noting this feature as seen for instance in such a classic as the Book of Job. Suffice it to claim that, according to this psalm, it is very unlikely that any of us can over-estimate the intensity of the Divine Displeasure with the sin of our race. We may make a one-sided study of it; we may omit to pass on to view the other side of the great complex question; we may amiably, but quite needlessly, plead mans frailtywhich assuredly God never forgets;but we cannot be too deeply penetrated with the impressively taught truth that the reason for mans death as a race, is mans sin as a race. The more vividly you portray the ravages of death, the more cogently do you demonstrate Gods anger against our racial sin: comprehending, as that racial sin does, alike the secret offence of our first father and the resulting iniquities of his descendants.
We might here look back, for the purpose of observing what a peculiar flickering of lights and shadows is cast over Psa. 90:5-11 by what we might call the variations seen in the incidence of Death: the sweeping away of masses of men, as in the flood; the silent falling asleep of individuals who unobservedly fall out of the living race of men; and especially the remarkable way in which generations succeed each other. Also: we might point out how the travail and trouble of life enhance the impressiveness of its brevity. Life is slow and bright in coming, but swift in departing, and shadowed in retrospect. Seventy or eighty years seem long to the young; but to the aged they appear but as a few days. Many besides Jacob when brought before Pharaoh (Gen. 47:9) have, in the time of retrospect, been ready to exclaim: Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life!
But, instead of lingering over these details of the Stanza before us, it is more important to give good heed to the pivot prayer which forms the transition to the great prayer of the psalm. This pivot prayer is the outcry of the careful scholar, that he be not suffered to miss the main lesson for which he came into the Divine school: How to number our days, so make thou known, That we may get a mind that hath wisdom. The first point to note here is that there is an apprehended difficulty in making the desired calculation; and the next is, that Divine illumination is sought in order to overcome the difficulty. Let us carefully consider these two points in succession.
The words of this transitional little prayer do properly suppose a difficulty; nor does it seem legitimate to tone down and modify its point. The psalmist does not ask to be guided to apply his mind to a wise object: in other words, he does not say: Having numbered my days, and easily discovered how frail and shortlived I am, teach me to regulate my life accordingly. It is the wise mind itself which he covets; and he seeks it in a definite way, namely by numbering, and not by means of reflection. It is the numbering itself which occasions his difficulty. He wishes to know how to make the successful calculationhow to do the necessary sum. What is it? Is it to find out what is the average duration of human life? But he knows that already. Is it to discover what point he has reached in the scale of possibility? But he can find that out, if he has lost count, by domestic repute or an appeal to the family register. Is it to know, whether he personally shall reach the average outside limit? But no amount of counting can inform him of that. No man, starting from the known average, can say: Therefore I have ten or twenty more years to live. And though God could reveal it to him, that is not at all the point of the prayer.
And yet it is true, that it is a revelationor at least instruction or informationwhich the psalmist seeks; for he says Make known. He clearly, then, wishes to know how to do the successful numbering. For this he feels he needs Divine guidance, and hopes for such guidance to be vouchsafed by way of making known to him something which at present he does not know, or as to which he feels uncertain.
Put these simple things together, and then see whether the solution will not appear. The psalmist desires a wise mind: he hopes to gain it by a process of numbering: he humbly seeks information that he may do the numbering aright. What, then, is the information he seeks? What does he need to know?
The whole psalm is eloquent with the answer. And, first, it is very plain that the psalmist gets his answer: the way in which his tone at once changes and deepens, and he forthwith opens up and boldly carries forward his great prayer against the continued dominion of Death, shews this. The informal way in which the result discloses itself, naturally suggests, that he obtains his answer by immediatethough perhaps unconsciousrevelation. The materials for his answer already lie within the area of his mind. He is guided to put them together correctly; and the result isa REVELATION: the thing he wished to know has been made clear!
Yes! he may and should take both returns into account: the little figures of this life and the large figures of the life to come. His survey must take in, not only the possible seventy or eighty years, with the uncertainties and humiliations and sorrows attendant on them, which are occupied in returning to dust, but the thousands, the thousands upon thousands, the illimitable ages of ages to be entered upon after returning from dust. Then and so he will indeed get a wise mind. The man who gets no further than the seventy or eighty years of this life, may, by thinking and moralising, discover a few stars of prudence twinkling in his midnight sky; but the man who by faith leaps forward into the renewed life that is to be, is greeted at once with the effulgence of a sun of Divine Wisdom which illumines all the heaven of his soul, and which will never set.
A PLEA FOR THE OVERTHROW OF DEATHS DOMINION (Stanza IV., Psa. 90:13-17). Oh return thou, Jehovah! how long? It only needs that this outcry should be interpreted in the light of the context, to perceive its amazing breadth and boldness. It is then seen to mean no less than this: Return from the anger with which, during generation after generation, thou hast been inflicting death: Reverse thy procedure. Thou hast long been turning frail man to atoms: wilt thou not now, with effect, sayCome again, ye sons of men? Thou hast been flooding them away: wilt thou not bring them back as a great army? Thou hast been putting them to sleep: wilt thou not awaken them? Shall the iniquities of our race never be adequately covered? Shall its secret shame and wrong never be expiated, by the morning of glory enough to redound to thy praise?
And have compassion on thy servants, who have all along through these dark ages been serving thee. Pity them for their ill requitalfor their unfinished tasksfor the obloquy they have endured. Satisfy us: we are hungry for fulfilment. We are longing for the turn of the morning. We are looking for the morning of a new day. We are expecting a day in which thy kindness shall be as publicly demonstrated as thy wrath has been during the long reign of death. Infants have been taken captive by premature removal: shall they never come back from the land of the enemy? Thy servants have been publicly dishonoured: they have fallen asleep unrewarded: shall they never be owned and crowned: We are looking for the morning that shall usher in that new day that shall make us feel we are but beginning our existence; being ushered into which, we shall give one long ringing shout for joy, and then go forward with gladness unto length of days.
Granted, that this is, to some extent, necessarily, imaginary paraphrase: the only serious question is whether, in a form we can understand, it gives embodiment to the spirit of this prayer. But let us humbly endeavour to be more logical.
Make us glad, according to the days thou hast humbled us, The years we have seen misfortune. There is here a principle involved, as the ground of petition: it is the principle of proportion. Lest we should lose ourselves if we go so far afield as to keep the ancients in view, such as Noah and Abraham, although we ought to do that,let us confine ourselves to the outlook of Moses himself. When he uses this language, what does he naturally mean? The days thou hast humbled us: how many have they been? The years we have seen misfortune: how long have they now lasted? Let us say, in round numbers: Four hundred years. Well, then, his petition cannot signify less than this: Make us glad, for four hundred years, in the good land into which thou dost intend to bring us according to the promises made to our fathers. But, after all, is this the rule of proportion between the gracious Jehovah and his loyal servants? Is it simply so much reward for so much suffering? Who can think it, of Him who in the natural world gives to some kernels, cast into the earth, thirty, to some sixty, and to some a hundred fold. Will he who takes four hundred years to form the sons of Israel into an organized nation, be content to give them a four hundred years run of national prosperity? No such conclusion can commend itself.
Shew unto thy servants thy work. What work has Jehovah in hand in forming this people? Is it not to make of them a kingdom of priests, a holy nation? (Exodus 19). And is this work never to be finished? And thy majesty upon their children. And will the promised cloud of glory (Isaiah 4) never rest upon them? And when it does, will the fathers and founders of the nation not be given to behold the ravishing sight?
And let the delightfulnesssurely not for ever, the anger, the wrath; not merely the kindness, though that is bounded only by righteousness and is age-abiding; not alone the majesty, though that is awe-inspiring; but the delightfulness, comprehending all the beauty of form that can please the eye, all the sweetness of taste that can suggest entire mental satisfaction. The delightfulness of the Sovereign Lordwhose governmental designs are receiving satisfying accomplishment: the Sovereign Lord our Godapproving himself to the nations of the earth, as the God of Israel. Let this be upon us: not merely on them. And the work of our hands. When the delightfully kind and gloriously majestic Jehovah shews his work unto his servants, his servants will be permitted to discover their own humble share thereinMoses his leadership and laws, Joshua his victories, David his songs and the like. This work of ours, which thou art pleased to accept as thine own: let it be established upon us, both on our children and on ourselves. This is the solidaritythis the fellowshipthis the fruition in this abiding kingdom, for which we pray.
In submitting the foregoing as a fair exposition of the 90th psalm, it is deemed proper to guard against extravagant expectations, which can only yield disappointment. It should be remembered: That this psalm is poetry, and not didactic teaching, and therefore must be handled with such lightness of touch as allows for figures of speech and dramatic changes of points of view; That this is but a single, very early psalm, which may naturally have left in doubt what subsequent psalms and prophecies have made clear; and especially That it was penned centuries before light and incorruption were illumined by the Gospel, and hence cannot be expected to have formulated a consecutive account of that great process of Bringing Back from the dust of death the race of mankind which even now is, only just begun. It is, however, claimedand it is for the candid student to judge whether the claim has been made goodthat here, thus early in the history of Divine Revelation, the theme of a General Resurrection is effectively broached; and that the Initial Stages of that Resurrection are clearly impliedif, at least, the recall of Jehovahs Servants from the dust of death bears any pledging and causal relation to the Bringing Back of the remainders of men. That the uplifting of the Nation of Israel to the high level of their national calling, is to issue in the Birth from the Grave of the nations of the world, is now seen by independent students to be really taught in Isaiah 26 (cp. Psalms 48 end). Why Israel has not yet been able to respond to her call; and why, therefore, she has not yet wrought such deliverance in the earth as awaits her accomplishment, are questions most vitally at issue between Jews and Christians. When Israel finds her Leader in the Great Returnthe Coming Againof this psalm, she will further find that He is not only by appointment a sufferer, but that He is also the First, the Chief, the Leader of an illuminating Resurrection from the dead, who proclaims Light to both the people of Israel and to the remaining Nations of the earth. So, at least, we have been taught by a Jew who was also a Christian (in Act. 26:23).
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1.
The heading of this psalm attributes it to Mosesat what period in his life was it written?
2.
Scroggie well says The psalm falls naturally into three parts, and each of these into two: Part one Psa. 90:1-6; Gods Eternity and Mans Fraility. Part two Psa. 90:7-12; Mans sin and Gods wrath. Part three Psa. 90:13-17; Frail and Sinful Mans appeal to the Eternal God. Compare this with Rotherhams divisions. A great deal of discussion is given to the two uses of the term return in Psa. 90:3. Scroggie says: Return ye, may be a parallel thought, return to dust, or it may refer to the rise of a new generation, answering to generations in verse. How does this compare with Rotherham? Discuss.
3.
Does God inflict death? If so why?
4.
What is our secret which is set up near the lamp of Gods face?
5.
God hates sinwhy?
6.
What is the pivotal prayer of this psalm?
7.
What is the wisdom obtained in numbering our day?
8.
Read carefully Psa. 90:13-17 and relate them to Moses, i.e. as they were written. Discuss.
9.
There are some tremendous lessons for living in this psalm. List two or three for discussion.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(1) Dwelling place.LXX. and Vulg., refuse, possibly reading maz (as in Psa. 37:39) instead of man. So some MSS. But Deu. 33:17 has the feminine of this latter word, and the idea of a continued abode strikes the key-note of the psalm. The short duration of each succeeding generation of men on the earth is contrasted with the eternity of God and the permanence given to Israel as a race by the covenant that united them with the Eternal. But we may give extension to the thought. Human history runs on from generation to generation (so the Hebrew; comp. Deu. 32:7); one goes, another comes; but in relation to the unchanging God, who rules over all human history, even the transient creatures of an hour may come to feel secure and at home.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
1. Thou hast been our dwelling-place This is the proposition sustained throughout the first six verses. The mutable and perishable in man are contrasted with the immutable and absolute in God, in whose eternal years alone the flickering and crushed life of man finds refuge and stability. Especially does the Church find its life and perpetuation in the all-invigorating life of God; and Moses speaks from the heart of the Church.
In all generations Literally, In generation and generation. Four designations of time are given: “In generation and generation,” “before the mountains were brought forth,” “before the world was fashioned,” “from everlasting to everlasting.” Anterior to the date of the world nothing is known but eternity, but God fills both time and eternity. No conceptions of God can be more awful, more sublime.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psalms 90
Theme – The theme of Psalms 90 is for God to redeem His children in order to fulfill their destinies in the midst of their brief lives.
Structure – Psalms 90 contrasts God’s eternal nature (Psa 90:1-6) with man’s temporal, sinful nature (Psa 90:7-10), moving the author to cry out for God’s mercy (Psa 90:11-17). Another way to view this Psalm is to see references to man’s spiritual journey here on earth. We read about God’s foreknowledge as He predestined His creation for a purpose (Psa 90:1-2), His call to man in the midst of his frailty and depravity (Psa 90:3-6), our need for justification (Psa 90:7-9), our need for sanctification in the description of man’s mortality and Moses’ cry for wisdom (Psa 90:10-12), and our glorification is reflected in Moses’ prayer for God to set His glory upon His children (Psa 90:13-17).
Psa 90:1 (A Prayer of Moses the man of God.) Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
Psa 90:1
Psa 90:1 Comments – We can imagine this prayer of Moses as he despaired of the forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Such vanity and endless wandering while one generation died in the wilderness brought the children of Israel face to face with the reality of their mortality. They had no dwelling place, no cities to dwelling in as did the Gentiles around them. Their only dwelling place was their tents pitched around the Tabernacle. Thus, God (represented by the Tabernacle in the wilderness) was their dwelling place; and not only for his generation. But Moses understood the divine truth that God was man’s only permanent dwelling place for all peoples of all nations for all generations since the time of Adam and Eve.
Psa 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
Psa 90:2
Isa 43:10, “Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.”
In Psa 90:2 Moses establishes God’s eternal nature before contrasting it with man’s mortal nature. God does not dwell in the realm of time as man does. This psalm will later say that the days of man’s life or seventy to eighty years, which is a declaration of our mortality in contrast to God’s eternal nature.
Psa 90:2 also suggests that the mountains were created at a separate time than the heavens and the earth. Many scholars believe that the large mountain ranges were formed during the massive geological upheavals that took place at the time of the Flood, when the earth’s outer crust split and moved and crashed into one another.
Regarding the phrase “thou are God,” we note that the Scripture does not say “You were God, but rather, “You are God,” meaning that God dwells in eternity, and not in the past. God does not dwell in the realm of time, so He is referred to in the present tense. This is why Jesus said, “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” (Joh 8:58)
Psa 90:3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.
Psa 90:3
Psa 90:4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
Psa 90:4
2Pe 3:8, “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”
Psa 90:4 “and as a watch in the night” Comments – The Jews divided the night into four watches, consisting of three hours per watch. Each watch began at 6:00 p.m., 9:00p.m., 12:00 midnight and 3:00 a.m.
Psa 90:4 Comments – The God’sWord translation of Psa 90:4 reads, “Indeed, in your sight a thousand years are like a single day, like yesterday–already past–like an hour in the night.”
Psa 90:5 Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.
Psa 90:6 Psa 90:5-6
Jas 1:10-11, “But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.”
Psa 90:7 For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.
Psa 90:8 Psa 90:9 Psa 90:10 Psa 90:10
Psa 90:10 Comments – In the Garden of Eden mankind was immortal. He was untainted with sin and the characteristics of the earth were perfected for his immortality. Immediately after the fall, man’s lifespan was reduced to approximately one thousand years according to the genealogy of Gen 5:1-32. Man was now subject to mortality through death and decay as was the earth. Rom 8:19-22 says the creation was subjected to vanity along with man’s mortality. Thus, the characteristics of the earth were slightly altered along with the shortening of man’s lifespan.
Rom 8:19-22, “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.”
The second time God reduced man’s lifespan is during the time of Noah’s flood (Gen 6:3), when God reduced man’s lifespan drastically down to one hundred twenty years. God did this by altering the characteristics of the earth through the Flood. Today we live within the same characteristics of the earth and within the same bounds of a 120-year lifespan.
Gen 6:3, “And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.”
Five hundred years after Noah, Moses refers to man living seventy to eighty years (Psa 90:10). During the wilderness journeys of Israel, God reduced the lifespan in order to raise up a new generation of Israelites that were able to go into the Promised Land to possess it. However, we must not think of this as a divine decree that reduced mankind’s lifespan, but rather an observation of the average age of man’s life while living in disobedience to God’s purpose and plan for his life. Even today, there are a few people who live up to one hundred twenty years, while most of us live only to seventy to eighty years, just as Moses described. We can make this evaluation because each time God shortened man’s lifespan, He altered the characteristics of the earth. However, from the time of Noah to Moses no alterations were made.
We know that God will one day restore man’s lifespan back to its original immortality. Again, this event will coincide with the creation of a new heaven and earth. Some scholars suggest that man’s thousand-year lifespan will be restored during the Millennial Reign of Christ, but I have yet to find how this change will coincide with the alterations of the earth.
Psa 90:10 Comments – The Book of Jubilees quotes Psa 90:10. The context of this verse is found in a description of Abraham’s death after a long life due to righteous living. However, from this time forward, man’s days will be shortened because of the wickedness of their generations.
“Then they shall say: ‘The days of the forefathers were many (even), unto a thousand years, and were good; but behold, the days of our life, if a man has lived many, are three score years and ten, and, if he is strong, four score years, and those evil, and there is no peace in the days of this evil generation.’” ( The Book of Jubilees 23.15-16) [98]
[98] The Book of Jubilees, trans. R. H. Charles, in The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament in English With Introductions and Critical and Explanatory Notes to the Several Books, vol 2, ed. R. H. Charles, 1-82 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913), 48.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Mercy of God Man’s Only Refuge.
v. 1. Lord, v. 2. Before the mountains were brought forth, v. 3. Thou turnest man to destruction, v. 4. For a thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, v. 5. Thou carriest them away as with a flood, v. 6. In the morning it flourisheth, v. 7. For we are consumed by Thine anger, v. 8. Thou hast set our iniquities, v. 9. For all our days are passed away in Thy wrath, v. 10. The days of our years are threescore years and ten, v. 11. Who knoweth the power of Thine anger? v. 12. So teach us to number our days, v. 13. Return, O Lord, how long? v. 14. O satisfy us early with Thy mercy, v. 15. Make us glad according to the days wherein Thou hast afflicted us, v. 16. Let Thy work appear unto Thy servants, v. 17. And let the beauty of the Lord, our God,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
THE ascription of this psalm in the title to Moses must be admitted to be very remarkable. No other psalm is so ascribed. Nor indeed is a date given to any other earlier than the time of David. The psalm itself, however, when examined, is found to accord with the traditional date. Professor Cheyne notes in it a “roughness,” which is presumably a sign of antiquity. Ewald says of it, “The poem has in it something uncommonly striking, solemn, sinking into the depth of the Godhead. In contents and language it is throughout original and powerful; and, as it is undoubtedly very old, it would have been universally considered as correctly derived from Moses, had we known exactly the reasons which guided the collector.” Hengstenberg, Kay, professor Alexander, and Dean Johnson accept unhesitatingly the Mosaic authorship.
The psalm is termed, “A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.” It is, however, only in part a “prayer,” Meditation occupies the opening portion (Psa 90:1-6); complaint follows (Psa 90:7-11); it is only with Psa 90:12 that prayer begins. (For the application to Moses of the phrase, “man of God,” see Deu 33:1; Jos 14:6; Ezr 3:2.)
Psa 90:1
Lord, thou hast been our Dwelling place in all generations; or, “our habitation” (see Psa 91:9); comp. Psa 32:7, “Thou art my Hiding place.” For well nigh forty years Moses had had no fixed material dwelling place.
Psa 90:2
Before the mountains were brought forth (comp. Pro 8:25). The “mountains” are mentioned as perhaps the grandest, and certainly among the oldest, of all the works of God. Or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world; literally, or thou gavest birth to the earth and the world (comp. Deu 32:18). Even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God (comp. Psa 93:2; Pro 8:23; Mic 5:2; Hab 1:12).
Psa 90:3
Thou turnest man to destruction; or, “to dust” (comp. Gen 3:19). And sayest, Return, ye children of men; i.e. “return once more, and replenish the earth.” There may be an allusion to the destruction of mankind by the Deluge, and the repeopling of the earth by the descendants of Noah, as Dr. Kay supposes; or the meaning may be that God is continually bringing one generation of men to an end. and then setting up another, having the same control over human life that he has over inanimate nature (Psa 90:2).
Psa 90:4
For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday. Time has no relation to God; it does not exist for him. “One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2Pe 3:8) Therefore we must not judge his methods of working by our own. When it is past; rather, as it passes. And as a watch in the night. To the sleeper a night watch seems gone in a moment.
Psa 90:5
Thou carriest them away as with a flood. This verse is to be connected with Psa 90:3, “Thou sweepest mankind away;” i.e. removest them from the earth, when it pleases thee. They are as a sleep. Fantastic, vague, forgotten as soon as it is over. In the morning they are like grass which groweth up (comp. Psa 37:2; Psa 72:16; Psa 92:7; Psa 103:15; Isa 40:7).
Psa 90:6
In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withered (comp. Psa 102:4, Psa 102:11 Psa 103:15; Isa 40:7; Jas 1:10, Jas 1:11).
Psa 90:7
For we are consumed by thine anger. From the general reflections, and the general consideration of human weakness, which have hitherto occupied him, the psalmist proceeds to speak particularly of the weakness and sin of himself and his own people, which have brought upon them a painful visitation. God’s anger is hot upon them, and has “consumed” themnot utterly, but so that they are greatly “troubled” and cast down. By thy wrath are we troubled. The expressions used suit the time of the later wanderings in the wilderness, when the generation that had especially sinned was being gradually “consumed,” that it might not eater the Holy land.
Psa 90:8
Thou hast set our iniquities before thee. Instead of hiding his face from their iniquities, turning away from them and overlooking them, God has placed them steadily “before him,” in the full searching and scorching light of his own purity and holiness. And not only has he done this with the sins which they know of, and whereof their consciences are afraid; but he has set their secret sins also in the light of his countenance. (On man’s “secret sins,” comp. Psa 19:12, and the comment ad loc.)
Psa 90:9
For all our days are passed away in thy wrath; or, “under thy wrath””whilst thou art still angry with us” (comp. Deu 32:15-25). We spend our yearsrather, bring our years to an end (Hengstenberg, Kay, Revised Version) as a tale that is told; rather, as a reverie, or “as a murmur.”
Psa 90:10
The days of our years are three score years and ten. This seems a low estimate for the time of Moses, since he himself died at the ago of a hundred and twenty (Deu 34:7), Aaron at the age of a hundred and twenty-three (Num 33:39), and Miriam at an age which was even more advanced (Num 20:1; comp. Exo 2:4). But these may have been exceptional cases, and we have certainly no sufficient data for determining what was the average length of human life in the later period of the wanderings. The suggestion has been made that it was probably even shorter than that here mentioned. And if by reason of strength they be four score years; i.e. “if, through exceptional strength in this or that individual, they occasionally mount up to four score years.” Yet is their strength labour and sorrow; rather, yet is their pride then but let, our and vanity. They may boast of their age; but what real advantage is it to them? After seventy, the years draw nigh when each man is forced to say, “I have no pleasure in them” (Ecc 12:1). For it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Moreover, even if we live to eighty, our life seems to us no more than a span, so soon does it pass away, and we take our departure.
Psa 90:11
Who knoweth the power of thins anger? Who can duly estimate the intensity of God’s anger against such as have displeased him? Even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath; rather, or who can estimate thy fury as the fear of thee (i.e. the proper fear) requires? The verse is exegetical of Psa 90:9, and is intended to impress on man the terribleness of God’s anger.
Psa 90:12-17
From complaint the psalmist, in conclusion, turns to prayerprayer for his people rather than for himself. His petitions are,
(1) that God will enable his people to take to heart the lessons which the brevity of life should teach (Psa 90:12);
(2) that he will cease from his anger, and relent concerning them (Psa 90:13);
(3) that he will once more shower his mercies upon them, and cause their affliction to be swallowed up in gladness (Psa 90:14, Psa 90:15);
(4) that he will show his glorious doings to them and to their children (Psa 90:16);
(5) that he will let his beauty rest upon them (Psa 90:17); and
(6) that he will bless their doings, and establish them (Psa 90:17).
Psa 90:12
So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. “Teach us,” that is, “so to reflect on the brevity of life, that we may get to ourselves a heart of wisdom,” or a heart that is wise and understanding.
Psa 90:13
Return, O Lord, how long? rather, turn, O Lord; i.e. “turn from thy angerhow long will it be ere thou turnest?” And let it repent thee concerning thy servants. God “is not a man, that he should repent” (Num 23:19); and yet from time to time “it repents him concerning his servants” (Deu 32:36; Psa 135:14). He relents, that is, from his fierce anger, allows himself to be appeased, and has compassion upon those who have provoked him.
Psa 90:14
Oh satisfy us early with thy mercy; literally, satisfy us in the morning with thy mercy; i.e. “after a night of trouble, give us a bright morning of peace and rest.” That we may rejoice and be glad all our days; rather, and we will rejoice and be glad, etc.
Psa 90:15
Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us. Proportion our time of joy to our time of sorrow: as the one has lasted many long years, so let the other. And the years wherein we have seen evil; or, “suffered adversity.”
Psa 90:16
Let thy work appear ante thy servants, end thy glory unto their children. The “work” and the “glory” are the same thingsome vast exertion of the Divine power and majesty, which will result in great good to his people. If we accept the Mosaic authorship of the psalm, the establishment of Israel in the laud of Canaan may reasonably be taken as the “work” spoken of.
Psa 90:17
And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us (comp. Psa 45:1-17 :24, “Thou art fairer than the children of men;” Psa 27:4, “To behold the beauty of the Lord;” Isa 33:17, “Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty”). The “beauty of God” is upon us when we see and realize the loveliness of his character. And establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it. The repetition adds nothing, except it be emphasis. God is asked, finally, to “establish the work” in which his servants are engagedto bless it; that is, to advance it and prosper it. The nature of the “work” is not mentioned.
HOMILETICS
Psa 90:1, Psa 90:2
The fundamental truths of all religion.
“Lord, thou hast been our Dwelling place,” etc. This psalm is a monument of spiritual power. It possesses in eminent. degree the perennial freshness which so wonderfully belongs to Scripture. Generations pass. Centuries mount up into thousands of years; but this ancient psalm lifts up its voice with undecaying strength and sweetness. It reminds us of a granite pillar which casts its unchanging image on a river which flows past, as it has flowed for ages. The inscription, cut thousands of years ago, is unworn by the finger of time; it is clear and sharp, as if cut yesterday. The psalm has been spoken of as “perhaps the most sublime of human compositions, the deepest in feeling, the loftiest in theologic conception, the most magnificent in its imagery” (Isaac Taylor). Even those who question the tradition that it was written by Moses (perhaps more from the habit of questioning than for any solid reason) are utterly at a loss to suggest who else can have been its author. Whether Moses or not, he “wrote as he was moved by the Holy Ghost.” These opening verses express the fundamental truths of all religion. the eternal existence of God; the dependence of all other existence on him as Creator, and our personal relation to him as our Almighty Father and Friend”our Dwelling place in all generations.”
I.THE ETERNITY OF GOD. His underived, unchangeable, self-existent being; independent of time. “From everlasting thou art God.” The Hebrew word means “duration,” past or future; here, evidently, unlimited duration, or, as we say, eternity. The eternity of God, like his immensity, his omniscience, omnipotence, one of the truths reason cannot grasp, but is compelled to affirm. If we try to think of boundless, actually infinite space, we are baffled. Yet the moment we try to imagine a bound, thought overleaps it. So we cannot comprehend a past eternity; yet the moment we suppose a beginning, we cannot help askingWhat was before that? The greatest philosopher of Germany thought he had got rid of the perplexity by asserting that time and space have no existence except in our minds. But this ignores the plain fact that the whole universe, from the movement of suns and systems to the growth of a grain of seed or the ticking of a watch, is based on the reality of time and space, and governed by them. Faith accepts what reason cannot grasp; and falls down and worships “him that liveth forever and ever.”
II. THE DEPENDENCE OF ALL OTHER EXISTENCE ON THE SELF–EXISTENT, THE ETERNAL. “Ere ever thou hadst formed,” etc. All things, God excepted, had a beginning (Heb 11:3; Rev 4:11; Rom 11:36). Here, again, philosophy has striven hard to get rid of the necessity for creation; to lead us to believe matter and force eternal, and the parents of life, order, beauty, happiness. But the deepest science assures us that the universe in its present state is far enough from either immutable or everlasting; that life can spring only from life; and that the primary material of the universeatoms, or whatever else we like to call itbears as clearly the marks of being fitted to its work, by weight, measure, number, exact proportion, as the rudder and screw of a ship, or the beam and flywheel of a steam engine. Science, which is nothing but the study of God’s plans and methods of working, leads us back from all vain imaginings to the throne of God. Our deepest thought, our widest, most searching questionings of nature, cannot take us outside of St. Paul’s simple, profound declaration, “In him we live, and move, and have our being” (Act 17:28).
III. OUR PERSONAL RELATION TO GOD. “Lord, thou hast been our Dwelling place.” Our Refuge, our Rest, our Home. All that we can learn of God, or conjecture concerning him, would profit us nothing, if we do not say, “This God is our God forever and ever” (Psa 48:14). The same word and thought meet us in the sublime blessing (Deu 33:27). (Internal confirmation of Mosaic authorship.) The thought of God dwelling with his people, is frequent; the great purpose of the tabernacle, with its covering cloud, and all connected with it, was to impress this idea (for the highest fulfilment of which, see Eph 2:22; Rev 21:3). But here God is himself our Habitation. The whole range of Gentile religious thought cannot (I believe) produce a parallel to this tender, attractive, yet glorious representation of God as the Eternal Home of his people. In that most mournful, though beautiful psalm, in which the psalmist can see nothing but the frailty and vanity of human life, and Faith struggles not to lose her hold, he thinks of himself as “a sojourner” with God (Psa 39:12). His fainting faith would have revived, had he said, “No! a sojourner with men, a pilgrim on earth; but at home with thee!”
REMARKS.
1. How close, tender, full of encouragement, is this relation! To what does the heart cling more lovingly, trustfully, restfully, than to our home?
2. This looks beyond this fleeting life, the shadowy brevity of which is so powerfully contrasted, throughout the psalm, with the opening thought of God’s eternity. We are never to leave home (cf. Psa 48:14). Our Guide till death; our God forever. Compare our Lord’s argument (Luk 20:37, Luk 20:38).
3. The unity of the Church: “all generations” of the long succession of believers have one Home (Heb 11:13, Heb 11:16, Heb 11:40).
4. Our Lord Jesus claims to sustain this relation (Joh 15:4-7; 1Jn 2:28).
Psa 90:8
Secret sins.
Nothing perishes. Nothing is forgotten. Things lost to us are found elsewhere. Things that seem to perish do but pass into new forms. The bursting bubble, the smoke scattered by the wind, the fallen leaf trampled into the mire, vanish from our sight and sense; but the atoms of which that puff of smoke is made are as old as the world, and will endure while the world endures. The image of that bubble, with its lovely colours, most lovely just before it bursts, may remain in our memory, or may exercise the thought of scientific minds, for years. The bud which the perished leaf nourished may grow into a bough that will be green when generations have passed; and the dust into which the dead leaf moulders may feed new life. How much more in the spiritual realm! The acted deed, the spoken word, the conscious thought, may seem to perish the instant it comes to birth. Memory may blot it that moment from her tablet. But it is indestructible. It survives in its results. There is a memory in which nothing ever fades; an eye nothing is quick enough to escape or baffle; a light from which no secret thing is hid. “Thou hast set,” etc.
I. SIN NATURALLY SEEKS CONCEALMENT. The first impulse of the first sinnersvery foolish, but very naturalwas to hide themselves from God (Gen 3:8-10). Some sins those who commit them are anxious to hide from human knowledge. Shame is the natural attendant of consciousness of wrong doing. Only the most hardened and debased “glory in their shame.” Other sins, through self-ignorance, self-deceit, carelessness, or dulness of conscience, are a secret from the sinner himself (Psa 19:12). Some sinse.g. fraud of all kindsare possible only by concealment. Self-interest, not shame merely, prompts secrecy. So subtle is sin, that it often disguises itself as virtue. Covetousness poses as prudence, spite as candour, pride as a delicate sense of honour, obstinate ill temper as honest independence, envy, malice, and all uncharitableness, as zeal for truth and for God. Even the sincerest Christian has cause to pray, “Who can understand,” etc.? (Psa 19:12).
II. NO SIN IS HIDDEN FROM GOD. An appalling contrast! What darker hiding place conceivable than the secret, silent depth of the heart? But not only is it transparent to God’s view (Psa 139:1, Psa 139:12), he brings our secrets to light in the full blaze of omniscience. Elsewhere the “light of God’s countenance” means his favour, the sunshine of his loving kindness. But that is a different word in Hebrew; the one used here means not mere sunshine, but the sun (Gen 1:14 16). God’s knowledge of men’s sins is such as is possible to God alone; he knows each sin in its motives, its exact magnitude, its issues in the sinner himself and towards others, its desert. Yet this tremendous thought has its side of comfort. “He knoweth our frame” (Psa 103:14)our weakness, ignorance, temptations. His justice excludes harshness. He “has no pleasure in the death of him that dieth.”
III. THIS KNOWLEDGE IS NOT TO BE KEPT SECRET. It is to be published to the universe (Ecc 12:14). The frequent detection and punishment of the most carefully concealed crimes is a faint anticipation of “the day” (Act 17:31; 2Co 5:10; Rev 2:23).
IV. SIN CANNOT BE HIDDEN; BUT IT CAN BE “COVERED.” (Psa 32:1; Psa 85:2.) It can be “blotted out” (Isa 43:25; Act 3:19), “washed” (Psa 51:2; 1Co 6:11; Rev 7:14). Only he who knows our sins could forgive or atone (Rom 5:8).
HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY
Psa 90:1-17
The Lord our Dwelling place.
There is no need to doubt the assigned authorship of this psalm. It is in entire harmony with the facts and surroundings of Moses’ and Israel’s life in the wilderness. Observe
I. THE BLESSED FACT. The Lord our Dwelling place, which this psalm tells of at its beginning. Weary wanderers as the Israelites were, with no settled resting place, here today, gone tomorrow, how blessed for them that there was refuge, a dwelling place, a home, in God! And this, Moses and such as he had realized and may realize still.
1. Here there may be, there is, perpetual change; but in God a settled abode.
2. Here, weariness and turmoil; in God, rest and peace.
3. Here, continual disappointment; in God, the soul‘s satisfaction. (Cf. Psa 63:5.)
4. Here, perpetual peril; in God, perfect security.
5. Here, the coldness and enmity of men; in God, unfailing sympathy and love. Yes, God is the Home of the believing soul.
II. THE SUSTAINING POWER OF THIS FACT. It enables us to meet with calmness the heart breaking events of life. The psalmist enumerates a number of them.
1. The brevity of our life. (Psa 90:3-6.)
2. The real cause of human misery. (Psa 90:7.) It is our sin, and God’s displeasure thereat. Hence is it (Psa 90:9) that the sense of that displeasure overwhelms us as with lightning flash, and our lives are as a breath. And so all life is sad, even at the best (Psa 90:10).
3. The fearfulness of the Divine anger. (Psa 90:11.) “Who knoweth the might of thine anger and thy wrath, according to the fear that is due unto thee?” (Perowne). None can even rightly estimate it, much less overestimate it.
III. THE RELIEVING PRAYER TO WHICH IT LEADS.
1. That we may not miss the instruction which these sad facts should impart. The “wisdom” craved is that we may make the Lord our Dwelling place.
2. For brighter days. (Psa 90:13-15.)
3. For the promised salvationthe work and the glory of God (Psa 90:16).
4. For the beauty of holiness. There had been none of this in Israel in all these many years.
5. That life may be worth living. Not a perpetual disappointment, such as it had been hitherto, but that the work of their hands might be established (Psa 90:17). Such are some of the prayers which the soul whose home is in God will be led to offer in view of the brevity, the frailty, and the sinfulness of life. Let the Lord be our Dwelling place, and all is well. “Our life is hid with Christ in God.”S.C.
Psa 90:1
The glorious habitation.
It has been remarked that we have Moses presented to us in three aspectsas poet (see his song at the Red Sea); as preacher (see Deuteronomy and elsewhere); and as a man of prayer (see the closing verses of this psalm). These three characters are not often combined, but when they are they make the subject of them very powerful with God for man, and with man for God. And the secret of his eminence in each character was that his spirit’s home was in God. Note
I. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? How can the Lord be our Dwelling place?
1. It is evident that a spiritual dwelling place is meant. It is not a material habitation, such as the body needs, but one for the spirit of man.
2. And the Lord is such a Dwelling place for our spirits. For if we be such as Moses was, men of God, then God will be our spirits’ home, because there they continually abide. Christ said, “Abide in me,” and this they do, as a man’s home is his dwelling place. And chiefly because it is there he not only dwells, but loves to dwell. Home is not a mere place: it is only home when love dwells there. A man’s habitation may be a hell for him, and it will be if it be without love. But it is his home when his affections centre there, when it contains those whom he dearly loves, and who in like manner love him. Then, whether rich or poor, great or small, a palace or a pauper’s hut, it is yet his home. Now, God is the home of his people, not alone because they do dwell there, but because they love to dwell there (cf. Psa 63:1-11.; Psa 43:3, Psa 43:5).
3. For in God there is rest for our intellects. Even unbelievers have recognized this. A French philosopher in the days of the Revolution said, “If it could be shown that there was no God, we should have to invent one.” They felt that for the satisfaction of the understanding God was a necessity. In him we can see the adequate Cause and Creator of all things, and in his wisdom and power and goodness the mind finds rest.
4. And in him also there is met the cravings of our affections. Even the contemplation of God in his spiritual attributes, in his exalted character, has been found to be full of delight to God’s servants; but how much more when he is revealed to us in Christ! Then the heart goes out to him in a great rush of affection, as it beholds his infinite purity and goodness and love as these are seen in Christ our blessed Redeemer. The heart of the believer gazes upon him until it grows toward him as the flowers grow toward the sun.
5. And the willthat lordliest faculty of our naturefinds in him its Inspiration, Strength, and Guide, and loves to lose itself in the will of God. Thus is the Lord our Dwelling place, our spirit’s Home, where it dwells, and loves to dwell.
II. WHO ARE THEY THAT DWELL IN GOD? St. John, in his First Epistle, lays down the marks of these blessed ones.
1. They are they who dwell in love. (1Jn 4:16.) He who loveth not his brother cannot dwell in God, nor God in him.
2. They who possess the Spirit of God. (1Jn 4:13.)
3. They who openly confess him. (1Jn 4:15.)
4. They who keep his commandments. (1Jn 3:24.) Thus may we test our right to say, “Lord, thou hast been our Dwelling place.”
III. WHAT COMES OF THIS DWELLING IN HIM?
1. The unity of God‘s people.
2. The world‘s conversion, when it sees all God’s people thus united (Joh 17:21).
IV. HOW CAN WE ENTER INTO AND ABIDE IN THIS BLESSED HOME? (Joh 14:6.) Christ is the Way. Give yourselves up to him.S.C.
Psa 90:4
God’s estimate of a thousand years.
Note
I. THE GROUND OF THIS ESTIMATE. It is the eternity of God. He who is from everlasting to everlastingGod, the Eternal. There never was a period in which he was not. He is more permanent than the most changeless things.
1. History teaches us this. Push back so far as we can into the remote past, there we find the sure proof of the Divine existence and work.
2. Science teaches it yet more powerfully. Whether we investigate the old rocks beneath our feet, or gaze upon the stars on high, both alike tell of vast ages, millenniums upon millenniums, in which they have had their being, and alike they proclaim God.
3. Revelation affirms the same.
II. ITS REASONABLENESS. Human analogies help us here. For our ideas of time are:
1. According to our own length of life. To short-lived creatures, such as the insects, a day appears a vast stretch of time; but to us, the days of whose years are three score years and ten, and perhaps four score years, a day is scarcely any time at all. We think a great deal of half a century, but what would one like Methuselah have thought of it? Only an insignificant fraction of his life, not needing to be much counted of. The angels of God also, what are our centuries to them? Above all, God the Eternal, how could it be otherwise than that a thousand years should be to him as one day?
2. According to the magnitude and multiplicity of those matters which demand and occupy our attention. There are people who live in very limited spheres, and who have scarcely anything to dothe idle rich, and many more. Their one idea is how to kill time; they hardly know how to get through ittheir days are miserably long. But take the man of affairs, who has large responsibilities resting upon him, the statesman, the merchant, the governor of wide areas and of great numbers of men;these have so much to attend to that the days are all too short and too few, and are gone long before they can accomplish what they have to do. Apply this to the idea of God. How vast his dominion! how infinite the demands upon his thought and energy! To him, therefore, a thousand years would be as one day.
3. Happiness or misery also cannot but affect our estimate of time. The sufferer tossed with pain, the prisoner in his dungeon, the exile, the miserable ones of all kinds,how long, how wearisome, are their days (Job 7:4; Psa 130:6; Luk 16:23-25)! On the other hand, the happy ones,how time flies with them! And God is the blessed God”the blessed and only Potentate.” All that. can contribute to his joy is present to him increasingly; the evil that exists is but the evolution of good. Why should he not be blessed? Our sad days of pain, therefore, which seem to us like a thousand years, he knows not, but only the joy which reverses such estimate of time.
III. ITS BENEFICENT REMINDERS. All truths of Scripture have practical bearings, and this one assuredly has.
1. It deepens in us the spirit of holy reverence. (Psa 8:3, Psa 8:4.)
2. It loosens the power of this world over us. What poor things are all the world’s gifts, when seen in the light of God the Eternal!
3. It bids us be patient, and not fret ourselves at the seemingly slow progress of good.
4. It ministers unspeakable consolation. We die, and leave our loved ones and our work; but God ever liveth, and they are in his charge.S.C.
Psa 90:9
As a tale that is told.
Yes, it is true; we do spend our lives as is here said. I know the word rendered “tale” may bear other meaningsa thought, a breath, a meditation, a numbering (Exo 5:8). But this in our text sets forth the psalmist’s thought as well as, if not better than, any other. His view of life is a very sad one, and is by no means true as concerns the blessed dead who die in the Lord. Their lives are not all “labour and sorrow;” still less are they “all passed away in” God’s wrath; nor are they so vain and worthless as, in his sadness, the psalmist represents them. His idea, in the similitude he here employs of “a tale,” has in view the brevity, the trifling character, the speedy forgetfulness into which they fell; but these are not all the characteristics of a tale that is told. Oriental peoples are very fond of short bright stories, and one who can tell such stories well is ever welcome amongst them. The psalmist had no doubt often heard such recitals, and he saysSo is man’s life. Well, it is so
I. IN THAT OUR DAYS ARE SOON OVER. The tale that was told was never long, but soon done, and room made for another. And so is it with our life, even at the longest, and especially that portion of our life which is of paramount importancethe formative character fixing years. How soon they are over! And the life takes its bent and bias from them, and generally continues so to the end. In the tale of most lives you know very soon how it will go on. The child is father to the man, and you can generally foretell how it will wind up. Let such as are young, therefore, take heed to their days, the days of their youththey are all-important.
II. IN ITS VARIED CHARACTER. There are tales told that are poor, mean, hurtful, not worth the telling; that stain the imagination, that incite to evil, and are doomed to a speedy and contemptuous oblivion. But there are others of an entirely different character. And so it is with men’s livessome evil, some blessed and good.
III. IF EITHER IS TO BE WORTHY, THE ESSENTIAl, ELEMENTS ARE THE SAME.
1. Energy and activity.
2. Thoughtfulness.
3. Character must be revealed.
4. The aim must be generous and high.
5. It must end well.S.C.
Psa 90:11
Man’ s underestimate of God’s anger.
“Who knoweth,” etc.?
I. SOME DO NOT KNOW IT AT ALL. They do not believe in God at all, or in a very faint way. Hence they turn at once to what they term “natural causes,” when the judgments of God are abroad in the earth. “The fool hath said in his heart,” etc.
II. MOST MEN HAVE SOME IDEA OF IT.
1. From the Bible. The records of God’s wrath are there writ largethe Fall; the Flood; the destruction of Egypt; the deaths in the wilderness, which were probably the occasion of this psalm.
2. From what they see. Vice and villainy come down with a crash from time to time, and men are forced to confess, “Verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth.”
3. From sad experience in their own hearts and lives.
4. From the frenzied fears of many godless ones when death seizes them. Their last awful hours betray the knowledge of God’s wrath.
III. BUT NONE KNOW IT ACCORDING TO THE FEAR OF GOD THAT IS DUE.
1. They cannot, because of the limitation of human faculties.
2. But they will not know it as they might and should. The thought of it is a terror and torment to them.
3. But they must, if they are to be saved. If we see not our need of Christ, we shall never seek him. “Spirit of God’s most holy fear,” come to us, that we may come to thee!S.C.
Psa 90:12
The right numbering of our days.
There are certain seasons which come round to menbirthdays, anniversaries, the close of the year, and the likewhich seem to compel some sort of numbering of our days. The giddiest, the most thoughtless and worldly, are, for the moment, constrained to recollect the flight of time, the passing away of their life. Like as in dead of night, in the heart of a great city, when its business is hushed, and the traffic of its streets is still, the almost solitary passenger, though thinking of quite other things, is startled and arrested by the sudden simultaneous sounding of the hour of the night from the multitudinous clocks and bell towers which are on every hand. In the rush and roar of the midday business, when the full tide of the city’s trade is sweeping on, their stroke and chime would hardly have been heeded. But in this quiet hour, when all is still, the boom of the cathedral bell or the chime from yonder tower floats along the deserted streets, and the wayfarer cannot but take notice that another hour is gone. So in the quiet of thought, to which such seasons as those I have referred to incline us, the evident fact of the passing away of our days strikes upon our mind, and leads us to some sort of numbering of our daysa numbering which may or may not be profitable, and which can only be so according to the manner in which it is done. And this is the teaching of our text. It craves the teaching of God, that we may so number our days as to apply, etc. That, then, is the right numbering of our days which leads us to apply our hearts unto wisdom. Therefore let us inquire
I. WHAT IS THIS WISDOM TO WHICH WE SHOULD APPLY OUR HEARTS? It is that which leads us to so use this life as the preparation for the life eternal. This life is our school, our training ground, the scene of our education for eternity. What folly, then, to waste and squander such a season! We chide sternly the boy who wastes his school time, but how many men throw away the opportunities which are given to them in this school of life to prepare them for the real life which awaits us when this is over! To the foolish child we say, “School time does not come twice.” To many men the same needs to be said. But we shall never use this life aright until we have surrendered our willsgiven our heartsto God, that by his wonder working grace he may cleanse, and sanctify, and keep, and use them for himself. Then all will be well.
II. HOW DOES THE RIGHT NUMBERING OF OUR DAYS LEAD TO THE APPLYING OF OUR HEARTS TO WISDOM? Because it makes us realize how transitory our life is. This is the burden of this psalm. But to really see this, to absolutely believe it, as few do, is to think but little of this world.
1. Of its riches and glory. For if I knownot merely think, but know certainlythat I must have done with them all in a very little time, shall I care very much for them? Would a prisoner in the condemned cell be greatly elated if, the day before his death, he was left a fortune? Would any struggle as they do for this world’s wealth if they knew that their lease of it was so brief?
2. And so, too, of this world‘s sorrows. Should we be so moved by them if we knew how little time they lasted? The martyrs were wont to strengthen their minds by this thought as they anticipated their cruel tortures and death. Paul says, “Our light afflictions which are but for a moment.“ Hence he who rightly numbers his days lives above the world, is independent of it, is free from its terrible down drag and tyranny.
3. And he will, knowing the transitoriness of this life, seek for that which is eternal.
III. WHY ARE WE SO SLOW TO NUMBER OUR DAYS?
1. Because we do not like the task. It breeds melancholy and fearful thoughts.
2. We persuade ourselves there is no need. We shall have plenty of time (cf. the rich fool).
3. We so love the world.
4. Doubt. The teachings of Holy Scripture and the Church are dimly seen, or doubted, or, it may be, absolutely denied. Many more than we think are practical atheists. Therefore we need to pray, “So teach us to number our days,” or else we shall never do it at all.S.C.
Psa 90:14
The secret of satisfaction.
I. MAN CRAVES FOR SATISFACTION. He may have many advantages and gifts, much wealth, friends, health, and much beside; and these may divert, interest, and absorb him; but they cannot really satisfy. His soul will hunger still.
II. GOD‘S MERCY ALONE CAN MEET THAT CRAVING. For:
1. It puts out of the way all that hinders our satisfaction. The sense of guilt; the tyranny of sin; the burden of care; the fear of death.
2. It brings along with it the true elements of the soul‘s satisfaction. Sense of acceptance with God; uniform victory over sin; perfect peace; the will and power to bless others; communion with God; abiding hope.
III. BUT IT MUST BE SOUGHT EARLY. “In the morning” is the literal rendering.
1. Each day should be begun with the seeking with all intensity this blessed mercy of God.
2. But especially should each life be so begun. The parents for their child at its birth; the child itself as soon as it is able to understand. What ills will be escaped, what good ensured, if this be done!
IV. THE RESULT SHALL BE THE BLESSED LIFEheaven before you get there.S.C.
Psa 90:15
Make us glad.
None can overestimate the blessing that God’s gift of gladness is to us. How it sweetens intercourse, encourages work, lightens our burdens, and helps us over many a difficult place! But there are forms of gladness to which no praise can be given. The laughter of fools is like “the crackling of thorns under a pot”so says Ecclesiastes. And the gladness of evil men over evil has poison in it, notwithstanding all its loudness. And all mere man made gladness is without permanence or power to really help. The gladness that is of God’s making, that is what the psalmist prayed for, and for which we also may well pray. Therefore let us observe its elements, in what it consists. And the following verses of the psalm clearly tell this.
I. GOD‘S WORK MUST APPEAR TO US. That is, God’s salvationfor that is emphatically his “work,” and must be seen by us, and seen as our salvation. Here is the primary essential of all true gladness.
II. HIS GLORY ALSO. “And thy glory unto,” etc. That is, God must be seen to be the delight and joy of the soul. David speaks of God as “God, my exceeding joy.” This is what is craved in Psa 63:1-11, “To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have,” etc. The soul must learn to delight itself in the Lord, as it will if the glory of God be seen.
III. THE BEAUTY OF THE LORD OUR GOD MUST BE UPON US. That is, the graciousness, gentleness, and goodness of the Lord’s character; its purity, holiness, truth, and righteousness;these, which constitute the beauty of the Lord, and which are so mighty in their attraction, that one asks, “Whom have I in heaven but thee?” (Psa 16:1-11.); these must be upon us. They are the adornment of the doctrine of God our Saviour. They were, and are, all seen in Christ, and they irresistibly draw all men unto him. And unless in some measure they are upon us, God cannot make us glad. Their absence kills all gladness.
IV. OUR WORK MUST BE ESTABLISHED. “Thework of our hands, establish thou it.” To know that we are not labouring in vain, that when we let down the net Christ will give the draught, yea, does so; this is his establishing our work, and by it God does make us glad.
CONCLUSION. Pray this prayer for your own sake, for your work’s sake, for Christ’s sake; for gladness wins many hearts.S.C.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK
Psa 90:1
God a Dwelling place.
God our Home; the soul’s Home. There seem to be no sufficient reasons for rejecting the Mosaic authorship of this psalm; but this much appears to be certainthe associations of the time of Moses form the machinery of the psalm; and there are no other associations which fit to it so well. During the last forty years of his life, and during the long years of the desert wanderings for Israel, the people had no home, no resting place; they were constantly moving to and fro; and yet God was caring for them, preserving them from harm; God was their Home. A modern preacher has said, “There is one thing runs through the whole of the Scriptures which is above every other that was ever before the Hebrew mindit is that in which God is represented as the Dwelling place of his people, as the Home of the soul. It is an awful, incomprehensible, infinite thought; yet we can feel it and know it, not in the same sense as if we were Buddhists or Brahmins, hut, while awed by the grandeur, never losing our personality in the infiniteness of the thought. All things in nature seem to abide ever, constant and unchangeable, but they only seem. All things have the stamp of insecurity upon them; but how confidently secure God’s people stand in the eternal relationship of God to them!” See what thoughts we associate with home, and how far these may be applied to God as our “Home,” our “Dwelling place.”
I. HOME IS A PLACE OF RELATIONSHIPS. Man enters into a variety of connections with his fellows; but his relationships, sanctified by love and service, centre in his home. Relationship to God as “our Father” makes his house our home, and our brothers’ home.
II. HOME IS A PLACE OF SECURITY. It is our sanctuary. There we feel not only that none will harm us, but that none ever want to harm us. We even feel that nothing can harm us if we only are safe at home. And nothing ever can harm the soul that is in the shelter of the “everlasting arms.”
III. HOME IS A PLACE OF PERSONAL INTERESTS. Each one is concerned in the best welfare of each of the others. It is full of mutual love service. Nothing is paid for, save by responsive love and service. So God may be thought of as personally concerned, personally interested, in all for whom he finds a home.
IV. HOME IS A PLACE OF REST. For those wearied and worn by toil or by trouble. So we sing, “Oh rest in the Lord!”
V. HOME IS A PLACE OF REFUGE. To which the traveller gladly returns from the fatigue and peril of the way. To which the erring child, the prodigal, turns in the penitent hour. So God is the Home of the sinful soul, ever the Father.R.T.
Psa 90:2
The past, present, and future eternity of God.
“There is something in the psalm that is wonderfully striking and solemn, acquainting us with the profoundest depths of the Divine nature” (Ewald). In contrast with the ever-passing, ever-changing generations, God is the Abiding, Never-changing One. Independent of all things that exist, God is before all, and is the absolute Creator and Controller of all. The mountains have ever been man’s best image of the stable and permanent, yet he is helped to conceive of God as before the mountains, more stable than the mountains, more enduring than the mountains. “From everlasting to everlasting” is, poetically, “from hidden time to hidden.” There are time measures which we can use. There are eternity measures of which we can only think; they are now beyond our mental grasp. The eternity measures alone can be properly applied to God. Two things are the subjects of meditation in the first two verses of this psalmthe Divine independence, and the Divine relations. God is the Absolute Beingthe “I am.” God is in gracious, voluntary, relationsthe “God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob.” Beyond us as the subject suggested may be, it does us good to try our minds with it, and fill our souls with the wonder and the glory of it.
I. GOD WAS BEFORE ALL THINGS. Philosophers try to persuade themselves that matter is eternal; or they fix upon the atom, or upon water, as the essential primary thing. They are always driven back behind their conclusions, and urged to say whence comes the atom or the moisture. There is no consistent thinking that does not bring us to the conclusion that there was some self-existent, immaterial Being, who was the absolute originator of all material existence, and still exists in complete and conscious independence of everything he has made. He is beyond and above all the chances and changes of his own handiwork.
II. GOD IS IN ALL THINGS. Separable from them, but voluntarily interested in them. The life and light of all this wondrous world we see. The poetical faculty discerns his presence. Human experience attests his practical working. The religious sentiment opens the eyes, and makes the recognition of God easy. When we say all things, we mean absolutely all, not merely those which we are pleased to call religious.
III. GOD WILL BE AFTER ALL THINGS. This can but appeal to faith. To us the time is inconceivable when things will no longer exist. Conceive the time when material things exist no longer, you must think of God as still the One Being. In the One who never passes, never changes, we may put the perfect trust.R.T.
Psa 90:5
The lesson of the grass.
“And fade away suddenly as the grass.” The strength of this poetical figure can only be fully recognized, by those who, know the. peculiarities of grass in the hot Eastern countries. “In the East one night’s rain works a change as if by magic. The field at evening was brown, parched, and as a desert; in the morning it is green with the blades of grass. The scorching hot wind blows upon it, and again before evening it is withered.”
I. A LESSON FROM THE FRAILTY OF THE GRASS, It is little more than a blade. Compare with plant, shrub, or tree. A delicate trembling thing. It comes too suddenly, and grows too quickly, to give us any impression of strength. So the apostle reminds us that “all flesh” is as frail as grass. We are here today, tremble today, and are gone tomorrow. “Surely every man’s life is but a vanity.”
II. A LESSON FROM THE PERILS OF THE GRASS. From insect, from flood, from drought, from wind, from the scythe of the mower. So are the perils that attend human life many and varied. Hereditary tendencies, diseases, results of vice, unhealthy situations and occupation, accidents. Well did the hymn writer say
“Strange that a harp of thousand strings
Should keep in tune so long.”
A considerable proportion of a population die in infancy or in youth; a vast proportion die of preventible disease; an alarming proportion die of Divine judgments on sinful indulgence; and a considerable proportion die through the uncertainty that attaches to the working of man-made machinery. “In the midst of life we are in death.” “Be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh.”
III. A LESSON FROM THE BRIEF LIFE OF THE GRASS. Growing up in the morning, and withered by night, it has but its little day in which to do its work. There can be no wasting of the few moments, the “little while,” which represent the human life of even the longest lived. The brevity of our life puts supreme importance into the passing moment. “Now is the accepted time.”
IV. A LESSON FROM THE MISSION OF THE GRASS. Frail as it is, brief as is its life, the grass has its work; and it has but to be faithful to the measure of power it has, and the length of time it abides. It has a mission to the soil, to the atmosphere, to the cattle, and to man. So we have our mission; it is precise to our powers; it is limited to the time of our sojourn. And, however little, it fits into the great plan of God for the well being of the race.R.T.
Psa 90:8
Secret sin.
The word used is a singular one, and may be rendered “our secret” (character). “God needs no other light to discern our sins by but the light of his own race. It pierceth through the darkest places; the brightness thereof enlighteneth all things, discovers all things. So that the sins that are committed in deepest darkness are all one to him as if they were done in the face of the sun. For they are done in his face, that shines more, and from which proceeds more light than from the face of the sun. So that this ought to make us the more fearful to offend; he sees us when we see not him, and the light of his countenance shines about us when we think ourselves hidden in darkness.” “These words have a singular force if written by Moses, who saw the splendour of God, and carried away upon his person its manifest tokens.”
I. SECRET SIN REGARDED AS THAT WHICH WE WOULD GLADLY CONCEAL FROM OTHERS. Secrecy is always suspicious. “He that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” Secrecy may be duty; in public spheres it may be wise policy; but when a man, in private life, does not wish any one to know what he is doing, he is generally found to be doing something wrong. The burglar, the coiner, the sensualist, want secrecy. They work in the dark; they go under feigned names; they hide themselves in the great cities; they devise all sorts of excuses to account for their time. If they succeed in deceiving their fellows, surely their ways and works are “naked and open” to God, whose “eyes are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”
II. SECRET SIN REGARDED AS THAT WHICH WE TRY TO CONCEAL FROM OURSELVES. This point requires more searching treatment.
1. Natural disposition, and errors in education, prevent men from recognizing the sinfulness of their own sins.
2. Conscience may be blunted so that it is no longer keen to witness against sin.
3. Strong will to continue in sin sets men upon persuading themselves that their sin is not sin. Illustrate from the sins of drinking, slandering, envying, etc. A man may deceive himself, but God quickly tears away his “refuges of lies.” God knows the man who does not know himself. He puts the secrets into the “light of his countenance.”
III. SECRET SIN REGARDED AS THAT WHICH WE TRY TO CONCEAL FROM GOD. As did Adam, by hiding among the trees. Men say, “The Lord shall not see;” but no man ever yet succeeded in closing the eye of Heaven. Men’s most desperate effort is to assert and prove that there is no God, and so no observer of their sin. They never really succeed. Infidelity is the hopeless attempt to get rid of a God who sees, and will be sure to judge.R.T.
Psa 90:9
Brief life as judgment on sin.
This is the point that is specially present to the mind of the author of the psalm; and it is the point specially impressed by the historical associations of the psalm. “Human transitoriness, the creature made subject to vanity, death in its much-disregarded connection with sin,these and the awful contrast, God’s eternity, his absolute disposition of men’s lives, his mindfulness of their misdeeds, are here the theme of melancholy contemplation.” Recall the fact that during the thirty-eight years of the Israelite wanderings in the wilderness, they were subject to an extraordinary mortality, which was a direct judgment of Jehovah on their rebellion. A whole generation was punished, for the sin at Kadesh, by premature death. All from twenty years old and upward perished during the following years, so that only two representatives of the entire generation, Caleb and Joshua, actually entered the promised land. It is true that Moses himself lived to be a hundred and twenty years old, but his generation could not have reached a higher standard than seventy or eighty years. The truth that “the wages of sin is death” is forcibly illustrated by the historical record of the wilderness generation. We may trace the Divine wisdom in giving the judgment on sin this particular form, of shortened life.
I. PROLONGED LIFE GIVES OPPORTUNITY FOR INCREASE OF SIN. See the case of the antediluvian sinners, who went on sinning through long lives until they became hopelessly corrupt, and had to be swept away by the Flood. It may, indeed, be a severe judgment to prolong a life, and a gracious judgment to shorten it.
II. THE LOVE AND CLINGING TO LIFE MAKE SHORTENING LIFE A VERY EFFECTIVE JUDGMENT. Love of life is natural to man. It is the expression of his consciousness of immortality, only it leads him to want his immortality here. The things which man begins to do make it extremely trying to have to leave them unfinished. Life means pleasant relationships, which man feels it a very bitter thing to break off.
III. MAN‘S UTTER HELPLESSNESS IN THE PRESENCE OF EARLY DEATH MAKES THIS FORM OF JUDGMENT SPECIALLY HUMILIATING. To conquer, rise above, mate and master everything, is man’s supreme passion. Early death is Godit may be the neglected Godmastering him.R.T.
Psa 90:10
Length of life a doubtful good.
Yet every one wishes to live long. Every one imagines for himself an old age; and an ideal human life includes it. And yet there are but few who have the experience of old age who would really wish others to share it. Not without good reason did the ancients say, “Those whom the gods love die young.” Length of life is a doubtful good, because
I. THE AGED ARE PUT ASIDE FROM THE ACTIVITIES OF LIFE. Life goes past them: opinions change; customs change; business is changed. The old man no longer fits; he must stand aside; if he persists in keeping his place, he ruins his business, and worries everybody. It is hard to have to live on into a time when we shall no longer be of any use.
II. THE AGED MUST BEAR THE BURDEN OF FAILING POWERS. See the description of old age in Ecclesiastes. See the force of the terms “labour” and “sorrow” in the text. The necessary weakening of the bodily faculties is accompaniedsave in very extreme caseswith corresponding failing of mental powers, and a trying limitation of human interests. The old man ceases to belong to his day, and lives over again his childish years. Sometimes aged helplessness, with disease, is most pitiful.
III. THE AGED SOMETIMES HAVE TO BEAR THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE SINS OF YOUTH. All sins of sensuality and self-indulgence carry their inevitable penalties; and if the pressure of them be delayed by a well regulated manhood, they come on a man with a rush when the vitality is lowered by advancing age. A man bears “the sins of youth in the bones of old.”
IV. THE AGED OFTEN FIND THEIR HEAVIEST TROUBLE TO BE THE LONELINESS IN WHICH THEY ARE LEFT. He who has had troops of friends dies at last tended by the hireling. Loved ones die away or remove out of reach. The old man often says, as did the Revelation William Jay, of Bath, in his advanced years, “My burying ground is richer than my church.” To sensitive, affectionate souls, aged loneliness must be the supreme woe. Wife, children, friends, gone on before. How the old man must say to himself continually
“What is my nest to me?my empty nest?”
V. THE AGED SOMETIMES HAVE TO BEAR DISTRESSING CIRCUMSTANCES AS WELL AS BODILY FRAILTY. To live on means exhausting the savings; to be unable to earn; to have none to work for us. But life is in the Lord’s hands, not ours. “If life be long, we will be glad, that we can long obey.”R.T.
Psa 90:12
Numbering our days.
That cannot mean merely counting them. Whether they are to be few or many we know not. The rich and self-centred farmer thought he could count his days, “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years” But the truth was that for him there was not even a “tomorrow.” “This night thy soul shall be required of thee.” We can value, estimate, appraise our days. We can realize their responsibilities, their work, their possibilities, their issues. When should the numbering work be done? Will it do to leave it until we are on the threshold of eternity? In this matter “now is the accepted time.” Number them as you number the days of a holiday time, so that you may crowd every day with the best and worthiest things. Number them aright, and you will not fail to ask grace of God, saying, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
I. Days, to be well numbered, must be ESTIMATED IN THE LIGHT OF ETERNITY. How changed a thing life would become to us if there were no eternity! Compare two lives, one without, and one with, the thought of eternity.
1. Days may seem many; they are really but few. Seventy years is but a little while to look back on. See striking Bible figures of our lifeweaver’s shuttle; passing shadow; shepherd’s tent; breath of mouth in winter. The generations are like the changing sentinel watch in the night.
2. Days may seem to go slowly; they really hurry by. “Thou carriest them away as with a flood.” Swifter than the post.
3. Days may seem to be made up of little things; really there is nothing little; because everything has its bearing on the future, on character; and everything has eternal issues. It is a cause with a consequence. A little pebble may make ripples that shall never die away.
II. Days well numbered will not allow THE PUTTING OFF OF DUTY. Every day has its work. There is no possible overtaking the ends of life, save in daily faithfulness. If we are faithful every day, life cannot be unfinished. A faithful man can be stopped at any time. He wants no time in which to get himself ready.
III. Days well numbered must seem TOO SOLEMN FOR UNAIDED SELF–EXERTION. The man who rightly values them will tremble to step on them alone. Even the lesser claims of life overwhelm a thoughtful spirit. We all fail to be what we desire to be, even in common life. Much more the higher. We have a soul to save, a crown to win; and there should be jewels in the crown. Can we do it alone?R.T.
Psa 90:16, Psa 90:17
Prayer for Divine revealing of the mystery of life.
This prayer, as referable to the Israelites, is a presage of the end of their pilgrimage, of their forgiveness, and of their settlement in Canaan. The issue of present Divine dealings was a glory which could only come to the children of the Mosaic generation. But Moses could properly pray that what God was actually then doinghis work by his disciplinary dispensationsmight at once be revealed to his servants. To know what God is doing with us is our best help in bearing what burdens God lays upon us. And when we do know, we can even pray God to keep on his corrective work, whatever it may cost us, and let our children realize the issues. The “beauty” of the Lord may be taken as the Divine favour; or it may be a figure for the glory of the Divine presence. The prayer seems to embrace two things.
I. THAT GOD‘S PURPOSE SHOULD BE MADE TO APPEAR. “Thy work.” That prayer is constantly rising from the hearts of men. We are always wanting to know the meaning of life; the meaning of our lives; the meaning of our lives at particular times. What is God doing with us? Unto what, into what, is God leading us? This is only made known in answer to prayer, which reveals to God an attitude of mind and feeling to which his purpose and his work can be explained. God holds the key to every life story.
II. THAT MAN‘S WORK SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED. This is the prayer of those who feel the uncertainty of life, and fear that they will be unable to complete what they have begun. The prayer may take two forms.
1. Permit me to finish the work I have started.
2. Let my children carry on to completion my work. Do not let it be lost and useless, as an unfinished thing. “Establish thou the work of our hands upon us” “When Moses prays that the ‘children’ of the present generation may see God’s glory, he perhaps has in mind the exclusion of the latter from entrance into the land of Canaan. It was only to their children that this, the culminating and most glorious blessing, was to be vouchsafed.”R.T.
Psa 90:17
Prayer and work.
“And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.”
I. THAT GOOD MEN ARE ENGAGED IN IMPORTANT WORK. God has a work to do; and the psalmist prays that it may be made manifest to their eyes. We desire to see God’s workthe revelations and exercises of his great power and love. But the thought here is of our work.
1. It is divinely appointed. Not self-chosen. The great aim of it is the same as God’sto save men, by our giving them all possible help.
2. This work gives to life its chief value and interest. Living for the bodies and souls of others is intrinsically more valuable than all the private ends we pursue.
II. GOOD MEN FEEL ANXIOUS FOR THE SUCCESS OF THEIR WORK. They want it established, made strong, prospered. Even as they aim to succeed in their temporal work. On account of the intrinsic importance of the work itself. Because of the consequences of the work in the future. “And thy glory unto their children.” Good men think not only of their own future, but of the future of Christ’s Church. Because of our future. It will soon be of the utmost consequence to us whether our work has been established or not. Have we done anything, are we doing anything, that will lastof a beneficent kind?
III. GOOD MEN FEEL THAT THE SUCCESS OF THEM WORE DEPENDS ON THE BLESSING OF GOD. “Let thy beauty be upon us, and establish thou the work of our hands.” If our work is to be strongbe establishedthe strength must come from God. The utmost we can do is to accomplish the outward conditions of success; but God alone can reach the heart of the sinner and sufferer to cleanse and comfort. Our work ought to be beautiful, but God alone can give the beauty. If our work be the work of gratitude, love, humility, and self-sacrifice, it is God that has made it beautiful.
IV. THAT THE DIVINE BLESSING ON OUR WORK IS OBTAINED BY PRAYER.
1. God has made prayer necessary to the success of spiritual work. Christ taught this constantly, “Pray ye the Lord of the harvest,” etc.; “Thy kingdom come.”
2. As a matter of experience, the men who have prayed most over their work have succeeded best. Their prayer expressed their earnestness and faithtrust and spirit of dependence. Observe how work and prayer are here conjoined, Prayer useless where there is no work on hand.S.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Psalms 90.
Moses, setting forth God’s providence, complaineth of human fragility, divine chastisements, and brevity of life: he prayeth for the knowledge and sensible experience of God’s good providence.
A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.
Title. tephillah lemosheh iish haelohim. Mr. Peters is of opinion, that both this and the following psalm were composed by Moses, for the instruction and consolation of the people in the wilderness; and the present chiefly for the use of those whose lot was to die there, as will appear more fully from the subsequent notes. The Chaldee title asserts, that it was composed by Moses, when the people tempted God in the wilderness. This begins the fourth Book of the Psalms.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
THE PSALTER
FOURTH BOOK
Psalms 90
_______________
Psalms 90
A Prayer of Moses the Man of God
Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations.
2Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
3Thou turnest man to destruction;
And sayest, Return, ye children of men.
4For a thousand years in thy sight
Are but as yesterday when it is past,
And as a watch in the night.
5Thou carriest them away as with a flood: they are as a sleep:
In the morning they are like grass which groweth up.
6In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up;
In the evening it is cut down, and withereth.
7For we are consumed by thine anger,
And by thy wrath are we troubled.
8Thou hast set our iniquities before thee,
Our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
9For all our days are passed away in thy wrath:
We spend our years as a tale that is told.
10The days of our years are threescore years and ten;
And if by reason of strength they be fourscore years,
Yet is their strength labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
11Who knoweth the power of thine anger?
Even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.
12So teach us to number our days,
That we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
13Return, O Lord, how long?
And let it repent thee concerning thy servants.
14O satisfy us early with thy mercy;
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us,
And the years wherein we have seen evil.
16Let thy work appear unto thy servants,
And thy glory unto their children.
17And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us:
And establish thou the work of our hands upon us;
Yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Contents and Composition.The oft-repeated assertion that this Psalm consists of two parts loosely connected, and that the supplicatory portion, strictly considered, is not introduced until the beginning of the so-called second part, is altogether without foundation. The truth is that the Psalm bears a supplicatory character in its very first word, which invokes God as the Lord. It presents also in Psa 90:12 a real petition prepared by its contrast in Psa 90:11, namely, a prayer that the contemplation of mankind before described may bring forth its good fruit in the heart; and to this the prayer in Psa 90:13 ff. for renewed manifestations of Divine favor is attached. Both petitions have the same foundation, the confession to the eternal and only God, who forms the unchanging place of refuge for the ever-changing race of mankind, who, in their perishableness, have to suffer the judgments of Gods wrath for their sins. They are divided into two classes: those who allow these judgments to fall unmarked, and those who, terrified by them, are brought to reflection and urged to a saving search after God, truly fearing Him, and impressed with a sense of the true meaning of life. These serious reflections are presented in their necessary relations to one another with solemn emphasis, and in language which has a striking similarity to expressions occurring in the Pentateuch, and especially in the Book of Deuteronomy. It is certainly true that that period of national distress would naturally evoke reflections upon the evanescence of human life, and the universal sinfulness of man, so closely related thereto. This would especially be in accordance with the religious conception of the world in the Hebrew mind (Olsh., Hupfeld). But if we are justified in seeking a definite historical occasion for the origin of the Psalm, the last years of the long wandering through the desert, and especially an allusion to the Divine sentence of death in Num 14:28 ff. are probably indicated here. This supposition has an altogether different ground of support from the assumption of a composition during the exile (Kster, Maurer), which has absolutely nothing in the Psalm to indicate it, or in the age of the Maccabees (Rudinger, Hitzig). The poem contains something affecting and solemn, penetrating into the depths of the Divine nature, and in thought and language appears throughout marked by originality and innate power (Ewald), is worthy also of the position and character of Moses (Grotius), and corresponds to the situation of the people before alluded to (Hupfeld). We may therefore regard as entitled to no consideration, the doubt felt as to the Mosaic authorship, on the ground that we do not know what foundation the collector had for his belief. We can readily suppose that this ancient Psalm, this poem of eternity (Herder), was preserved in an older collection of writings (Del.), comp. Jos 10:13; 2Sa 1:18. For the supposition that the superscription came from the hand of the author, does not agree with the title of honor: man of God. This designation was applied to Moses only by others, (Deu 33:1; Jos 14:6); and it does not describe his official position, as servant of Jehovah does, but it puts honor upon his personal relation to God as His prophet. It is self-evidently not a musical title, but a descriptive term, which, by the prominence given to this relation, expresses, on the one hand, a near acquaintance with God, and, on the other, the credibility and authority attested thereby.
[Hengstenberg: The objection that Psa 90:10, where the length of human life is limited to seventy, or, at most, eighty years, stands opposed to Deu 34:7, according to which Moses reached the age of one hundred and twenty, is disposed of by the fact that Moses, throughout the Psalm, does not speak in his own name, but in that of the people. It is obvious from Deu 14:22-23 that among the Israelites at that time the exceptions to the general rule as to the duration of human life, were much fewer than at ordinary times. The assumption that the Psalm could not have been composed by Moses, because it resembles the other Psalms in language and general poetical structure, is an a priori assertion, which may be met by another, that it is antecedently probable that Moses, the fountain from which all the prophets have drawn divine wisdom, gave at first the tone no less for Prophecy, Deu 32:33, than for Psalm poetry.J. F. M.]
Psa 90:1-2. Dwelling-place.Instead of some codices read which, however, does not alter the idea of the verse. The former word does not directly furnish the idea of a refuge (Sept.), but that of a dwelling, (Deu 26:15; Psa 26:8; Psa 68:6), sometimes including the accessory idea (Amo 3:4; Nah 2:12) of a place of refuge, (Psa 71:2; Psa 91:9), applied to God after Deu 33:27. The prterite, does not admit of being translated: thou art. It is, therefore, not the future (Hengst.) that is the object of contemplation, but former experiences. The origin of the mountains, which are often adduced as the most expressive symbol of the most enduring of earthly things, (Gen 49:26; Deu 33:15; Psa 72:3; Hab 3:6; Pro 8:26), is set forth as a birth, in that less restricted sense, in which (Gen 2:4) the of the heavens and of the earth are used to designate the unfolding of the process of the creative work. The figure is an exceedingly natural one to describe the emergence of the mountains from the water, as, in another application, to represent the breaking forth of the sea as from the womb of a mother (Job 38:8). If, in the following stich, we point (Olsh., Bttcher, Hitzig), in order to gain the passive sense (Sept., Chald., Luther, and others), we have the same figure to describe the evolution of the terrestrial globe and inhabited land, without placing God in the background as the Parent and Begetter (Hupf.). For this would have been a mode of representation impossible to the Old Testament consciousness, and can be explained neither by Deu 32:18, where this form of expression is applied to the relation of God to the establishment of the Israelitish nation, (comp. Jer 2:27), nor by the poetical form of the inquiry (Job 38:28) after the father of the rain and begetter of the dew, not to mention the words employed in Psa 2:7, which have a Messianic interpretation. For the same reason we must assume that the punctuators, when they gave the active form , did not have in view the 2 masc. (Isaaki, Kimchi, Calvin, Geier, Rosenm., De Wette, Del., Hupfeld), but the 3 fem. (Syriac, Stier, and others), with a reference to Gen 1:11 f. 24. [Alexander follows the active meaning in common with the great majority of critics. Perowne prefers the passive sense, and the corresponding change of reading. The E. V. in the translation: formed, expresses the true idea of the Hebrew, but shrinks unnecessarily from the literal rendering: begotten.J. F. M.] The at the end of Psa 90:2 is not an address (Hengst.), but is the predicate. The object is not to show the eternal existence of God, but to testify to the Divinity of the eternal and almighty Lord. The Sept. has wrongly read , and connected it with what follows.
Psa 90:3-4. Dust.[E. V.: destruction. The Hebrew means: crushed particles. Thou makest man return to dust.J. F. M.] That there is an allusion here to Gen 3:19 is rendered probable by the reference made to sin in Psa 90:7 ff. Yet it does not follow from this that we must render in the next sentence: turn back! or: pass away again! for the sake of obtaining the same idea. It is not forbidden by the parallelism (Hupfeld) to interpret this clause as referring to the constant changes among men as they come and return at the command of the eternal God, (Luther, Geier, Tholuck, Del.). There is no reference to the resurrection (the old Lutheran theologians), or to the passing of the spirit to God (Stier). The arithmetical treatment of Psa 90:4 and 2Pe 3:8, has resulted in the assumption that the world will last 6000 years, and that the millenial kingdom will then be established, corresponding to the work of creation and its Sabbath, (see the Rabbinical interpretations in Breithaupt on Isaaki). This is in direct contradiction to the meaning of the passage, which describes in an affecting and striking manner the evanescence of the changing generations of men, when measured by the standard of eternity and by the eye of God. Our seventy or eighty years shrink into a moment (Psa 30:6). Time was not yet reckoned by hours, but the night was divided into three watches, (Exo 14:24; Jdg 7:19), and the day began with the evening twilight: therefore, the day of yesterday as it passes by is most significantly mentioned. The rendering: when it is past (most of the ancients), which is moreover tautological, is grammatically inadmissible. It is improbable that the thousand years are the subject of the verb (Hupfeld).
Psa 90:5-7. Thou carriest them away as with a flood. It is uncertain whether an allusion to the Divine judgment of the flood is intended (Calvin, Hengst.). At all events it is not a swiftly flowing stream that is meant, but a heavy and devastating tempest of rain (Psa 77:18). But we must not overlook the use of the prterite, followed by the imperfect in a future sense. The meaning is: let the action mentioned be performed, and they fall into a state of unconsciousness, into a sleep, that is, the sleep of death (Kster, Delitzsch). This sequence of thought shows that it is not the years (Aben Ezra) which are said to be carried away. The words and stand too far apart to afford a play on the words (Rosenm.). The common interpretation understands first the rapid and afterwards the unobserved passage of human life to be described. But it disregards the change of verbal forms, and, with many of its supporters, superadds the idea of sleeping fancies or a dream to the idea of sleep, which is entirely unwarranted. Nor is there any occasion for transposing the words at the beginning of the second stich to the end of the first (Bttcher, Hupfeld), since the idea of waking has no place in the passage. In Psa 90:6 it is not said that mankind in the beginning of history, or man in his youth, as in the morning of life (Kimchi and others), blooms or fades away like grass. What is said is, that when one generation is swept away during the night, another blooms forth in the morning, which, in its turn again, withers away in the evening (Delitzsch). For the primary idea of is not at all that of passing away or perishing (Sept., Vulgate, Luther, and others), but that of passing over from one place or condition into another, especially when something new presses after and occupies the place of the old. Applied to plants, therefore, it certainly does not mean: to sprout (Chald., Syriac), but: to have new sprouts. Instead of: it fades away (Ewald, Olsh., Hitzig, Hupfeld), we cannot, it is true, accept the passive sense of the similar and proper word: it is cut down (most), but the impersonal construction: some one cuts it down (Delitzsch). The term , applied to ears of corn cut down or plucked off, and Job 24:24, are especially favorable to this view, besides the consideration that death is not spoken of as a process of nature, but as the Divine punishment of sin. Hitzig gives an explanation which is quite peculiar. He understands the verse to represent figuratively the discharge of the semen (Eze 23:20), then follows the sleep in the womb of the mother, and then the awakening to the morning of life. [In Psa 90:7 the E. V. would be improved by rendering in the second clause: terrified away, instead of troubled.J. F. M.]
Psa 90:9-12. A whisper. [E. V.: a tale that is told.] The word does not denote idle chattering (Luther), or thought, in allusion to its rapidity, (Clericus, Rosenm., De Wette, Hupfeld), or breath, as vanishing quickly (Chald.), or speech, in its rapidity (Jerome, Hitzig), but a low, subdued sound, whether murmuring, Job 37:2, or groaning, Eze 2:10 (Hengst., Del.). The poetical plural in Psa 90:10, occurs also in Deu 32:7. It is doubtful whether applies to a full measure of strength or of years. The first interpretation suits better the meaning of the words elsewhere, the latter its Talmudical application. [In Psa 90:11 the second member should be rendered: and thy wrath according to thy fear, that is, in the measure which the true fear of God would imply.J. F. M.] In Psa 90:12 refers to understand, not to number, (compare 1Sa 23:17). It is not a theoretical but a practical knowledge, to obtain which the help of God is implored. That we may bring in a heart of wisdomthat is, that we may bear it away as a prize, and bring it in, like the harvest into the granary, 2Sa 9:10; Hag 1:6 (Hupfeld, Del.). Other explanations are the following: bring wisdom into the heart (Kimchi, and others); bring a wise heart as an offering to God (Geier, Knapp, Stier, Ewald, Olshausen, Hitzig).
Psa 90:13-17. Return, that is, from anger, as in Exo 32:12. The word elsewhere usually means: turn back. The inquiry which follows suits either rendering. Psa 90:13 b. recalls Deu 32:36. The Psalmists prayer that he may be satisfied with mercy in the morning, denotes not what would be enjoyed soon, but the breaking of a new day of mercy as contrasted with the former night of affliction. The plural form (Psa 90:15) is found only besides in Deu 32:7, together with , which occurs elsewhere also.The humbling of Israel was the design of the journey through the desert (Deu 8:2 f.). The term (Psa 90:16), applied to Jehovahs administration of mercy for the salvation of His people, is found also in Deu 32:4; and the expression: work of the hands, frequently in Deuteronomy, as descriptive of human achievements generally. There is no reference implied to implements of husbandry (Hitzig), much less to the appliances of manufacture. The sup plication is offered that the work of Gods people, who confess themselves to be the servants of the Lord, may be established, with the expectation that what is described in Psa 90:16 a will be displayed before them. [There is no more beautiful and expressive word than , in Psa 90:17 a, signifying primarily what is sweet, pleasant, or delightful; and all language fails to express the wealth of meaning it bears, when chosen by Moses, the man of God, and the friend of God, to picture forth those attributes which in Him were the source of delight. It is not merely beauty in its widest sense, or glory, or goodness, but a union of them all.J. F. M.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The Eternal is not merely distinguished from the world of the Becoming by His Divine nature; He also declares and vindicates His Divinity in its glory, independent, as it is, of the whole world. His people, therefore, not only know Him as the Lord reigning over the whole world from eternity to eternity, in unchangeable exaltation; they pray to Him also as the Lord their God. This they do both because He has testified of Himself, and because they have acknowledged His glory. By virtue of this relation to God, they are not contented with the perpetual recollection of all that God has ever been and displayed to them. They find in Him also their lodging place and secure retreat, which never changes with the flight of time or any mutation of events, but is presented as unchangeably the same to all generations of men, as they follow one another in close succession. Believers have therefore in God no temporary, mutable, or transient place of refuge, as the wild beasts have their coverts and places of security, or the wanderer his tent. God offers Himself to His people as their dwelling-place for ever and ever.
2. The experience which the Church has had of this blessing serves as an efficient counterpoise to the depressing evidences of the fact that her own members have to suffer from the shortness and miseries of human life, and that they feel these troubles so much the more keenly, as they recognize their cause to be the wrath of God on account of human sin, whose manifestations in their own lives they have always to bewail, and whose guilt they can as little hide as they can the severity of Gods anger. For the light by which we learn of God, the world, and ourselves is one and the same. Although Moses, in the discharge of his office, slays by exhibiting sin in connection with its punishment, yet in naming this Psalm a prayer, he tells us that there is an antidote to death. And in this he excels in two particulars all profane writers. He dwells upon the extent and power of death, and yet, along with its terrors, makes the hope of consolation to be felt, so that those who are terrified and humbled are not utterly brought to despair. (Luther).
3. When the perception of this relation is no mere theoretical knowledge, and is more than a compulsory acknowledgment produced by the pressure of need, when it is a deliberate moral conviction answering to the fear of God (Deu 29:9; Job 28:8), then it affords not merely the only correct standard for estimating all these things, but teaches us also to pray for the saving use of it in the midst of the dangers, sorrows, and temptations which encompass men here. It raises also the humbled soul from complaining over the vanity of the world, the distresses of life, and the blindness of mankind, to an earnest and trusting search after the favor of God, and thus places it upon the true path of safety, by which it shall escape all the misery of the present life. As Moses elsewhere keeps within the teachings of the Law, so does he here. For he preaches death, sin, and condemnation, in order to terrify the presumptuous, who are secure in their sins, and set before them their guilt and iniquity, without falsely coloring anything or concealing anything. He endeavors especially to teach men to fear God, so that when they are in dread of Gods anger and of death, they may humble themselves before Him, and become fit recipients of His mercy. (Luther.)
4. In order to be awakened to true penitence, we must keep ever before our minds the truth that, even in sins that are discovered and lamented, there is, on account of the ruin of our nature, something which is still hidden and concealed, which, however, is not excused or counted undeserving of punishment, because it escapes our own observation and that of other men. There are many who give themselves up to this delusion to their ruin. They fail to understand the relation of sin and death, and therefore, also, fail to understand the teachings of events in the world. And since they begin to have less dread of the wrath of God, the knowledge of God, generally, becomes obscure to them. It becomes difficult for them to bring themselves under the range of His purposes of salvation, and they seek less earnestly for His mercy. Moses, therefore, well calls sin a concealed thing, whose extent no mind can comprehend. For like Gods wrath, like death, sin also is incomprehensible and infinite. (Luther).
5. But when, to the acknowledgment that sin extends much further than it can be recognized, there is united this other, that Gods countenance casts light even upon what is hidden from our natural sight, then the fear, anguish, gloom, and care thence arising, can be overcome only by renewed experience of the Divine mercy. In the exhibitions of that mercy the glory as well as the goodness of the Lord are displayed to His people. And prayer for both must go hand in hand. Although horses, cows and other animals die as well as man, yet their death does not manifest the wrath of God, but only transient pain. But in mans death there is anguish and wrath, for he was created to be conformed to the image of God. (Luther.)
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
The prayers of the Church must ascend to God, if the help of the Eternal is to descend to it.The shorter life is, the more pressing is the obligation to spend it as for eternity.The dominion of death over the world, (1), how it manifests itself, (2), whence it arises, (3), how it is overcome.The blindness of mankind in their judgments with reference to God, the world, and their own worth.Seeking refuge in God under the pressure of His just anger, why it is difficult and bow it is facilitated.The fear of God, a good antidote to the fear of death, the cares of life, and the pangs of conscience.Moses a guide to Christ, by preaching the punitive justice of God upon all the world, and the appearing of His glory over His people.Though we cannot scan the world with the eye of God, yet, if we fear Him, we can learn to understand it by His light.Wouldst thou in thy brief life obtain abiding joy? Turn in time to the eternal God, and yield thyself to the mercy which He ever proves Himself ready to bestow.The life of all of us upon earth is fleeting, but it need not be unprofitable.Death is the wages of sin, but the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.Let him who would not sink with the dissolving world, nor be borne away with fleeting time, nor be destroyed with sinners, hasten to take up his abode with God, as long as the goodness or the Lord continues to prepare the way.It must be considered a great mercy, that the Eternal reveals Himself in time, as the Lord whom we serve, as the Judge whom we fear, as the God in whom we are to trust.The attacks of sin are more frequent, the roots of sin more deeply concealed, the consequences of sin more dreadful, than many know or admit, but Gods grace is mightier than sin, and Gods love greater than our hearts: therefore the world is rightly judged, and the righteous saved.How we in the midst of death, may, in God, lay hold on life.
Luther: The higher grass grows, the nearer is it to the scythe and fork.Starke: Prayer is the true armor against sin and death; for it is directed to God, and He is not a God of the dead, but of the living.My time and hour may come when God wills. I prescribe not to Him measure or end.Every evening should be to us a reminder of our end, our bed an emblem of our coffin, and sleep a prelude to the quiet rest until the resurrection.Men convey to the tomb one dead body after another, and yet will not be persuaded to destroy the sting of death by faith in Christ, and free themselves from the wrath of God.True joy is drawn from the enjoyment of Gods favor, and is therefore holy and pure. But all that joy is impure which men receive from earthly things outside of the state of grace.-He whom suffering and affliction have brought to repentance, receives a right to seek again from God consolation and joy.
Selnecker: Exalt not thyself, and be not proud in thy honors, for all men are in the hand of Him who has made them.Menzel: Use of the teaching of Gods omnipotence and infinite might, (1), as serving to promote the true knowledge of God, (2), as contributing to the unfailing consolation of His people, (3), as a warning to the wicked.Arndt: No man dies by chance, but according to Gods counsel, order, and providence.-Frisch: The more sins increase, the more life declines; hence comes our frailty.Gods mercy is better than life itself.Roos: Wherein does that wisdom consist, which is to be drawn from the numbering or reckoning up of the days which we have lived, and which, presumably, still remain? Is it not in this lesson, that by repentance and faith we should aspire after eternal life?Stier: Moses as the man of God recognizes in the wrath of God the cause of the death of man; he looks forth with longing into the morning of mercy after the long night; and implores strengthening for himself and all the servants of the Lord, to persevere and continue the work of their hands.Richter (Hausbibel): The knowledge of sin is the only key that solves the mystery of death.Umbreit: Men have ever before their eyes the fear of death, but God, the sins of men.Guenther: We fly away; whither?Taube: In the punishment we can discern the extent of the sin, and yet to the sinner sin is immeasurable.From a true conviction with regard to death, flows the true worldly wisdom.Deichert: It is only when we are firmly established in Gods favor, that a new year can be a happy one to us. For then (1) the thought of the swift flight of our days may indeed move us, but cannot make us yield; (2) the thought of our great guilt may indeed depress us, but cannot make us despair; (3) the thought of the troubles and trials of life may indeed dispose us to deep solemnity, but it cannot rob us of the comforting reflection, that the Lord with His help will stand by our side.L. Harms: Nothing preaches so powerfully on sin, as death does.Thy God is the Almighty, and that Almighty God is Love.
[Matt. Henry: Man, in his prime, doth but flourish as the grass, which is weak and low and tender and exposed, and which, when the winter of old age comes, will perish of itself; but he may be worn down by disease or disaster, as the grass is, in the midst of summer. All flesh is grass.To be religious is to be wise.We are so unworthy of Divine assistance, and yet so insufficient to bring anything to pass without it, that we have need to be earnest for it, and so repeat the request: Yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.Bp Horne: The time of our pilgrimage upon earth is a time of sorrow; these are the days wherein God hath afflicted us, but He will hereafter make us glad according to them. In proportion to our sufferings, if we rightly bear those sufferings, will be our reward. Then shall our joy be increased and receive an additional relish from our former sorrow; then shall we bless the days and the years which exercised our faith and perfected our patience; and then shall we bless God, who chastised us for a season, that He might bless us forever.Barnes: How kind and merciful is the arrangement by which man is ordinarily removed from the world before the time of trouble and sorrow comes!Perowne: Gods work is first to appear, His majesty is to be revealed: then mans work, which is Gods work carried out by human instruments, may look for His blessing.J. F. M.].
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
We cannot be at a loss to form a proper idea of the antiquity of this Psalm; for the title shows that Moses was the penman of it. Perhaps it was written at the time when the Lord determined, for Israel’s unbelief, that the carcasses of that generation should die in the wilderness, as related in Num 14 . It is called a prayer, and in it the Man of God strikingly sets forth the frailty of man, and his transitory state, compared to the eternity of God.
A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.
Psa 90:1
With what a vast source of consolation doth the Psalmist introduce his subject, in contemplating the Lord as the refuge of his people! He doth not say what the Lord hath provided in comforts, amidst the dying circumstances of the world, in which the believer shall find relief; but that the Lord himself is the refuge, the hiding place, the portion of the soul. Reader, I pray you read those sweet scriptures, Isa 28:12 ; Psa 32:7 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 90
When we have passed that limit of age which Psalm xc. indicates as the most usual boundary of human life, the near horizons become for us those of the world beyond this present life.
Ernest Naville to the Countess de Gasparin, La Comtesse Agnor de Gasparin et sa Famille, p. 426.
Psalm XC. was read by the Rev. J. McCormick over the victims of the great Matterhorn disaster of 1865. The Prayer Book from which it was read was found on the body of the Rev. Charles Hudson, one of the dead. Mr. McCormick wrote: ‘Imagine us standing with our bronze-faced guides, leaning on their axes or alpenstocks, around that singular grave, in the centre of a snow-field, perhaps never before trodden by man, with that awful mountain frowning above us, under a cloudless sky in the very sight, as it were, of the Almighty and try and catch the sound of the words: “Lord, Thou hast been our refuge from one generation to another. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever the earth and world were made, Thou art God from everlasting, and world without end. Thou turnest man to destruction: again Thou sayest, Come again, ye children of men.”‘
The Old Faith What Is Pantheism?
Psa 90:1-2
I. Pantheism is the attempt to reduce everything that exists to one vast principle. It sounds very plausible, but it can never get over one great difficulty at the very outset; mind is not matter, nor is matter mind. It is attempting to be too wise, and to forget the limited nature of our thoughts, our minds, our experiences. The earliest philosophers were materialists. They also made the mistake of trying to discover one principle for everything. The earliest Pantheist, on the other hand, was a nephew of Plato who ruled the school of Athens about 350 years before Christ He thought that all that we mean by God was produced finally out of the long development of nature.
II. Meaning of Pantheism. Pantheism derives its name from its motto, meaning one and all that is, everything is God. According to this view God is the universe itself; beyond and outside (and before) the universe He does not exist, but only in the universe. He is the Soul, the Reason, the Spirit of the Universe, and all nature is His body…. The main point of Pantheistic belief is that the Soul of the Universe is not a personal, self-conscious Being who appears in His whole power and character in any one event or at any one moment, so as to be conscious of Himself or to make us conscious of Him; but that this Soul of the Universe is nothing but the one ever-same essence, filling everything and shaping everything by an unconscious necessity, unfolded only by the laws which govern everything, but apart from existing things having no reality to be seen or heard.
III. Insuperable Difficulties. There are insuperable difficulties in Pantheism. The idea of a universal substance which exists without a Creator, by laws which had no author, merely brings us back to the great, ultimate question of all religion and all science How did these things begin? And the answer of revelation that there is an eternal self-existing Being, who inhabiteth eternity, whom we know by His attributes of law, goodness, power, beauty, love, omnipotence, omnipresence, eternity, light, and truth, and who is known to us in part by His words, is in reality the only reasonable answer that can be given. The Pantheists are apt to insist on the difficulty they allege in conceiving of a Personality that is unlimited. But that difficulty only exists because our own personality is limited, and our experience is confined to our own personality. If we were to confine all theory and all belief to mere personal experience we should find little help in thought or life or conduct. The universal substance of which the Pantheists speak is just as much beyond our own experience. So it is with the eternity of that substance which they proclaim. It is equally beyond our experience to say whether the universe is limited or extends for ever and ever. We are surrounded by mysteries, and we can but rest on that explanation which appears most reasonable and best supported.
W. M. Sinclair, Church Family Newspaper, 1907, p. 212.
Reference. XC. 1, 2. A. M. Fairbairn, The City of God, p. 35.
Psa 90:1-4
These verses are the burial song of the Russian Church.
Dr. Stoughton, describing the funeral of John Hampden, says: ‘His remains were conveyed to the churchyard of Great Hampden, close beside the old family mansion, where the patriot had spent so much of his life in the studies and sports of a country gentleman. Through lanes under the beech-covered chalk hills of the Chilterns a detachment of his favourite troops, bareheaded, carried him to his last resting-place their arms reversed, their drums and ensigns muffled mournfully chanting as they slowly marched along the dirge from the book of Psalms: “Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Thou turnest man to destruction. Thou carriedst them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up. In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.” When the funeral was over, the soldiers retiring from the village church to their quarters made the green woods and the white hills, that summer day, resound to the beautiful prayer, so appropriate to their circumstances, Psalm XLIII.: “Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man. For Thou art the God of my strength: why dost Thou cast me off? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? O send out Thy light and Thy truth; let them lead me.” John Hampden met his death in June, 1643, in the beginning of the great civil war. He died in prayer, with the words, “O Lord God of hosts! great is Thy mercy; just and holy are Thy dealings unto us sinful men. O Lord, save my bleeding country. Have these realms in Thy special keeping. Lord Jesus, receive my soul! O Lord, save my country; O Lord, be merciful to ” His speech failed, and falling backwards he expired.’
References. XC. 4. C. Vince, The Unchanging Saviour, p. 49. D. Swing, American Pulpit of Today, vol. i. p. 176. XC. 9. J. Parker, City Temple Pulpit, vol. vi. p. 272. R. D. B. Rawnsley, Sermons in Country Churches (1st Series), p. 299.
Threescore Years and Ten
Psa 90:10
The whole ever-shifting mysterious thing we call life is full of hope and parable and morning; still there is the morning star, that child of hope, that centre and source of infinite light. There is not a heart here in all these multitudes of people that has not been broken or will be broken. Every man is on the way to his own grave; yea, though he be laughing at the graves of others or heeding not that they are passing by him in blackness, the dead that are going to be buried, yet the fool is on the way to his own last freehold.
I. Life is short yet so long. It is a contradiction in number; it is a paradox in reality. How short our life is! A flash gone! How long! when will this black-robed procession unwind itself and get around the road and pass the corner that we may not see it any more? Yet life is short; for it is like unto something that is evanescent when it is treated of aright. It is a post among the hills and the valleys; it is a smoke rising up and fading away; a wind that comes for a little time, and then passeth on to blow on other acres and other worlds.
Life is short, therefore I can intermeddle with only a few things, therefore I had better consider which are the truly great and worthy things; therefore I must buy up the opportunity, redeem the time, and make the most of this dower more than gold with which God has blessed my personality. Our greatness is in our consciousness, its largeness, its intelligence, its sanctification; that is how we stand.
II. And not only is life short, but life needs help. The strongest man will say that; however rich a man is, he cannot do without some other man. There are times when it is so dark that even the outputting of the hand is a gospel. Oh to feel a holding hand, a familiar grip! it makes the darkness light, it brings sustenance to the soul. We cannot do without one another. The weakest may help the strongest. Paul said, ‘Brethren, pray for us’. There is the mightiest man in the Church asking some man and woman heart to pray for him, when the water is deep and cold and the night so dark. It is a wonderful thing this, that we all need help, if not today yet tomorrow.
III. No help that can be given to man is so gracious, so complete, as the help that is given by the Son of God. On these three grounds I stand; millions stand on the same grounds and praise the same Saviour. Jesus Christ comes to us when other people are engaged with the feast and are pledged to the dance and have no time for old sorrow and wordless misery. Jesus Christ says, ‘Call upon Me in the day of trouble’; nobody else will want to see you; call upon Me; look in your diary, and you will find the day of trouble is a disengaged day, a vacant line; others will come to you on all the other days, but call upon Me and I will fill up that space for you. Jesus Christ will go where no one else can go.
Joseph Parker, City Temple Pulpit, vol. III. p. 136.
The Dying Year
Psa 90:12
The slow, sad experience of life wrought out in the Psalmist a twofold result he has learnt the secret both of detachment and attachment. This aged pilgrim grows more and more weaned from the world and detached from things trivial and temporal. Such should be the effect of the right numbering of days and the years as they escape us to learn at last that though the world passeth away and the lust thereof, yet he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
I. Like all the greatest spiritual poetry, this Psalm has a deep undertone of remorse and retribution. Which of us can gaze forward into his own future without a sense of judgment to come? And who dare face that future except by humble trust in the miracle of God’s reparation and atonement.
II. What does it mean to ‘number our days’? It means ‘to take the measure of our days as compared with the work to be performed, with the provision to be laid up for eternity, with the preparation to be made for death, with the precaution to be taken against the judgment to come. It is to estimate human life by the purposes to which it should be applied, by the eternity to which it must conduct.’ It means to gauge and test our own career in the light of its moral and spiritual issues. And as God teaches us this we understand the secret of true wisdom. For wisdom lies in a just estimate of the real values of things.
T. H. Darlow, The Upward Galling, p. 436.
References. XC. 12. H. P. Wright, Preacher’s Magazine, vol. xix. p. 37. J. E. Vaux, Sermon Notes (4th Series), p. 2. XC. 14. H. S. Wilmot-Buxton, A Year’s Plain Sermons, p. 413. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. lx. No. 513. J. Bush, A Memorial, p. 104.
A Message of Undying Hope
Psa 90:16
The Psalmist here is looking out over a scene of great disappointment and failure. He sees in his mind’s eye human life in its beginning, and in its end. And as he looks out over so much apparent failure his heart fails him. As he looks out and draws near to the end of his reflection on life, he utters the words which prevent despair, for as he looks out upon the failures he looks also beyond, and he knows that the work of God can never fail. He knows that though the work may seem to fail, though one man lives and dies and has apparently wrought but little, there are other hands to take up the work, other voices to deliver the message.
I. No Work for God Fails. That is the secret of the saints’ hope. They have done their work in fear and yet in faith, and they have laid themselves down, conscious that their work cannot fail. We, who reap the fruits of their labours, know at any rate that their toil has not been in vain. In our hand we hold the martyr’s robes, red with the blood of the faithful, and stained with the tears of the penitent. We understand as the inspiration of their lives falls upon us that their work is eternal. And so, as we see the glory, as we gather where they have sown, we understand why it is that in the kingdom of God there is no such thing as failure.
II. The Call to Duty That is the message of the past; it is not a sentimental reflection on the days which are gone, nor is it a tearful meditation upon things which are gone, but it is rather the call to duty. For if the past is our inspiration, we are the fulfilment of its hopes and desires. The elders in every age are able to resign their tasks because they know that they will not appeal to the younger generation in vain. What answer shall we give them? Shall we not tell those whose days are being numbered that their faith is not misplaced, and that their confidence is sure?
III. A Message of Undying Hope. And therefore, if the thought of the Psalmist becomes for us our warning and our hope, we of the younger generation do grow impatient as we wait for the day of the Lord. We want to see Him King. We would take Him by force, if need be, as men tried to take Him of old; we want to see Him King in street, in lane, in home, in workshop; we want to see Him King whereever the evil passions of men are rending them as the devil rent them of old; we long with a great longing today for the crowning of Christ. The pitiable thing is that the time is so short; we can do so little in the short span of our life. That was indeed a pathetic picture which some years ago took the world by storm. It was the picture of an artist who sat before his unfinished canvas with his brush slipping from his nerveless and dying fingers, conscious that he must pass away before his work was finished. The tragedy and pathos of it was that the time was short, that he would have given his right hand for another year of life, and it was not given to him. That is our feeling, and therefore the message of the Psalmist rings out today its cry of eternal and undying hope, because it tells us that our unfinished work shall be finished. It tells us that there is no task which He has set us that God will not complete hereafter; no message that He has bidden us deliver which shall not be uttered in time.
Psa 90:16
This was the favourite text of Bishop Gordon, the pilgrim missionary of the Punjab, who was known as ‘the Christian Fakir’. ‘We should be thankful,’ said this devoted pioneer,’ if the work is ours, so that God’s glory is manifest to the next generation.’
References. XC. 16. J. M. Neale, Sermons on Passages of the Psalms, p. 208. XC. 16, 17. H. M. Butler, Harrow School Sermons, p. 424. G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 241.
Working As Unto God
Psa 90:17
These are the closing words of a most pathetic Psalm which we have sung in our service this morning. For ages it has been regarded as the poem or prayer of Moses, the man of God. Nor is there any reason to doubt the authorship. For us the Psalm is pathetic, not only because of the circumstances under which it was written, but especially from its place in our burial office. It has been heard by many of us on some of the saddest days of our lives, grandly contrasting the brevity of man’s life with the eternity of the being of God, and earnestly pleading, ‘Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish Thou the work of our hands upon us’.
The words give expression to a prayer, an implication, and a desire.
I. A Prayer. ‘Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us.’ Does the petition seem too bold for mortal man, begirt with infirmity and debased by sin? Let us remember the Holy Scriptures themselves encourage and warrant it. Must we ponder the glories of nature, in the crimson of the sunlit sky, the carpet of flowers in a summer wood, the dancing freeness of the waves of ocean, and must we say these are the folds of the skirts of the Most High? We may most truly thus reflect. And yet by this means we should never be able to conceive of the true beauty of the Lord our God. For this consists in the moral excellence of the Eternal. And, therefore, when the Lord would cause His glory to pass before Moses, He proclaimed the name of the Lord as ‘gracious and merciful, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth’. And when we would behold the beauty of the Most High, we need not visit scenes of splendour, we need not wait to behold the blushing morn or crimson even, we need not plant ourselves on some lofty promontory to gaze upon the ‘many-smiling face of ocean,’ now gentle in its lapping, and again cruel in its rage. Far better shall we apprehend the Divine glory if we contemplate the Man of Sorrows, Who had not where to lay His head, and ponder reverently His truthfulness as before Pontius Pilate He witnessed a good confession; His gentleness as He took the children in His arms, and put His hands upon them and blessed them; His patience as He was speechless before His judge and prayed for His murderers. In these consist the true beauty of God; not in self-assertion, or display, or vindictive wrath. Let young men and young women learn that distinctions of title, accumulations of wealth, even stores of learning, cannot impart to the human character one-half the beauty that comes from truthfulness and gentleness and patience; from the things which are the very beauty of the Lord our God.
II. An Implication. The text implies that man’s time and energies are engrossed by work. The Divine dignity of work is set forth by the Saviour as in magnificent terms He asserts, ‘My Father worketh hitherto, and I work’; and again as He reflects, ‘I must work the works of Him that sent me while it is day: the night cometh when no man can work’. The simplicity and unity of all work is taught by the Lord’s answer to the question, ‘What must we do that we may work the works of God?’ Instead of elaborating a list of various details, Jesus Christ returned one comprehensive, all-sufficient response: ‘This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him Whom He hath sent’. Never let us think of our work as irksome, to be if possible avoided and scamped, a hindrance to our religious life. Rather, whatever the work allotted to us, we must regard it as chosen for us by our God, to be quickened, illumined, glorified by a living faith, and discharged in the name and to the glory of our God. Various, indeed, is the work to which we are called: some to labour with their hands in hard toil; others to toil with their brains in a labour no less irksome; others, again, to the responsible and difficult duty of the administration of wealth; others, once more, to the hardest of all toil, in the patient endurance of sickness and of pain. But, whatever the toil allotted to us, in the faith of Christ it is to be undertaken, and in that faith completed.
III. A Desire. But, as we think of work, thus simple in its motive and aim, yet ever varied in its details, does not one earnest yearning fill our spirits? Though we may be but ordinary persons with only average abilities and opportunities, yet does not one question thrill us with a chilling anxiety? Our work, at which we have toiled so unsparingly year after year, what will be its end, its climax; will all be swallowed in a sea of nothings? Alas! from many a quarter the answer might seem to offer no brighter prospect Look where we will in the narrow circles of our families and towns, or the larger view of nations and empires, one law of change seems everywhere triumphant. And yet the Hebrew Psalmist encourages us to express one of the deepest longings of our nature in the prayer, ‘Establish the work of our hands upon us’. Nor is the prayer too bold or fruitless. For while the dreams and toils of earth and of selfishness must vanish and be engulfed, the work done in the name and for the sake of Christ, though it be but the gift of a cup of water, shall live on in its influence and its recompense. It makes all the difference in the world whether we work merely because of custom, through necessity, or consciously for Jesus, because of His Cross and love. Such faith saves our work from being monotonous or irksome, it makes it not in vain in the Lord, a building which will endure even though it be tried by fire.
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
The Days of Our Years
Psa 90:10
On hearing this statement some may wonder that so well-known a fact should be used as a text. It is just because it is so well known, and, indeed, so universally admitted, that we wish to see what practical use can be made of it. So far as the fact itself is concerned, there is no opposition or difficulty amongst us. We receive the text with an assenting sigh. We bow our heads in homage to the tyrant death, knowing that it is useless to bruise our soft hands against his iron sceptre. In childhood we laughed at him as a fiction, in manhood we forgot him as a concealed ghost, in advancing age we accost him with reluctant respect, and offer him the grudged hospitality of mourning and sighing, with more or less of articulate distress and lamentation. We know our span; it is but a handbreadth, and it shortens as we measure it. All this is freely and universally admitted; but we wish to ask what kind of conduct ought to be based upon these solemn admissions. Let us grope, or find our way, little by little, from that which is admitted to that which is revealed, and which stands as a perpetual challenge of our attention and a constant appeal to our confidence.
Let us first of all look at our life a little in detail. The days of our years are threescore years and ten. There is more sound than reality in that statement. We do not live seventy years, though we die on our seventy-first anniversary. The figures are illusory. Take from the seventy years some five years of more or less irresponsible infancy, and the figure drops to sixty-five. From sixty-five subtract one-third of itself as spent in sleep, and the figure drops to some forty-three years, or a little more than five hundred and sixteen little months. That is, assuming that we live out the whole string of the seventy years. But let us take the obviously too high average of human life at fifty years make the same deductions, and we shall find the average of human life reduced to some thirty years, or three hundred and sixty short, swiftly passing months. It is but a breath, and just over it there glows a heaven and there burns a hell. Into that matter we do not now enter. But it is plainly before us that we have a certain portion of time to spend upon the earth, and we cannot be sure that any one of us will ever spend it. The breath we are now drawing may be our last; there is no guarantee of health, there is no surety given to us that we shall always have a clear intellect, a penetrating eye, a comprehensive mind. At any moment man may be deprived of this: he is followed by packs of wolves he cannot satisfy: on the right hand is an abyss, on the left hand is also an abyss: many a time in the sky there are lowering clouds what is man to be and to do within this little span of about three hundred and sixty months?
We are told that wise men know exactly from time to time where their money is; they know what money they have, and they know where to find it or how to account for it. We should be as exact in measuring and accounting for our time as we are in respect to our money. Let us try to get at the religious use of time, and hold ourselves as the treasurers of the costliest jewel that can be committed to the care of creatures. The days of our years are threescore years and ten. Man cometh forth as a flower and is cut down, he fleeth also as a shadow and continueth not. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time literally, buying up the opportunity, buying up the chance for the days are evil.
This course of reflection might easily become so misapplied as to lead to most mischievous results; we must, therefore, presently wholly change the tone. A foolish man hearing this might be led to measure everything by his own individual life, and thus never attempt any work except that of the most narrow and selfish kind. His dreary programme would read thus: “I am to be here at the best for some six hundred months; they are flying and perishing whilst I count them. I will buy me a Bible and retire to some mountain cave, and I will sit down and read it again and again till the months be gone. I will commit it all to memory; I will enter into no enterprises; I will venture nothing; I will have no high aspirations, no broad lines of work, no purposes that reach farther than the sunset of the present day what is the use of it all? I might be gone at any moment; I will therefore spend my life in sighs, and the sooner the end comes the better.” This would not be religion; it would be insanity. We are not to base our service on the narrow period of our individual existence: we are to remember that as the universe is larger than any star that shines within it, so humanity is larger than any of the personalities that people it, and we are to base our conduct upon the broadest conceptions of human life and human destiny.
Let me remind you that though life is short, yet it is immortal; both the statements are true, and are therefore reconcilable. The leaves of every summer fall and die, but the great forests fatten and strengthen, and wave in the winds of centuries. The king dies, the kingdom gets younger every day that lives a true life and sucks its juice from the heart of God. The preacher becomes an old man, withers and dies, and his pulpit sees him no more, but the ministry is immortal, the word of God abideth and is proclaimed for ever. An individual man dies and can no more be found than can the knell that dies upon his grave, yet humanity continues continues building its cities, its temples and towers, weaving and spinning, carving and singing, going with a high joy, as if no grave had ever been cut in the breast of the green earth. We are not, therefore, to mope and moan about our own little day; we are not to lock ourselves up in the little prison of the uncertainty of our own existence; we are not to sit down and read the Bible till death tells us that it is time to go. We have to take in all the world as if it were our business to look after it; we must be inspired by our immortality, not discouraged by our frailty. Young man, you take your start from either of these two divergent points: you can make yourselves old men in an hour by reckoning upon your fingers the number of months you have to live, or you can start under the inspiration of your immortality, and say the work that you leave uncompleted will be carried on by others. You can lose your individuality in the great light, as the stars drop away into invisibleness when the firmament is ready to receive the infinite lustre of the one orb that can fill it from bound to bound. It is, therefore, to challenge your immortality that I now address you: it is not to make you go to the grave to weep there, but to go to your work, to live in the endless, not to die in the limited and narrow sphere of threescore years and ten.
It was thus that Jesus lived. He died ere he had lived out half his seventy years, yet he never died at all. He said: “Pull down what temple you like, that is good, and I will build it again: you cannot pull down God’s temples except that they may be rebuilt and enlarged;” and whilst the enemy had him, the one on the left shoulder and the other on the right, and were hurrying him away to kill him, he turned his head over his shoulder, as it were, and said, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
Some are in pain and distress by reason of thinking much upon the brevity of life, they have been looking at one side only of a very solemn subject. We ask you now to rise from your perusal of the brevity of life, to ponder the fact that this life is but the porch that opens upon immortality. Poetry hardly trifling with history has sometimes touched us to the very blood upon this point. The warrior dies, and says, “I am glad it is all over so far as I am concerned: I wish I had never entered into the war; I care not now what becomes of it.”
The two men now being bound to that stake in Oxford are tailed Ridley and Latimer. In five minutes the fire will leap upon them and they will be killed. Quoth one to the other, just as the fire was being lighted, “Brother, we shall light such a candle in England today as shall never be put out.” These were not men who moped over their threescore years and ten, who sighed themselves away into decorous oblivion, who lived little narrow respectable lives nowhere, and finally went into nothing: they were men who made England who made heaven almost. Their very names are inspirations, and must not, cannot, be forgotten.
So Christ brought life and immortality to light. The Psalmist wrote: “The days of our years are threescore years and ten;” Christ said: “I came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil it: in these threescore years and ten I will find enough for your immortality.” He says, “Sit down;” he takes the years, breaks them with his hand, and lo! the seventy loaves spread out into an infinity of banqueting, and in this poor little germ life of mine he found the beginning and the spring of duration long continued as God’s own.
Let me remind you further that though life is short, yet it is rich, and that is a consideration which invests life with responsibility. We must do the more on that account. Everything is made ready to our hands. There seems now to be nothing else to be done in the way of invention or of general civilisation. We are debtors to the past: we must consider how we can be the creditors of the future. Our forefathers laboured: we have entered into their labours are we going to be content with them, or are we going to see what can be done to prepare for a great posterity? We now say that money is not so valuable as it was fifty years ago. If you tell your friends what your old father lived upon half a century since, they will say, “That is all very well, but a sovereign, then went as far, perhaps, as two sovereigns will go now, so it is no use your basing any economical laws upon such precedents as these.” There is sense in that criticism. But what is true of money is exactly untrue of time. Time fifty years ago and time today are not to be compared; they are to be contrasted. We can do fifty times the work that could be done centuries ago in this very country. The library stands ready for the scholar; the steamship is awaiting the traveller; the earth is torn into mines and shafts for the scientific explorer; the telescope is turned towards the heavens, and asks for the exploring eye to use it. What chances are ours! It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for us, if we be faithless to our obligations. With telegraphs, telephones, and instruments of all kinds, with inventions of machinery the most subtle and wonderful, with all kinds of time-saving contrivances, to tell us that our seventy years are no longer than the seventy years of the Psalmist is to tell us what our own consciousness contradicts, and our own experience denies and repels. If he died at seventy, and we die at the same nominal period of time, we have had the chance of living fifty lives for his one.
What are you doing? What use are you making of the great facilities which are offered to you on every hand? Are you as slow as ever? are you going to read about the threescore years and ten as if they were figures that could be arithmetically measured? There is a moral measurement, there is a scientific measurement, there is a spiritual measurement, and it is to that higher measurement that we now call you. I cannot allow myself to say that I have only seventy years to live. It is true, arithmetically, but broadly it is false. I have a thousand years to live, and when the Psalmist and I meet at the great audit, and he hands in what he has done with his seventy years, I must require angels to help me to lift the burden of my conquests, if I have been a good and faithful servant.
With all this wealth of life, inventions, machineries, libraries, schools, opportunities of all kinds, with all these unreckonable riches of civilisation, we are still conscious of a gnawing and intolerable want. Civilisation has increased the pungency of that necessity. If civilisation had done less we might have thought it could have done more, and we might have been tempted to wait for it. We might have said, “Give civilisation time, and she will find the healing plant, she will bring up the golden store that will drive all poverty away, she will fetch the sage from far-off lands that will solve every problem, illuminate every mystery, unloosen every chain; give her time, and she will find the balm to lull my brain to rest and give me the freedom that comes of profound and renewing sleep.” Civilisation has exhausted itself. There is nothing more possible to civilisation except in the matter of degree. You cannot put your finger down upon one thing and say, “Civilisation has not attempted this yet.” It may not have gone to the full length which it is possible to overtake, but civilisation has refined our houses, given us education, dispelled many prejudices, gathered around us riches of all kinds: civilisation has put pictures upon our walls, songs into our mouths, filled our houses with musical instruments, made everything beautiful and rich, and yet we have covered up a worm that dieth not with most charming flowers, with most beautiful coverings of all imaginable kinds. The one thing our civilisation has not touched in us is our sin. We have seen pictures and have gone home to lay our head upon thorns. We have heard music, an eloquent lie, and have fallen down on bruised knees to utter a sobbing cry for pardon.
So Jesus Christ still keeps his place in civilisation. He begins where others end. Where they cry from exhaustion he puts on his strength. Where the mystery bewilders and blinds them, he dispels it by many a shaft of light He is the propitiation for my sins, he stands between me and God, and O, mystery of love, he stands between me and himself; for he too is Judge, and the sentence of life and death is upon his lips. He knows my days he comforts me with many a promise. He knows my sin he says he came to reply to its agony and to destroy its power. He knows my weariness, and he promises me rest in his own great heart, and let this be said about him which can be said of no other man he met the world’s want, in words if not in realities. Say what we will about realities, this man mentioned the very thing we need most. He says, “You want life?” Yes, that is true. “You want rest?” Yes, above all things we want rest. “You feel hunger?” Yes, a gnawing hunger. “You are athirst?” Yes, aflame, afire with thirst. “Then,” saith he, “I have mentioned your necessities: I will address myself to their direct and immediate and complete supply.” As a poetical conception, taking that limited view only, the Carpenter’s Son stands above kings and crowned ones of every name and suggests what they had not ventured to dream.
The days of our years are threescore years and ten. We look on one side and hardly think them worth living at all. We put stones one upon the other and a wind blows them down. We say, “I will go into this or that city, and abide there a year, and buy and sell and get gain,” and lo! on the starting day we are too ill to move. We are consumed before the moth, the insect is an antagonist we cannot conquer; we see the grave of our friend, and written at the bottom of it is, “Yours will be dug to-morrow.” We feel how mean is life and how poor is the measure of our time. Then it is that we want a man to come to us with revelations of a higher kind, to speak to us of possibilities that do not lie within the arithmetical compass of our seventy years.
My life so frail that an insect can consume it, a lamp, flickering so that a breath might blow it out that is my life in itself; but hidden in Christ, hidden in God, hidden in the living Vine, part of the fellowship divine, “I can the darkening universe defy to quench my immortality, or shake my trust in God.”
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
XV
THE SONG, PRAYER, AND BENEDICTION OF MOSES
Deu 31:14-33:29
This section has its scope from Deu 31:14-33:29 , and in connection with it we study the ninetieth Psalm. The theme of this section is the Song of Moses, Prayer of Moses, and Benediction of Moses.
The introduction gives the origin, reason and purpose of the song. The origin is God; God commanded it and God inspired it. The reason is that he foresaw the apostasy of Israel. The purpose was that the song should be a witness.
The poetic and prophetic form of this inspired piece of writing was well adapted to secure the object that God had in view. The songs of the people were memorized by the people. I suppose that every Israelite child learned that song by heart, so that from the lips of any child in the nation there could be a recitation that would witness against the people if they did apostasize from Jehovah.
It is not my purpose to discuss here the prayer of Moses, but merely tell you that Psa 90 , ascribed to Moses and rightly so, was composed about this time. It contrasts the eternity of Jehovah with the transitory life of man, and it accounts for the transitory life of man by his sin. Sin made his life short. The Psalm concludes with a prayer that God would so teach us the number of the few days here so as to apply our hearts unto wisdom, and that he would establish the work of our hands upon us. It is a masterly production. The benediction is also poetic and prophetic. It softens the hard parts of the song. It is more hopeful but does not reach so far into the future.
Before concluding these introductory remarks, it is necessary to compare the song, the ninetieth Psalm and the benediction with a previous song of Moses which you will find in the book of Exodus, and which we considered when we went over that book, and with the book of Job, which this author ascribes to Moses. The Exodus song Moses wrote to commemorate the deliverance of the children of Israel from Pharaoh and Pharaoh’s destruction in the Red Sea. In Rev 15 we have this reference to this first song of Moses: “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and them that come off victorious from the beast, and from his image, and from the number of his name, standing by the sea of glass, having harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty; righteous and true are thy ways, thou King of the ages.”
The sea of glass mingled with fire was the Red Sea in a type. The Red Sea divided, standing up in frozen walls, Israel passed through that grave like canyon, and the pillar of fire being the lid of it, the light of the pillar of fire shone on the icy walls and was reflected back and forth, so that it looked like a sea of glass mingled with fire. They were baptized in that sea and that cloud, and escaping in that way Moses writes the song of deliverance. Now, in the book of Revelation John uses that passage through those icy walls mingled with fire and the song that commemorated it to typify the deliverance of the saints in resisting the oppressions by an apostate church. So we have this clear assurance that Moses is the author of a song that will be sung in heaven. It is a great thing to be the author of the ballads of a nation here on earth; it is a greater thing to be the author of songs that we shall sing in the land of everlasting deliverance. Now, these matchless hymns all show clearly a common author; the Exodus song of deliverance, the song that we are now about to study, the ninetieth Psalm composed about the same time, and the benediction. These poetic and prophetic hymns of Moses are not to be surpassed in the poetry of the world. He was great in prose, he was great in history, he was as great as any man upon whom the afflatus rested as a writer of poetry.
The next thing in our introduction is that Moses is described as having finished the Pentateuch, including the song, and filing the book with the priests, and having it placed inside the ark of the covenant, so that throughout their future it should be a witness. When we come to study 2 Kings we learn that the finding of the lost Pentateuch in the days of Josiah and the reading of it brought about a great reformation among the people of Judah. After that monarchy fell, after Judah went into captivity, and on their return from captivity, through the decrees of the Persian king in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, the same Pentateuch, a copy of which Ezra brought back with him, is read in the hearing of all the people, causing them to reestablish the commonwealth of Israel. A song is not so susceptible of analysis as a logical argument, hence all attempts at an analytical summary of this song fail to satisfy, but I am sure that we can agree on these things:
The song commences with invoking heaven and earth as auditors. All heaven might well listen, all earth might well listen, should listen to this song, so sweet that it might be compared to the falling rain in the time of a drought, or the distilling dew upon the parched ground. The theme of the song is evident: Jehovah’s fidelity and Israel’s infidelity. It not only commences with a statement of that fact, but it goes on to develop in the thought just what Jehovah did to prove that he was faithful and just what Israel did to prove that he was unfaithful.
There are two illustrations in that song that need to be studied by a public speaker. Nine times in the song Jehovah is compared to a rock, indicating stability, his being the place of refuge. Then the eagle upon the mountaintop, wishing to brain her young, will scatter the sticks of her nest and push the young birds over the precipice, and they shrieking seem about to fall to destruction, but she swoops down under them and carries them on her wings and soars away; then she gets far under them and lets them fall again. After a while they learn to fly and are very proud of themselves. This illustration is to show how Jehovah has borne this ever falling people on his wings. Both of these illustrations are very beautiful. This song sets forth the character of Jehovah in his sovereignty, in his holiness, in his justice, in his fidelity, and in his mercy. The song also sets forth the character of the people as foolish, perverse, ungrateful, wicked, and rebellious. The song then submits evidence to prove these affirmations of distinction between the character of Jehovah and the character of his people. It tells us what Jehovah did and what they did. Jehovah, when he divided the nations, away back yonder soon after the days of Noah, as we learned when we passed over Genesis, at the time when he divided the nations of the earth, he allotted Palestine, which we call the Holy Land, to his foreseen people. He intended at that time that they should have this territory. They were not yet in existence except in their ancestors, and their direct ancestor, Abraham, had not yet been born, but even then God, who owned all the land, selected that strategic, eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea connecting Mesopotamia and its great cities, Babylon and Nineveh, with Egypt. It was a passageway between nations north and south as well as of commerce and caravans east and west. It was the best place in the world to plant a people that should become the religious teacher of all nations.
The song tells how he found them, referring to their history in Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy; they were a desolate people in the howling wilderness, utterly helpless, and as an eagle bears up her young, he bore them up and brought them safely to the point where this song is now being sung. Then he made that nation his inheritance, Jacob being God’s portion. He selected a particular line from Adam, Seth, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the twelve sons all the way down, and he said, “These people shall be my lot, my inheritance, and I will use them in carrying out my purposes for the salvation of the world.” He regarded this nation as the very apple of his eye. He was just as sensitive with reference to them as the eye is sensitive to an unfriendly touch. Finally, this song, which is prophetic and regards the future as if it were present, states that he put them in possession of the land and blessed them beyond the power of words to express. Now, the song tells us what they did:
“When Jeshurun waxed fat he kicked.” A very expressive proverb. You may see a poor, gaunt hack horse that you may safely approach and lead by the mane, without a bridle. But when you feed him and care for him, and curry him, and he becomes sleek, the first thing that you know he kicks. The bounding life within him abhors restraint. This illustration shows what the people did. Their prosperity under good treatment becomes the occasion of their revolt. They sacrificed to idols, things that were nothing, and they sacrificed to demons who were the authors of this idolatry. Now, having contrasted what he did with what they did, the song, still looking far ahead into the future, tells what he will do; inasmuch as they have provoked him to jealousy by selecting a people that have hitherto been no people. In other words, here is a plain intimation of the things fulfilled in the New Testament days, viz.: The kingdom of heaven is taken away from the Jews and given to a people that will bring forth fruits of righteousness.
The song tells us that he will make expiation for the land, foretelling the time when the Antitype of their sacrifices in the person of the true Lamb of God shall make the great expiation for sin. The song tells further that they, on account of their sin, referring, of course, to their sin against this expiation, will be dispersed among all nations and there have an awful time for an awful length of time.
Having thus shown what he would do, he now discloses through the song what his mercy will be in the last day; that there is coming a time when he will look with pity upon this poor downtrodden, oppressed people, and have compassion and pour out upon them the grace of supplication, and when in their penitence they look to him whom they have pierced, he will forgive them.
The last great thought of the song is similar to the thought of Paul in Rom 11 , viz.: that if the casting off of the children of Israel be life to the Gentile world, what shall their restoration be but life from the dead? If their downfall brought Joy to other nations, how much more shall their restoration bring joy to other nations? And so this song calls upon all people to rejoice when his people are forgiven and restored. Benediction, Deu 33 . Here you must compare our text with Gen 49 and also Rev 7 . In Gen 49 , Jacob, the old dying patriarch, summoned his children before him and pronounced a benediction upon each of them. And in Rev 7 there is an account of the 144,000 redeemed by the power of the gospel out of the twelve tribes of Israel. Now, when we look at these lists as given in Gen 49 , Deu 33 and Rev 7 , we find that the order in which the names come is not the same in any two accounts. In Genesis, Jacob blesses them in this order: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph and Benjamin. Moses blesses them in this order: Reuben, Judah, Levi, Benjamin, Joseph, Zebulun, Issachar, Gad, Dan, Naphtali and Asher. He leaves out Simeon. In Revelation the order is this: Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph (which is Ephraim) and Benjamin, leaving out Dan.
Why does Moses leave out Simeon? You will remember that in submitting to the seductive counsels of Balaam, Zimri of the tribe of Simeon committed the presumptuous sin punished by Phinehas. It may be that all of the 24,000 people that perished in that plague were of the tribe of Simeon, which in turn may account for the fact that this tribe, according to the first census numbering 59,300, is found by the second census, immediately following, to be only 22,000. Now, I say that the sin of Zimri may have prompted Moses to leave out Simeon.
But I will give you a reason much more probable. In the allotment of the tribes Simeon got no special territory, and as Moses is thinking of the tribes as they occupy the land, we can see how he might leave out Simeon, since Simeon’s territory is included in Judah’s. When we come to Revelation, it is hard to tell why Dan is left out. It may be because that after going over to the Promised Land Dan left his territory by a migration which you will discover in Judges, went outside of the Promised Land and captured a home and there set up an alien worship. It may be that on this account he is left out. I do not dogmatize on that. Jewish Christians say that Dan was left out because of the character of the tribe as described by Jacob: “A serpent in the way, an adder in the path.” When we were going over Genesis, I called your attention to that awful secret band among the Mormons called the “Danites,” based upon the prophetic character of Dan in Genesis, and the song of Joaquin Miller, which utterly wiped them off the face of the earth.
The next thought arising from a comparison of these lists is that some who in Jacob’s blessing had a dark prospect ahead of them found a brighter prospect in the case of their descendants in Moses’ time. For instance, read what is said about Reuben in Gen 49 and immediately following with what Moses predicts concerning him. Reuben’s prospects brighten in the Mosaic account, and so with some other. Levi, in the prophecy of his father Jacob, in Gen 49 , has a dark prospect before him, but in the Mosaic blessing his prospects are intensely brightened. In this case the children are doing better than the fathers.
Without going over it all, it is my suggestion that the reader take Gen 49 and Deu 33 and compare tribe by tribe, and see what the variations are in this lapse of time. The lesson to be learned from this is that a family through its head may start out bad and give taint to all the descendants of that man, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations, but after a while some of the children will establish themselves in righteousness and bring honor to that name. And likewise a family may start out with a distinguished head and for quite a long time the descendants of this man will share in his fame and glory, but if they do nothing themselves to keep up his reputation, then they become more exposed in their worthlessness by the very fact that they had an illustrious sire.
I can illustrate: There was once a canvass going on in McLennan County for County Attorney, one of the candidates was accustomed in opening his speeches to refer to his progenitors; that as far back as records went they were illustrious people. The opposing candidate got up and said: “Fellow citizens, I know but little about my progenitors. If they were good men they ought to have held office in their time, but on account of their goodness I should not hold office now; so, replying to all that my very well-descended opponent has said in favor of his candidacy, I will just make this remark: I would rather be a horse without a pedigree than a pedigree without a horse.” He was elected.
QUESTIONS
1. What the literary form of the sixth and seventh addresses of does the introduction to the sixth address contain?
2. What does the introduction to the sixth address contain?
3. What the origin, reason and purpose of this song?
4. Why was the poetic and prophetic form of this address well adapted to secure its object?
5. What the subject of Psa 90 , how does it account for the transitory life of man and whose exposition of it was commended?
6. What the form of the benediction, and how does it compare with certain parts of the song?
7. With what preceding song of Moses should the sixth address be compared?
8. What other book besides the Pentateuch does the author ascribe to Moses and what the similarity of the problem in this book with the problem of his own people when he wrote it?
9. Expound the allusion to this preceding song in Rev 15:2-4 .
10. What can you say of Moses as a poet?
11. How was the Pentateuch, when finished, preserved and when do we hear of it again?
12. Give an analysis of this song as follows: (1) The invocation. (2) The theme. (3) The illustrations. (4) The characters set forth. (5) The strategic position of God’8 people. (6) God’s care for his people. (7) The prophecies.
13. With what other scripture must the benediction be compared? the prophecies concerning the names?
14. In comparing the tribe lists in these three scriptures, what variations do you find as to the order of names, omission of names and the prophecies concerning the names?
15. What lessons on heredity and individuality may be learned from the fact that in the Mosaic benediction when compared with the benediction of Jacob, the prospect brightens for some tribes and darkens for others? What illustration given by the author?
16. Why did Moses leave out Simeon, and Revelation omit Dan?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
XIII
THE PSALM OF MOSES AND THE PSALMS OF DAVID’S EARLY LIFE
Psa 90
The author of Psa 90 is Moses. He wrote this psalm while he was in the wilderness of Arabia. The internal evidence that Moses wrote it at this time is that it bears the stamp of the wilderness period all the way through.
The subject of this psalm, as indicated by the American revisers, is “God’s Eternity and Man’s Transitoriness.” Dr. Sampey’s outline of this psalm is good, and we pass it on to you. It is as follows:
1. The eternity of God contrasted with the brevity of human life (Psalms 1-6)
2. The ground for the brevity of man’s life found in God’s wrath because of sin (Psalms 7-11)
3. Prayer for divine forgiveness, and the Joy and stability that follow (Psalms 12-17)
There are several parallels between this and Moses’ Song and Blessing in Deuteronomy 32-33. For example, Psa 90:1 equals Deu 33:27 a: Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place In all generations (Psa 90:1 ). The eternal God is thy dwelling-place, And underneath are the everlasting arms (Deu 33:27 a). Psa 90:12 equals Deu 32:29 : So teach us to number our days, That we may get us a heart of wisdom (Psa 90:12 .) Oh that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would consider their latter end, (Deu 32:29 .)
There are also several parallels between this psalm and the book of Job. Psa 90:2 equals Job 15:7 f and Job 38:1-6 ; Psa 90:3 equals Job 34:15 ; Psa 90:6 equals Job 14:2 , all of which has a bearing on the Mosaic authorship of Job.
There are many striking figures of speech in this psalm. A thousand years in God’s sight are but as yesterday, and as a watch in the night. God’s sweeping destruction is likened unto a flood. Man’s life is likened unto grass and ends like a sigh.
The New Testament references or allusions to this psalm or its teachings are found in 2Pe 3:8 , which is equivalent to Psa 90:4 and in Mat 6:30 which equals Psa 90:6 .
There is a teaching in this psalm not found elsewhere in the Bible. It is in Psa 90:10 and relates to the allotted time for man to live which is three score and ten years with a probability for a strong man of fourscore. In 2Sa 19:35 we have old Barzillai’s statement of recognition that he had reached the appointed limit of life and was then living on borrowed time.
A brief summary of the teaching and application of this psalm is as follows:
1. The teaching:
(1) The eternity of God and his transcendence
(2) God’s attitude toward sin and sin’s certain punishment
(3) The mercy of God available for sinners
2. The application:
(1) God a refuge
(2) Beware of sin
(3) The sinner’s privilege of prayer
The author of Psa 8 ; Psa 19 ; Psa 29 ; Psa 23 is David, who composed some of them perhaps late, late in life. We call this group of psalms the psalms of the Shepherd Boy, or the psalms of his peaceful early life. Dr. Sampey calls this group of psalms “The Echoes of a Happy Youth.” The subject of Psa 8 is God’s strange exaltation of what is seemingly insignificant. The items of information in the title are (1) direction for its use; (2) the tune; (3) the author.
Spurgeon calls this psalm “A Psalm of the Astronomer.” The time of day taken as a viewpoint, is a clear night.
A good outline of this psalm is the following:
Opening doxology (Psa 8:1 )
1. Babes achieving great results (Psa 8:2 )
2. Man, though small, not forgotten, but exalted above all other creatures (Psa 8:3-8 )
Closing doxology (Psa 8:9 )
There are several interpretations of Psa 8:2 , viz:
1. That it means child-holiness, as in the case of Samuel and John the Baptist.
2. That it shows God’s providence in behalf of babes.
3. That man in general is helpless.
4. That it refers to David in particular and indicates his weakness; that it also refers to Christ in becoming a babe. The New Testament quotations from this psalm and their application are found in Mat 21:16 ; Heb 2:5-8 ; and 1Co 15:27 ; thus:
“And said unto him, Hearest thou what these are saying? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea: did ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?” (Mat 21:16 ). “For not unto angels did he subject the world to come, whereof we speak. But one hath somewhere testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? Or the son of man, that thou visiteth him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; Thou crownedst him with glory and honor, And didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou didst put all things in subjection under his feet.” Heb 2:5-8
“For, be put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he saith, All things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is excepted who did subject all things unto him.” (1Co 15:27 ).
Upon these quotations and their application we can determine the interpretation of Psa 8:2 :
1. That it refers primarily to strength from the weak things (1Co 1:27 )
2. That it was applied to the children at the triumphal entrance into Jerusalem (Mat 21:16 )
Then Psa 8:4-8 are found to refer primarily to man (Gen 1:26 ; Gen 1:28 ) and then to Christ as the ideal man (1Co 15:27 ; Heb 2:5-9 ).
Some say that the author of Psa 19 was a pantheist, but he was not. He does not identify God and nature. The two books of revelation according to this psalm are Nature and the Scripture, but they are distinct revelations.
Dr. Sampey’s outline of Psa 19 is,
1. The glory of God in the material universe (Psa 19:1-6 )
2. The excellence of God’s revealed word (Psa 19:7-11 )
3. Plea for deliverance from every form of sin (Psa 19:12-14 )
This outline shows the progress of the thought, thus: The work of God reveals glory; the Word of God is excellent; prayer to God is the sinner’s privilege when he sees the glory of God in nature and also recognizes his imperfection as he is measured by the perfect Word of God.
A New Testament quotation from this psalm is found in Rom 10:18 , in that great discussion of Paul on the Jewish problem of unbelief, showing that the light of nature extended not only to the Jews, but to the whole inhabited earth. Note carefully these words: But I say. Did they not hear? Yea, verily, Their sound went out into all the earth, And their words unto the ends of the world.
There is also a New Testament reference to it in Rom 1:20 : “For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse.”
There is a striking figure in this psalm found in Psa 19:5-6 , in which the rising sun is likened unto a bridegroom coming out of his chamber and running his course, thus: Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoiceth as a strong man to run his course. His going forth is from the end of the heavens, And his circuit unto the ends of it; And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
Thus we see that the time of day taken as a viewpoint in this psalm is the sunrise, the most exhilarating and invigorating point of the day.
Here we note six names of the Word of God with their attributes and divine effects, noting progress in the effect, thus:
1. The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul. “Law” is the name, “perfect” is the attribute and “restoring the soul” is the effect.
2. The testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple. “Testimony” is the name, “sure” is the attribute and “making wise the simple” is the effect.
3. The precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart. “Precepts” is the name, “right” is the attribute and “rejoicing the heart” is the effect.
4. The commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes. “Commandment” is the name, “pure” is the attribute and “enlightening the eyes” is the effect.
5. The fear of Jehovah is clean, enduring forever. “Fear” is the name, “clean” is the attribute and “enduring forever” is the effect.
6. The ordinances of Jehovah are true and righteous altogether. “Ordinances” is the name, “true” is the attribute and “righteous altogether” suggests a righteous fruitage from the whole law.
Certain classes of sins are recognized in this psalm, viz:
1. The sin of ignorance, of which Paul is a fine example.
2. Secret sin, of which David is an example.
3. Presumptuous sin, of which Saul, son of Kish, is an example.
4. The sin of infirmity, of which Peter is one of the best examples.
QUESTIONS
1. Who is the author of Psa 90 ?
2. When written?
3. What is the internal evidence that Moses wrote it at this time?
4. What is the subject of this psalm as indicated by the American revisers?
5. What is Dr. Sampey’s outline of this psalm?
6. What are the parallels between this and Moses’ Song and Blessing in Deuteronomy 32-33?
7. What are the parallels between this psalm and the book of Job?
8. What are the figures of speech in this psalm?
9. What are the New Testament references or allusions to this psalm or its teachings?
10. What is the teaching in this psalm not found elsewhere?
11. What is your favorite verse in this psalm?
12. Give a brief summary of its teaching and application.
13. Who is the author of Psa 8 ; Psa 19 ; Psa 29 ; Psa 23 ; and when were they composed?
14. What does Dr. Carroll call this group of psalms?
15. What does Dr. Sampey call this group of psalms?
16. What does Dr. Sampey give as the subject of the Psa 8 ?
17. What do the items of information in the title?
18. What does Spurgeon call this psalm?
19. What is the time of day taken as a viewpoint?
20. What is Dr. Sampey’s outline of this psalm?
21. Give several interpretations of Psa 8:2 .
22. What New Testament quotations are from this psalm and what is their application?
23. What then is the interpretation of Psa 8:2 ?
24. What is the interpretation of Psa 8:4-8 ?
25. What is your favorite verse of this psalm?
26. Is the author of Psalm 19 a pantheist and why?
27. What are the two books of revelation according to this psalm?
28. What is Dr. Sampey’s outline of this psalm?
29. State this outline so as to show the progress of the thought.
30. What is the New Testament quotation from this psalm?
31. What is the New Testament reference to it?
32. What is the striking figure in this psalm? What time of day does this psalm take as a viewpoint?
34. Give six names of the word of God with their attributes and divine effects, noting the progress in the effect.
35. What classes of sins are recognized in this psalm, and what an illustration of each?
36. What is your favorite verse in this psalm?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
PSALMS
XI
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF PSALMS
According to my usual custom, when taking up the study of a book of the Bible I give at the beginning a list of books as helps to the study of that book. The following books I heartily commend on the Psalms:
1. Sampey’s Syllabus for Old Testament Study . This is especially good on the grouping and outlining of some selected psalms. There are also some valuable suggestions on other features of the book.
2. Kirkpatrick’g commentary, in “Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges,” is an excellent aid in the study of the Psalter.
3. Perowne’s Book of Psalms is a good, scholarly treatise on the Psalms. A special feature of this commentary is the author’s “New Translation” and his notes are very helpful.
4. Spurgeon’s Treasury of David. This is just what the title implies. It is a voluminous, devotional interpretation of the Psalms and helpful to those who have the time for such extensive study of the Psalter.
5. Hengstenburg on the Psalms. This is a fine, scholarly work by one of the greatest of the conservative German scholars.
6. Maclaren on the Psalms, in “The Expositor’s Bible,” is the work of the world’s safest, sanest, and best of all works that have ever been written on the Psalms.
7. Thirtle on the Titles of the Psalms. This is the best on the subject and well worth a careful study.
At this point some definitions are in order. The Hebrew word for psalm means praise. The word in English comes from psalmos , a song of lyrical character, or a song to be sung and accompanied with a lyre. The Psalter is a collection of sacred and inspired songs, composed at different times and by different authors.
The range of time in composition was more than 1,000 years, or from the time of Moses to the time of Ezra. The collection in its present form was arranged probably by Ezra in the fifth century, B.C.
The Jewish classification of Old Testament books was The Law, the Prophets, and the Holy Writings. The Psalms was given the first place in the last group.
They had several names, or titles, of the Psalms. In Hebrew they are called “The Book of Prayers,” or “The Book of Praises.” The Hebrew word thus used means praises. The title of the first two books is found in Psa 72:20 : “The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.” The title of the whole collection of Psalms in the Septuagint is Biblos Psalman which means the “Book of Psalms.” The title in the Alexandrian Codex is Psalterion which is the name of a stringed instrument, and means “The Psalter.”
The derivation of our English words, “psalms,” “psalter,” and “psaltery,” respectively, is as follows:
1. “Psalms” comes from the Greek word, psalmoi, which is also from psallein , which means to play upon a stringed instrument. Therefore the Psalms are songs played upon stringed instruments, and the word here is used to apply to the whole collection.
2. “Psalter” is of the same origin and means the Book of Psalms and refers also to the whole collection.
3. “Psaltery” is from the word psalterion, which means “a harp,” an instrument, supposed to be in the shape of a triangle or like the delta of the Greek alphabet. See Psa 33:2 ; Psa 71:22 ; Psa 81:2 ; Psa 144:9 .
In our collection there are 150 psalms. In the Septuagint there is one extra. It is regarded as being outside the sacred collection and not inspired. The subject of this extra psalm is “David’s victory over Goliath.” The following is a copy of it: I was small among my brethren, And youngest in my father’s house, I used to feed my father’s sheep. My hands made a harp, My fingers fashioned a Psaltery. And who will declare unto my Lord? He is Lord, he it is who heareth. He it was who sent his angel And took me from my father’s sheep, And anointed me with the oil of his anointing. My brethren were goodly and tall, But the Lord took no pleasure in them. I went forth to meet the Philistine. And he cursed me by his idols But I drew the sword from beside him; I beheaded him and removed reproach from the children of Israel.
It will be noted that this psalm does not have the earmarks of an inspired production. There is not found in it the modesty so characteristic of David, but there is here an evident spirit of boasting and self-praise which is foreign to the Spirit of inspiration.
There is a difference in the numbering of the psalms in our version which follows the Hebrew, and the numbering in the Septuagint. Omitting the extra one in the Septuagint, there is no difference as to the total number. Both have 150 and the same subject matter, but they are not divided alike.
The following scheme shows the division according to our version and also the Septuagint: Psalms 1-8 in the Hebrew equal 1-8 in the Septuagint; 9-10 in the Hebrew combine into 9 in the Septuagint; 11-113 in the Hebrew equal 10-112 in the Septuagint; 114-115 in the Hebrew combine into 113 in the Septuagint; 116 in the Hebrew divides into 114-115 in the Septuagint; 117-146 in the Hebrew equal 116-145 in the Septuagint; 147 in the Hebrew divides into 146-147 in the Septuagint; 148-150 in the Hebrew equal 148-150 in the Septuagint.
The arrangement in the Vulgate is the same as the Septuagint. Also some of the older English versions have this arangement. Another difficulty in numbering perplexes an inexperienced student in turning from one version to another, viz: In the Hebrew often the title is verse I, and sometimes the title embraces verses 1-2.
The book divisions of the Psalter are five books, as follows:
Book I, Psalms 1-41 (41 chapters)
Book II, Psalms 42-72 (31 chapters)
Book III, Psalms 73-89 (17 chapters)
Book IV, Psalms 90-106 (17 chapters)
Book V, Psalms 107-150 (44 chapters)
They are marked by an introduction and a doxology. Psalm I forms an introduction to the whole book; Psa 150 is the doxology for the whole book. The introduction and doxology of each book are the first and last psalms of each division, respectively.
There were smaller collections before the final one, as follows:
Books I and II were by David; Book III, by Hezekiah, and Books IV and V, by Ezra.
Certain principles determined the arrangement of the several psalms in the present collection:
1. David is honored with first place, Book I and II, including Psalms 1-72.
2. They are grouped according to the use of the name of God:
(1) Psalms 1-41 are Jehovah psalms;
(2) Psalms 42-83 are Elohim-psalms;
(3) Psalms 84-150 are Jehovah psalms.
3. Book IV is introduced by the psalm of Moses, which is the first psalm written.
4. Some are arranged as companion psalms, for instance, sometimes two, sometimes three, and sometimes more. Examples: Psa 2 and 3; 22, 23, and 24; 113-118.
5. They were arranged for liturgical purposes, which furnished the psalms for special occasions, such as feasts, etc. We may be sure this arrangement was not accidental. An intelligent study of each case is convincing that it was determined upon rational grounds.
All the psalms have titles but thirty-three, as follows:
In Book I, Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 10 ; Psa 33 , (4 are without titles).
In Book II, Psa 43 ; Psa 71 , (2 are without titles).
In Book IV, Psa 91 ; Psa 93 ; Psa 94 ; Psa 95 ; Psa 96 ; Psa 97 ; Psa 104 ; Psa 105 ; Psa 106 , (9 are without titles).
In Book V, Psa 107 ; III; 112; 113; 114; 115; 116; 117; 118; 119; 135; 136; 137; 146; 147; 148; 149; 150, (18 are without titles).
The Talmud calls these psalms that have no title, “Orphan Psalms.” The later Jews supply these titles by taking the nearest preceding author. The lack of titles in Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; and 10 may be accounted for as follows: Psa 1 is a general introduction to the whole collection and Psa 2 was, perhaps, a part of Psa 1 . Psalms 9-10 were formerly combined into one, therefore Psa 10 has the same title as Psa 9 .
QUESTIONS
1. What books are commended on the Psalms?
2. What is a psalm?
3. What is the Psalter?
4. What is the range of time in composition?
5. When and by whom was the collection in its present form arranged?
6. What the Jewish classification of Old Testament books, and what the position of the Psalter in this classification?
7. What is the Hebrew title of the Psalms?
8. Find the title of the first two books from the books themselves.
9. What is the title of the whole collection of psalms in the Septuagint?
10. What is the title in the Alexandrian Codex?
11. What is the derivation of our English word, “Psalms”, “Psalter”, and “Psaltery,” respectively?
12. How many psalms in our collection?
13. How many psalms in the Septuagint?
14. What about the extra one in the Septuagint?
15. What is the subject of this extra psalm?
16. How does it compare with the Canonical Psalms?
17. What is the difference in the numbering of the psalms in our version which follows the Hebrew, and the numbering in the Septuagint?
18. What is the arrangement in the Vulgate?
19. What other difficulty in numbering which perplexes an inexperienced student in turning from one version to another?
20. What are the book divisions of the Psalter and how are these divisions marked?
21. Were there smaller collections before the final one? If so, what were they?
22. What principles determined the arrangement of the several psalms in the present collection?
23. In what conclusion may we rest concerning this arrangement?
24. How many of the psalms have no titles?
25. What does the Talmud call these psalms that have no titles?
26. How do later Jews supply these titles?
27. How do you account for the lack of titles in Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 10 ?
XII
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF PSALMS (CONTINUED)
The following is a list of the items of information gathered from the titles of the psalms:
1. The author: “A Psalm of David” (Psa 37 ).
2. The occasion: “When he fled from Absalom, his son” (Psa 3 ).
3. The nature, or character, of the poem:
(1) Maschil, meaning “instruction,” a didactic poem (Psa 42 ).
(2) Michtam, meaning “gold,” “A Golden Psalm”; this means excellence or mystery (Psa 16 ; 56-60).
4. The occasion of its use: “A Psalm of David for the dedication of the house” (Psa 30 ).
5. Its purpose: “A Psalm of David to bring remembrance” (Psa 38 ; Psa 70 ).
6. Direction for its use: “A Psalm of David for the chief musician” (Psa 4 ).
7. The kind of musical instrument:
(1) Neginoth, meaning to strike a chord, as on stringed instruments (Psa 4 ; Psa 61 ).
(2) Nehiloth, meaning to perforate, as a pipe or flute (Psa 5 ).
(3) Shoshannim, Lilies, which refers probably to cymbals (Psa 45 ; Psa 69 ).
8. A special choir:
(1) Sheminith, the “eighth,” or octave below, as a male choir (Psa 6 ; Psa 12 ).
(2) Alamoth, female choir (Psa 46 ).
(3) Muth-labben, music with virgin voice, to be sung by a choir of boys in the treble (Psa 9 ).
9. The keynote, or tune:
(1) Aijeleth-sharar, “Hind of the morning,” a song to the melody of which this is sung (Psa 22 ).
(2) Al-tashheth, “Destroy thou not,” the beginning of a song the tune of which is sung (Psa 57 ; Psa 58 ; Psa 59 ; Psa 75 ).
(3) Gittith, set to the tune of Gath, perhaps a tune which David brought from Gath (Psa 8 ; Psa 81 ; Psa 84 ).
(4) Jonath-elim-rehokim, “The dove of the distant terebinths,” the commencement of an ode to the air of which this song was to be sung (Psa 56 ).
(5) Leannoth, the name of a tune (Psa 88 ).
(6) Mahalath, an instrument (Psa 53 ); Leonnoth-Mahaloth, to chant to a tune called Mahaloth.
(7) Shiggaion, a song or a hymn.
(8) Shushan-Eduth, “Lily of testimony,” a tune (Psa 60 ). Note some examples: (1) “America,” “Shiloh,” “Auld Lang Syne.” These are the names of songs such as we are familiar with; (2) “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” and “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood,” are examples of sacred hymns.
10. The liturgical use, those noted for the feasts, e.g., the Hallels and Hallelujah Psalms (Psalms 146-150).
11. The destination, as “Song of Ascents” (Psalms 120-134)
12. The direction for the music, such as Selah, which means “Singers, pause”; Higgaion-Selah, to strike a symphony with selah, which means an instrumental interlude (Psa 9:16 ).
The longest and fullest title to any of the psalms is the title to Psa 60 . The items of information from this title are as follows: (1) the author; (2) the chief musician; (3) the historical occasion; (4) the use, or design; (5) the style of poetry; (6) the instrument or style of music.
The parts of these superscriptions which most concern us now are those indicating author, occasion, and date. As to the historic value or trustworthiness of these titles most modern scholars deny that they are a part of the Hebrew text, but the oldest Hebrew text of which we know anything had all of them. This is the text from which the Septuagint was translated. It is much more probable that the author affixed them than later writers. There is no internal evidence in any of the psalms that disproves the correctness of them, but much to confirm. The critics disagree among themselves altogether as to these titles. Hence their testimony cannot consistently be received. Nor can it ever be received until they have at least agreed upon a common ground of opposition.
David is the author of more than half the entire collection, the arrangement of which is as follows:
1. Seventy-three are ascribed to him in the superscriptions.
2. Some of these are but continuations of the preceding ones of a pair, trio, or larger group.
3. Some of the Korahite Psalms are manifestly Davidic.
4. Some not ascribed to him in the titles are attributed to him expressly by New Testament writers.
5. It is not possible to account for some parts of the Psalter without David. The history of his early life as found in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1and 2 Chronicles, not only shows his remarkable genius for patriotic and sacred songs and music, but also shows his cultivation of that gift in the schools of the prophets. Some of these psalms of the history appear in the Psalter itself. It is plain to all who read these that they are founded on experience, and the experience of no other Hebrew fits the case. These experiences are found in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles.
As to the attempt of the destructive critics to rob David of his glory in relation to the Psalter by assigning the Maccabean era as the date of composition, I have this to say:
1. This theory has no historical support whatever, and therefore is not to be accepted at all.
2. It has no support in tradition, which weakens the contention of the critics greatly.
3. It has no support from finding any one with the necessary experience for their basis.
4. They can give no reasonable account as to how the titles ever got there.
5. It is psychologically impossible for anyone to have written these 150 psalms in the Maccabean times.
6. Their position is expressly contrary to the testimony of Christ and the apostles. Some of the psalms which they ascribe to the Maccabean Age are attributed to David by Christ himself, who said that David wrote them in the Spirit.
The obvious aim of this criticism and the necessary result if it be Just, is a positive denial of the inspiration of both Testaments.
Other authors are named in the titles, as follows: (1) Asaph, to whom twelve psalms have been assigned: (2) Mosee, Psa 90 ; (3) Solomon, Psa 72 ; Psa 127 ; (4) Heman, Psa 80 ; (5) Ethem, Psa 89 ; (6) A number of the psalms are ascribed to the sons of Korah.
Not all the psalms ascribed to Asaph were composed by one person. History indicates that Asaph’s family presided over the song service for several generations. Some of them were composed by his descendants by the game name. The five general outlines of the whole collection are as follows:
I. By books
1. Psalms 1-41 (41)
2. Psalms 42-72 (31)
3. Psalms 73-89 (17)
4. Psalms 90-106 (17)
5. Psalms 107-150 (44)
II. According to date and authorship
1. The psalm of Moses (Psa 90 )
2. Psalms of David:
(1) The shepherd boy (Psa 8 ; Psa 19 ; Psa 29 ; Psa 23 ).
(2) David when persecuted by Saul (Psa 59 ; Psa 56 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 52 ; Psa 54 ; Psa 57 ; Psa 142 ).
(3) David the King (Psa 101 ; Psa 18 ; Psa 24 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 110 ; Psa 20 ; Psa 20 ; Psa 21 ; Psa 60 ; Psa 51 ; Psa 32 ; Psa 41 ; Psa 55 ; Psa 3:4 ; Psa 64 ; Psa 62 ; Psa 61 ; Psa 27 ).
3. The Asaph Psalms (Psa 50 ; Psa 73 ; Psa 83 ).
4. The Korahite Psalms (Psa 42 ; Psa 43 ; Psa 84 ).
5. The psalms of Solomon (Psa 72 ; Psa 127 ).
6. The psalms of the era of Hezekiah and Isaiah (Psa 46 ; Psa 47 ; Psa 48 )
7. The psalms of the Exile (Psa 74 ; Psa 79 ; Psa 137 ; Psa 102 )
8. The psalms of the Restoration (Psa 85 ; Psa 126 ; Psa 118 ; 146-150)
III. By groups
1. The Jehovistic and Elohistic Psalms:
(1) Psalms 1-41 are Jehovistic;
(2) Psalms 42-83 are Elohistic Psalms;
(3) Psalms 84-150 are Jehovistic.
2. The Penitential Psalms (Psa 6 ; Psa 32 ; Psa 38 ; Psa 51 ; Psa 102 ; Psa 130 ; Psa 143 )
3. The Pilgrim Psalms (Psalms 120-134)
4. The Alphabetical Psalms (Psa 9 ; Psa 10 ; Psa 25 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 37 ; 111:112; Psa 119 ; Psa 145 )
5. The Hallelujah Psalms (Psalms 11-113; 115-117; 146-150; to which may be added Psa 135 ) Psalms 113-118 are called “the Egyptian Hallel”
IV. Doctrines of the Psalms
1. The throne of grace and how to approach it by sacrifice, prayer, and praise.
2. The covenant, the basis of worship.
3. The paradoxical assertions of both innocence & guilt.
4. The pardon of sin and justification.
5. The Messiah.
6. The future life, pro and con.
7. The imprecations.
8. Other doctrines.
V. The New Testament use of the Psalms
1. Direct references and quotations in the New Testament.
2. The allusions to the psalms in the New Testament. Certain experiences of David’s life made very deep impressions on his heart, such as: (1) his peaceful early life; (2) his persecution by Saul; (3) his being crowned king of the people; (4) the bringing up of the ark; (5) his first great sin; (6) Absalom’s rebellion; (7) his second great sin; (8) the great promise made to him in 2Sa 7 ; (9) the feelings of his old age.
We may classify the Davidic Psalms according to these experiences following the order of time, thus:
1. His peaceful early life (Psa 8 ; Psa 19 ; Psa 29 ; Psa 23 )
2. His persecution by Saul (Psa 59 ; Psa 56 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 7 ; Psa 52 ; Psa 120 ; Psa 140 ; Psa 54 ; Psa 57 ; Psa 142 ; Psa 17 ; Psa 18 )
3. Making David King (Psa 27 ; Psa 133 ; Psa 101 )
4. Bringing up the ark (Psa 68 ; Psa 24 ; Psa 132 ; Psa 15 ; Psa 78 ; Psa 96 )
5. His first great sin (Psa 51 ; Psa 32 )
6. Absalom’s rebellion (Psa 41 ; Psa 6 ; Psa 55 ; Psa 109 ; Psa 38 ; Psa 39 ; Psa 3 ; Psa 4 ; Psa 63 ; Psa 42 ; Psa 43 ; Psa 5 ; Psa 62 ; Psa 61 ; Psa 27 )
7. His second great sin (Psa 69 ; Psa 71 ; Psa 102 ; Psa 103 )
8. The great promise made to him in 2Sa 7 (Psa 2 )
9. Feelings of old age (Psa 37 )
The great doctrines of the psalms may be noted as follows: (1) the being and attributes of God; (3) sin, both original and individual; (3) both covenants; (4) the doctrine of justification; (5) concerning the Messiah.
There is a striking analogy between the Pentateuch and the Psalms. The Pentateuch contains five books of law; the Psalms contain five books of heart responses to the law.
It is interesting to note the historic controversies concerning the singing of psalms. These were controversies about singing uninspired songs, in the Middle Ages. The church would not allow anything to be used but psalms.
The history in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles, and in Ezra and Nehemiah is very valuable toward a proper interpretation of the psalms. These books furnish the historical setting for a great many of the psalms which is very indispensable to their proper interpretation.
Professor James Robertson, in the Poetry and Religion of the Psalms constructs a broad and strong argument in favor of the Davidic Psalms, as follows:
1. The age of David furnished promising soil for the growth of poetry.
2. David’s qualifications for composing the psalms make it highly probable that David is the author of the psalms ascribed to him.
3. The arguments against the possibility of ascribing to David any of the hymns in the Hebrew Psalter rests upon assumptions that are thoroughly antibiblical.
The New Testament makes large use of the psalms and we learn much as to their importance in teaching. There are seventy direct quotations in the New Testament from this book, from which we learn that the Scriptures were used extensively in accord with 2Ti 3:16-17 . There are also eleven references to the psalms in the New Testament from which we learn that the New Testament writers were thoroughly imbued with the spirit and teaching of the psalms. Then there are eight allusions ‘to this book in the New Testament from which we gather that the Psalms was one of the divisions of the Old Testament and that they were used in the early church.
QUESTIONS
1. Give a list of the items of information gathered from the titles of the psalms.
2. What is the longest title to any of the psalms and what the items of this title?
3. What parts of these superscriptions most concern us now?
4. What is the historic value, or trustworthiness of these titles?
5. State the argument showing David’s relation to the psalms.
6. What have you to say of the attempt of the destructive critics to rob David of his glory in relation to the Psalter by assigning the Maccabean era as the date of composition?
7. What the obvious aim of this criticism and the necessary result, if it be just?
8. What other authors are named in the titles?
9. Were all the psalms ascribed to Asaph composed by one person?
10. Give the five general outlines of the whole collection, as follows: I. The outline by books II. The outline according to date and authorship III. The outline by groups IV. The outline of doctrines V. The outline by New Testament quotations or allusions.
11. What experiences of David’s life made very deep impressions on his heart?
12. Classify the Davidic Psalms according to these experiences following the order of time.
13. What the great doctrines of the psalms?
14. What analogy between the Pentateuch and the Psalms?
15. What historic controversies concerning the singing of psalms?
16. Of what value is the history in Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles, and in Ezra and Nehemiah toward a proper interpretation of the psalms?
17. Give Professor James Robertson’s argument in favor of the Davidic authorship of the psalms.
18. What can you say of the New Testament use of the psalms and what do we learn as to their importance in teaching?
19. What can you say of the New Testament references to the psalms, and from the New Testament references what the impression on the New Testament writers?
20. What can you say of the allusions to the psalms in the New Testament?
XVII
THE MESSIAH IN THE PSALMS
A fine text for this chapter is as follows: “All things must be fulfilled which were written in the Psalms concerning me,” Luk 24:44 . I know of no better way to close my brief treatise on the Psalms than to discuss the subject of the Messiah as revealed in this book.
Attention has been called to the threefold division of the Old Testament cited by our Lord, namely, the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms (Luk 24:44 ), in all of which were the prophecies relating to himself that “must be fulfilled.” It has been shown just what Old Testament books belong to each of these several divisions. The division called the Psalms included many books, styled Holy Writings, and because the Psalms proper was the first book of the division it gave the name to the whole division.
The object of this discussion is to sketch the psalmist’s outline of the Messiah, or rather, to show how nearly a complete picture of our Lord is foredrawn in this one book. Let us understand however with Paul, that all prophecy is but in part (1Co 13:9 ), and that when we fill in on one canvas all the prophecies concerning the Messiah of all the Old Testament divisions, we are far from having a perfect portrait of our Lord. The present purpose is limited to three things:
1. What the book of the Psalms teaches concerning the Messiah.
2. That the New Testament shall authoritatively specify and expound this teaching.
3. That the many messianic predictions scattered over the book and the specifications thereof over the New Testament may be grouped into an orderly analysis, so that by the adjustment of the scattered parts we may have before us a picture of our Lord as foreseen by the psalmists.
In allowing the New Testament to authoritatively specify and expound the predictive features of the book, I am not unmindful of what the so-called “higher critics” urge against the New Testament quotations from the Old Testament and the use made of them. In this discussion, however, these objections are not considered, for sufficient reasons. There is not space for it. Even at the risk of being misjudged I must just now summarily pass all these objections, dismissing them with a single statement upon which the reader may place his own estimate of value. That statement is that in the days of my own infidelity, before this old method of criticism had its new name, I was quite familiar with the most and certainly the strongest of the objections now classified as higher criticism, and have since patiently re-examined them in their widely conflicting restatements under their modern name, and find my faith in the New Testament method of dealing with the Old Testament in no way shattered, but in every way confirmed. God is his own interpreter. The Old Testament as we now have it was in the hands of our Lord. I understand his apostle to declare, substantially, that “every one of these sacred scriptures is God-inspired and is profitable for teaching us what is right to believe and to do, for convincing us what is wrong in faith or practice, for rectifying the wrong when done, that we may be ready at every point, furnished completely, to do every good work, at the right time, in the right manner, and from the proper motive” (2Ti 3:16-17 ).
This New Testament declares that David was a prophet (Act 2:30 ), that he spake by the Holy Spirit (Act 1:16 ), that when the book speaks the Holy Spirit speaks (Heb 3:7 ), and that all its predictive utterances, as sacred Scripture, “must be fulfilled” (Joh 13:18 ; Act 1:16 ). It is not claimed that David wrote all the psalms, but that all are inspired, and that as he was the chief author, the book goes by his name.
It would be a fine thing to make out two lists, as follows:
1. All of the 150 psalms in order from which the New Testament quotes with messianic application.
2. The New Testament quotations, book by book, i.e., Matthew so many, and then the other books in their order.
We would find in neither of these any order as to time, that is, Psa 1 which forecasts an incident in the coming Messiah’s life does not forecast the first incident of his life. And even the New Testament citations are not in exact order as to time and incident of his life. To get the messianic picture before us, therefore, we must put the scattered parts together in their due relation and order, and so construct our own analysis. That is the prime object of this discussion. It is not claimed that the analysis now presented is perfect. It is too much the result of hasty, offhand work by an exceedingly busy man. It will serve, however, as a temporary working model, which any one may subsequently improve. We come at once to the psalmist’s outline of the Messiah.
1. The necessity for a Saviour. This foreseen necessity is a background of the psalmists’ portrait of the Messiah. The necessity consists in (1) man’s sinfulness; (2) his sin; (3) his inability of wisdom and power to recover himself; (4) the insufficiency of legal, typical sacrifices in securing atonement.
The predicate of Paul’s great argument on justification by faith is the universal depravity and guilt of man. He is everywhere corrupt in nature; everywhere an actual transgressor; everywhere under condemnation. But the scriptural proofs of this depravity and sin the apostle draws mainly from the book of the Psalms. In one paragraph of the letter to the Romans (Rom 3:4-18 ), he cites and groups six passages from six divisions of the Psalms (Psa 5:9 ; Psa 10:7 ; Psa 14:1-3 ; Psa 36:1 ; Psa 51:4-6 ; Psa 140:3 ). These passages abundantly prove man’s sinfulness, or natural depravity, and his universal practice of sin.
The predicate also of the same apostle’s great argument for revelation and salvation by a Redeemer is man’s inability of wisdom and power to re-establish communion with God. In one of his letters to the Corinthians he thus commences his argument: “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? -For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preach-ing to save them that believe.” He closes this discussion with the broad proposition: “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God,” and proves it by a citation from Psa 94:11 : “The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”
In like manner our Lord himself pours scorn on human wisdom and strength by twice citing Psa 8 : “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight” (Mat 11:25-26 ). “And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children that were crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, and said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?” (Mat 21:15-16 ).
But the necessity for a Saviour as foreseen by the psalmist did not stop at man’s depravity, sin, and helplessness. The Jews were trusting in the sacrifices of their law offered on the smoking altar. The inherent weakness of these offerings, their lack of intrinsic merit, their ultimate abolition, their complete fulfilment and supercession by a glorious antitype were foreseen and foreshown in this wonderful prophetic book: I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices; And thy burnt offerings are continually before me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, Nor he-goat out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, And the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all of the birds of the mountains; And the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee; For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats? Psa 50:8-13 .
Yet again it speaks in that more striking passage cited in the letter to the Hebrews: “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, not the very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshipers, once purged should have no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance made of sins year by year. For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, But a body didst thou prepare for me; In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hadst no pleasure: Then said I, Lo, I am come (In the roll of the book it is written of me) To do thy will, O God. Saying above, Sacrifice and offering and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou wouldst not, neither hadst pleasure therein, (the which are offered according to the law), then hath he said, Lo, I am come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second” (Heb 10:1-9 ).
This keen foresight of the temporary character and intrinsic worthlessness of animal sacrifices anticipated similar utterances by the later prophets (Isa 1:10-17 ; Jer 6:20 ; Jer 7:21-23 ; Hos 6:6 ; Amo 5:21 ; Mic 6:6-8 ). Indeed, I may as well state in passing that when the apostle declares, “It is impossible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins,” he lays down a broad principle, just as applicable to baptism and the Lord’s Supper. With reverence I state the principle: Not even God himself by mere appointment can vest in any ordinance, itself lacking intrinsic merit, the power to take away sin. There can be, therefore, in the nature of the case, no sacramental salvation. This would destroy the justice of God in order to exalt his mercy. Clearly the psalmist foresaw that “truth and mercy must meet together” before “righteousness and peace could kiss each other” (Psa 85:10 ). Thus we find as the dark background of the psalmists’ luminous portrait of the Messiah, the necessity for a Saviour.
2. The nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation to be wrought by the coming Messiah. In no other prophetic book are the nature, fullness, and blessedness of salvation so clearly seen and so vividly portrayed. Besides others not now enumerated, certainly the psalmists clearly forecast four great elements of salvation:
(1) An atoning sacrifice of intrinsic merit offered once for all (Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:4-10 ).
(2) Regeneration itself consisting of cleansing, renewal, and justification. We hear his impassioned statement of the necessity of regeneration: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts,” followed by his earnest prayer: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me,” and his equally fervent petition: “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psa 51 ). And we hear him again as Paul describes the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputes righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, And whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin Psa 32:1 ; Rom 4:6-8 .
(3) Introduction into the heavenly rest (Psa 95:7-11 ; Heb 3:7-19 ; Heb 4:1-11 ). Here is the antitypical Joshua leading spiritual Israel across the Jordan of death into the heavenly Canaan, the eternal rest that remaineth for the people of God. Here we find creation’s original sabbath eclipsed by redemption’s greater sabbath when the Redeemer “entered his rest, ceasing from his own works as God did from his.”
(4) The recovery of all the universal dominion lost by the first Adam and the securement of all possible dominion which the first Adam never attained (Psa 8:5-6 ; Eph 1:20-22 ; Heb 2:7-9 ; 1Co 15:24-28 ).
What vast extent then and what blessedness in the salvation foreseen by the psalmists, and to be wrought by the Messiah. Atoning sacrifice of intrinsic merit; regeneration by the Holy Spirit; heavenly rest as an eternal inheritance; and universal dominion shared with Christ!
3. The wondrous person of the Messiah in his dual nature, divine and human.
(1) His divinity,
(a) as God: “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever” (Psa 45:6 and Heb 1:8 ) ;
(b) as creator of the heavens and earth, immutable and eternal: Of old didst thou lay the foundation of the earth; And the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure; Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. But thou art the same, And thy years shall have no end Psa 102:25-27 quoted with slight changes in Heb 1:10-12 .
(c) As owner of the earth: The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein, Psa 24:1 quoted in 1Co 10:26 .
(d) As the Son of God: “Thou art my Son; This day have I begotten thee” Psa 2:7 ; Heb 1:5 .
(e) As David’s Lord: The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool, Psa 110:1 ; Mat 22:41-46 .
(f) As the object of angelic worship: “And let all the angels of God worship him” Psa 97:7 ; Heb 1:6 .
(g) As the Bread of life: And he rained down manna upon them to eat, And gave them food from heaven Psa 78:24 ; interpreted in Joh 6:31-58 . These are but samples which ascribe deity to the Messiah of the psalmists.
(2) His humanity, (a) As the Son of man, or Son of Adam: Psa 8:4-6 , cited in 1Co 15:24-28 ; Eph 1:20-22 ; Heb 2:7-9 . Compare Luke’s genealogy, Luk 3:23-38 . This is the ideal man, or Second Adam, who regains Paradise Lost, who recovers race dominion, in whose image all his spiritual lineage is begotten. 1Co 15:45-49 . (b) As the Son of David: Psa 18:50 ; Psa 89:4 ; Psa 89:29 ; Psa 89:36 ; Psa 132:11 , cited in Luk 1:32 ; Act 13:22-23 ; Rom 1:3 ; 2Ti 2:8 . Perhaps a better statement of the psalmists’ vision of the wonderful person of the Messiah would be: He saw the uncreated Son, the second person of the trinity, in counsel and compact with the Father, arranging in eternity for the salvation of men: Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:5-7 . Then he saw this Holy One stoop to be the Son of man: Psa 8:4-6 ; Heb 2:7-9 . Then he was the son of David, and then he saw him rise again to be the Son of God: Psa 2:7 ; Rom 1:3-4 .
4. His offices.
(1) As the one atoning sacrifice (Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:5-7 ).
(2) As the great Prophet, or Preacher (Psa 40:9-10 ; Psa 22:22 ; Heb 2:12 ). Even the method of his teaching by parable was foreseen (Psa 78:2 ; Mat 13:35 ). Equally also the grace, wisdom, and power of his teaching. When the psalmist declares that “Grace is poured into thy lips” (Psa 45:2 ), we need not be startled when we read that all the doctors in the Temple who heard him when only a boy “were astonished at his understanding and answers” (Luk 2:47 ); nor that his home people at Nazareth “all bear him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth” (Luk 4:22 ); nor that those of his own country were astonished, and said, “Whence hath this man this wisdom?” (Mat 13:54 ); nor that the Jews in the Temple marveled, saying, “How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?” (Joh 7:15 ) ; nor that the stern officers of the law found their justification in failure to arrest him in the declaration, “Never man spake like this man” (Joh 7:46 ).
(3) As the king (Psa 2:6 ; Psa 24:7-10 ; Psa 45:1-17 ; Psa 110:1 ; Mat 22:42-46 ; Act 2:33-36 ; 1Co 15:25 ; Eph 1:20 ; Heb 1:13 ).
(4) As the priest (Psa 110:4 ; Heb 5:5-10 ; Heb 7:1-21 ; Heb 10:12-14 ).
(5) As the final judge. The very sentence of expulsion pronounced upon the finally impenitent by the great judge (Mat 25:41 ) is borrowed from the psalmist’s prophetic words (Psa 6:8 ).
5. Incidents of life. The psalmists not only foresaw the necessity for a Saviour; the nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation; the wonderful human-divine person of the Saviour; the offices to be filled by him in the work of salvation, but also many thrilling details of his work in life, death, resurrection, and exaltation. It is not assumed to cite all these details, but some of the most important are enumerated in order, thus:
(1) The visit, adoration, and gifts of the Magi recorded in Mat 2 are but partial fulfilment of Psa 72:9-10 .
(2) The scripture employed by Satan in the temptation of our Lord (Luk 4:10-11 ) was cited from Psa 91:11-12 and its pertinency not denied.
(3) In accounting for his intense earnestness and the apparently extreme measures adopted by our Lord in his first purification of the Temple (Joh 2:17 ), he cites the messianic zeal predicted in Psa 69:9 .
(4) Alienation from his own family was one of the saddest trials of our Lord’s earthly life. They are slow to understand his mission and to enter into sympathy with him. His self-abnegation and exhaustive toil were regarded by them as evidences of mental aberration, and it seems at one time they were ready to resort to forcible restraint of his freedom) virtually what in our time would be called arrest under a writ of lunacy. While at the last his half-brothers became distinguished preachers of his gospel, for a long while they do not believe on him. And the evidence forces us to the conclusion that his own mother shared with her other sons, in kind though not in degree, the misunderstanding of the supremacy of his mission over family relations. The New Testament record speaks for itself:
Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them. How is it that ye sought me? Knew ye not that I must be in my Father’s house? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them Luk 2:48-51 (R.V.).
And when the wine failed, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. And Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. Joh 2:3-5 (R.V.).
And there come his mother and his brethren; and standing without; they sent unto him, calling him. And a multitude was sitting about him; and they say unto him. Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answereth them, and saith, Who is my mother and my brethren? And looking round on them that sat round about him, he saith, Behold, my mother and my brethren) For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother Mar 3:31-35 (R.V.).
Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles, was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may behold thy works which thou doest. For no man doeth anything in secret, and himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou doest these things, manifest thyself to the world. For even his brethren did not believe on him. Jesus therefore saith unto them, My time is not yet come; but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that its works are evil. Go ye up unto the feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; because my time is not fulfilled. Joh 7:2-9 (R.V.).
These citations from the Revised Version tell their own story. But all that sad story is foreshown in the prophetic psalms. For example: I am become a stranger unto my brethren, And an alien unto my mother’s children. Psa 69:8 .
(5) The triumphal entry into Jerusalem was welcomed by a joyous people shouting a benediction from Psa 118:26 : “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Mat 21:9 ); and the Lord’s lamentation over Jerusalem predicts continued desolation and banishment from his sight until the Jews are ready to repeat that benediction (Mat 23:39 ).
(6) The children’s hosanna in the Temple after its second purgation is declared by our Lord to be a fulfilment of that perfect praise forecast in Psa 8:2 .
(7) The final rejection of our Lord by his own people was also clear in the psalmist’s vision (Psa 118:22 ; Mat 21:42-44 ).
(8) Gethsemane’s baptism of suffering, with its strong crying and tears and prayers was as clear to the psalmist’s prophetic vision as to the evangelist and apostle after it became history (Psa 69:1-4 ; Psa 69:13-20 ; and Mat 26:36-44 ; Heb 5:7 ).
(9) In life-size also before the psalmist was the betrayer of Christ and his doom (Psa 41:9 ; Psa 69:25 ; Psa 109:6-8 ; Joh 13:18 ; Act 1:20 ).
(10) The rage of the people, Jew and Gentile, and the conspiracy of Pilate and Herod are clearly outlined (Psa 2:1-3 ; Act 4:25-27 ).
(11) All the farce of his trial the false accusation, his own marvelous silence; and the inhuman maltreatment to which he was subjected, is foreshown in the prophecy as dramatically as in the history (Mat 26:57-68 ; Mat 27:26-31 ; Psa 27:12 ; Psa 35:15-16 ; Psa 38:3 ; Psa 69:19 ).
The circumstances of his death, many and clear, are distinctly foreseen. He died in the prime of life (Psa 89:45 ; Psa 102:23-24 ). He died by crucifixion (Psa 22:14-17 ; Luk 23 ; 33; Joh 19:23-37 ; Joh 20:27 ). But yet not a bone of his body was broken (Psa 34:20 ; Joh 19:36 ).
The persecution, hatred without a cause, the mockery and insults, are all vividly and dramatically foretold (Psa 22:6-13 ; Psa 35:7 ; Psa 35:12 ; Psa 35:15 ; Psa 35:21 ; Psa 109:25 ).
The parting of his garments and the gambling for his vesture (Psa 22:18 ; Mat 27:35 ).
His intense thirst and the gall and vinegar offered for his drink (Psa 69:21 ; Mat 27:34 ).
In the psalms, too, we hear his prayers for his enemies so remarkably fulfilled in fact (Psa 109:4 ; Luk 23:34 ).
His spiritual death was also before the eye of the psalmist, and the very words which expressed it the psalmist heard. Separation from the Father is spiritual death. The sinner’s substitute must die the sinner’s death, death physical, i.e., separation of soul from body; death spiritual, i.e., separation of the soul from God. The latter is the real death and must precede the former. This death the substitute died when he cried out: “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me.” (Psa 22:1 ; Mat 27:46 ).
Emerging from the darkness of that death, which was the hour of the prince of darkness, the psalmist heard him commend his spirit to the Father (Psa_31:35; Luk 23:46 ) showing that while he died the spiritual death, his soul was not permanently abandoned unto hell (Psa 16:8-10 ; Act 2:25 ) so that while he “tasted death” for every man it was not permanent death (Heb 2:9 ).
With equal clearness the psalmist foresaw his resurrection, his triumph over death and hell, his glorious ascension into heaven, and his exaltation at the right hand of God as King of kings and Lord of lords, as a high Driest forever, as invested with universal sovereignty (Psa 16:8-11 ; Psa 24:7-10 ; Psa 68:18 ; Psa 2:6 ; Psa 111:1-4 ; Psa 8:4-6 ; Act 2:25-36 ; Eph 1:19-23 ; Eph 4:8-10 ).
We see, therefore, brethren, when the scattered parts are put together and adjusted, how nearly complete a portrait of our Lord is put upon the prophetic canvas by this inspired limner, the sweet singer of Israel.
QUESTIONS
1. What is a good text for this chapter?
2. What is the threefold division of the Old Testament as cited by our Lord?
3. What is the last division called and why?
4. What is the object of the discussion in this chapter?
5. To what three things is the purpose limited?
6. What especially qualifies the author to meet the objections of the higher critics to allowing the New Testament usage of the Old Testament to determine its meaning and application?
7. What is the author’s conviction relative to the Scriptures?
8. What is the New Testament testimony on the question of inspiration?
9. What is the author’s suggested plan of approach to the study of the Messiah in the Psalms?
10. What the background of the Psalmist’s portrait of the Messiah and of what does it consist?
11. Give the substance of Paul’s discussion of man’s sinfulness.
12. What is the teaching of Jesus on this point?
13. What is the teaching relative to sacrifices?
14. What the nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation to be wrought by the coming Messiah and what the four great elements of it as forecast by the psalmist?
15. What is the teaching of the psalms relative to the wondrous person of the Messiah? Discuss.
16. What are the offices of the Messiah according to psalms? Discuss each.
17. Cite the more important events of the Messiah’s life according to the vision of the psalmist.
18. What the circumstances of the Messiah’s death and resurrection as foreseen by the psalmist?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Psa 90:1 A Prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
A Prayer of Moses ] Made by him, belike, when he saw the carcases of the people fall so fast in the wilderness; committed to writing for the instruction of those that were left alive, but sentenced to death, Num 14:26-38 , and here fitly placed as an illustration of that which was said in the precedent psalm, Psa 89:48 , “What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.”
Ver. 1. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place ] In all our troubles and travels through this wilderness, and before, we have not been houseless and harbourless, for “Thou hast been our dwelling place,” our habitacle of refuge, as some render it, Maon. habitaculum tutum. We use to say, A man’s house is his castle. The civil law saith, De domo sua nemo extrahi debet, aut in ius vocari, quia domus tutissimum cuique refugium atque receptaculum, No man ought to be drawn out of his house at the suit of another; because his house is his safest refuge and receptacle. He that dwelleth in God cannot be unhoused, because God is stronger than all; neither can any one take another out of his hands, Joh 10:29 Here, then, it is best for us to take up as in our mansion house, and to seek a supply of all our wants in God alone. It was a witty saying of that learned Picus Mirandula, God created the earth for beasts to inhabit, the sea for fishes, the air for fowls, the heaven for angels and stars. Man, therefore, hath no place to dwell and abide in but the Lord alone. See Eze 11:16 2Co 6:8-10 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
It is “A prayer of Moses the man of God.” This is the suited introduction and finds its place here rather than in any other among the 150, Historically it would precede all probably; for there is no substantial ground for doubting that Moses was the writer according to its title. Adonai is owned as Israel’s dwelling-place in all generations, from everlasting to everlasting El, turning weak man (enosh) to dust, and saying, Return, sons of men (Adam). He is the God of creation and of providence. But faith, that owns man’s transient littleness and the power of the divine displeasure, can also say, Return, Jehovah: how long? Their prayer rises that Jehovah’s work may appear to His servants; and His majesty on their sons.
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 90:1-2
1Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.
2Before the mountains were born
Or You gave birth to the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
Psa 90:1-2 This strophe introduces three theological truths.
1. Israel is and was YHWH’s special people (i.e., since the call of Abraham in Gen 12:1-3).
2. YHWH is the eternal God, no beginning, no end (cf. Psa 9:7; Psa 29:10; Isa 41:4; Isa 43:10; Isa 44:6; Isa 48:12; Jude 1:25; Rev 1:8; Rev 1:17; Rev 21:6; Rev 22:13; see SPECIAL TOPIC: MONOTHEISM ).
3. YHWH is the creator of the physical world for His own purposes (see Special Topic: YHWH’s Eternal Redemptive Plan ).
Psa 90:1 Lord The NASB 1970 edition had Lord (i.e., YHWH) but the MT has Adon (cf. Psa 90:17). The NASB 1995 edition corrects this. The NKJV, TEV, and REB also have Lord (YHWH), which is found in Psa 90:13.
NASB, NKJV,
NRSVdwelling place
TEVhome
NJB, JPSOA,
REB, LXXrefuge
The MT has dwelling places (, BDB 732 I, cf. Psa 71:3). The NASB margin mentions place of refuge (, BDB 731, cf. Psa 27:1; Psa 37:40) as an ancient option. Both concepts are mentioned together in Psa 91:9 in parallel.
Psa 90:2 The first two poetic lines personify physical creation in terms of human birth metaphors.
1. born, cf. Job 15:7; Pro 8:25
2. give birth, literally writhe in the pain of child birth, BDB 297, Polel #2; it is used of YHWH birthing Israel in Deu 32:6; Deu 32:18
earth. . .world These are parallel and have no intended distinction (cf. Psa 19:4; Psa 24:1; Psa 33:8; Psa 77:18). I do not think the second word stands for the universe. The Bible is about this planet. For the first word, see Special Topic: Land, Country, Earth .
from everlasting to everlasting This is one of several idiomatic phrases that express the eternality of YHWH. His name, YHWH, means the ever-living, only-living One, cf. Exo 3:14).
For everlasting (BDB 761) see the Special Topic: Forever (‘olam) .
I am often asked where God came from. The Bible does not address this question but begins with God’s existence and activity in Gen 1:1. Our curiosity must wait! Be careful of speculation in the absence of revelation!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Title. A Prayer. Hebrew. Tephillah. See App-63.
Moses: the man of the wilderness. Hence the wilderness, and works of creation, referred to.
the man of God. See App-49. There are seven specially so called: Moses (Deu 33:1); Samuel (1Sa 9:6-10; Compare Psa 90:14); David (Neh 12:24); Elijah (1Ki 17:18); Elisha (2Ki 4:7); Shemaiah (2Ch 11:2); Igdaliah (Jer 35:4); and four unnamed (1Sa 2:27. 1Ki 13:1; 1Ki 20:28. 2Ch 25:7).
God. Hebrew. Elohim.with Art.): i.e. the true God. App-4.
Lord*. Hebrew Adonai. App-4. = The Lord specially in relation to the earth. This is why this fourth book commences with this title, denoting the Sovereign Lord.
dwelling place = habitation, or refuge.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 90:1-17 is a psalm of Moses. Now Moses was also a writer and he wrote psalms and songs, and this is one of the psalms of Moses.
LORD [or Jehovah], thou hast 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, thou art God ( Psa 90:1-2 ).
Declaring the eternal nature of God. Before the world ever existed, from everlasting to everlasting.
The word everlasting is an interesting Hebrew word. It is a word that literally means the vanishing point. To understand it, think back as far as you can think back. Now the sun, they say, is losing about… been a while since I’ve read how much it’s losing… something like 200 million tons per second of mass. At that rate, in ten billion years it will no longer be able to support life upon the earth. So if you want something to worry about, think about that.
So because the sun is losing this much mass, the sun could not have always existed. Because if you added that much mass to the sun back to infinity, it would have meant that the sun at one time filled the entire universe. If you kept adding it would. So the sun is gradually reducing. It’s like Herschel Genes, the scientist said that the earth is like a giant clock that was wound up and is slowly winding down. The first and second laws of thermodynamics, laws of entropy, and the gradual erosion and wearing down of the material world.
So you have to think of a time when the earth didn’t exist if you go back far enough. So in your mind go back just as far as you can possibly think back. Now as you go back in your mind, as far as you can go back, there comes a point, it’s sort of a vanishing point. In other words, you just can’t think of anything before that. It sort of fades out into a vanishing point. That’s this Hebrew word everlasting, from this vanishing point.
Now in your mind think forward as far as you can think on into eternity. Now they say that if a little bird will go down here to Huntington Beach and take a drop of water in its beak out of the surf there, and every morning as the sun would rise, would take one hop towards New York. And when the little bird arrived in New York, it would drop that water in New York harbor. And then start back a hop a day towards Huntington Beach again. By the time that little bird emptied the Pacific Ocean into the Atlantic Ocean, the first day of eternity would just be getting its start. So think of out in the future to the vanishing point, you know. You think out so far and then it just vanishes. So the Hebrew word has that as its meaning. Actually, literally from the vanishing point as far as I can think until my mind just hits the vanishing point, to as far out as I can think this way, till my mind hits the vanishing point, you’re God. You’ve existed. You will exist.
There is even a Hebrew word that is stronger than that. It is beyond the vanishing point. You know, when I get to the vanishing point, and then out beyond that. And that’s the strongest word in Hebrew for the eternity. It’s beyond the vanishing point. But vanishing point is far enough for me. From everlasting to everlasting God has existed.
You turn man to destruction; and you say, Return, ye children of men. For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night ( Psa 90:3-4 ).
So the relativity of time. A thousand years is just like a day as far as the Lord is concerned. Now Peter tells this in talking to us about the coming again of Jesus Christ. He said, “In the last days, there will be scoffers that will come saying, ‘Oh, where is the promise of His coming? Since our fathers have fallen asleep, everything continues as they were from the beginning.'” ( 2Pe 3:3 , 2Pe 3:4 ) God’s not going to come. You know, where is it? Where is the promise? He is not here. And Peter said you’ve got to realize that a thousand years is as a day unto the Lord and a day is as a thousand years. So time is only relative to us. We think in the terms of time. We always think in terms of linear time. Here’s the beginning; here’s the end. Here’s my birth; here’s my death. Time in a linear way.
But that’s because we are involved in matter. But if we weren’t matter, then time wouldn’t matter. Time only matters to matter. According to Einstein’s theory of relativity, actually, time doesn’t exist. Only except in matter. And so time can be stretched if you’re going fast enough. So, in according to his theory, that if you can accelerate yourself to the speed of light, time would stand still. So if you could accelerate yourself to the speed of light and head out for the Andromeda galaxy, about… oh, let’s not go to the Adromeda galaxy, that’s too far. Let’s go to Proxima, or Alpha Centauri. They’re our closest solar neighbors. Traveling on this ray of light you could get to Centauri, Alpha Centauri, you could get there in four-and-a-half years. You could make the round-trip in nine years. But when you got back though, you would be the same age. Time would have stood still for you because of the speed at which you were traveling. When you got back, the earth would be nine years older. Your wife would be nine years older than you are at this point. Now, if you went further, if you did go to Andromeda galaxy, one million five hundred thousand light years out there, you’d come back in three million years. Now the whole earth would be different by that time. You’d look around you wouldn’t find any of your friends. But you would only be, you know, a matter of hours older, because time would have stood still because of the speed you were traveling. Because if you travel that fast, you’re going to turn into energy, and because you have no materials, you’re just energy at that point, then time ceases to exist. This is the idea of the relativity, Einstein’s theory of relativity. And so there’s no way that we can really prove it. So you just have to accept it because he was a smart man.
But it is interesting that the Bible does hint to relativity of time as far as God is concerned. “A thousand years in Your sight is like yesterday when it’s past.” And, as Peter said, “A day is as a thousand years to the Lord, a thousand years is as a day.”
Now that is interesting in the light of in the book of Hosea, he speaks of Israel sort of being out of the land, dispersed for two years. And he said, “And in the third year, I will raise her up and she will dwell in the land.” Or, “for two days,” rather, “and in the third day… ” “After two days He will revive us, and in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight” ( Hos 6:2 ). And so Israel was destroyed and dispersed from the land for about two thousand years. And now they’ve been raised up again. And so, a thousand years is as a thousand years to the Lord… a day is as a thousand years.
So you say, “Oh, but the Lord’s waiting so long to come back.” Yeah, a couple days. Relativity of time.
You carry them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which grows up. In the morning it flourishes, it grows up; in the evening and it cuts down, and withers ( Psa 90:5-6 )
So life is just so temporal.
We are consumed by your anger, and by your wrath we are troubled. You have set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins are in the light of your countenance. For all of our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told ( Psa 90:7-9 ).
Now, not only is time relative, and this is where we really come into trouble understanding this, because it really begins to get weird at this point. When you are released from this linear timeframe that we are existing in, and you can enter into the timelessness of eternity, there is then no past and or no future, but everything is present, because now you’re released from time. And in time, we know past, present, future. But released from the linear time zone, then the past or the future do not exist; everything is now in the present. Now the writer of Eccleciastes tried to describe that and he only made it more confusing. But, of course, our minds can’t grasp it anyhow, so it would just boggle our minds to try to conceive it.
But that which is past, he said, is now. And that which shall be has already been. And God requires that which is past. So figure that one out and you’ve got eternity wired. Everything happening now, so that in this relativity of time, in reality, our lives are spent like a story that’s already been told. We’re like a re-run as far as God is concerned, because God living outside of the time dimension can see the whole picture at once.
As James said, “You know the end from the beginning.” Or James said actually, “Known unto Him are all things from the beginning,” because He is outside of the linear timeframe. Thus, as God looks down, He sees the whole picture, where we are looking at it from day to day, and today and yesterday and tomorrow, God sees the whole thing. He sees the end from the beginning. And as far as God is concerned, we’re just in a re-run. It’s just something He can already see, the whole scene, the end results, and the whole thing on out.
He knows the end from the beginning. Now there would be fantastic advantages to be able to be released from our linear timeframe references and to become, to come outside of timeframe and be able to see as God sees, the whole thing. John had that experience, the book of Revelation. He said, “I, John, was in the spirit unto the day of the Lord.” God took him in the time chamber and he took him on out past the day in which we’re even living. And the Lord showed to John the things that are going to be taking place on the earth after the church is taken out and the earth is undergoing the Great Tribulation period. And John saw events that are going to take place on the earth. Described the events as he saw them in this time chamber that God just released him from the timeframe, linear timeframe that we experience and took him outside of it. And John was able to see down the road and he described in the book of Revelation things that yet have not happened, but surely will happen, for God released him outside of the timeframe reference.
So God existing out of the timeframe reference knows. He knows your life. He knows the end of your life. He knows the whole score. You spend your life like a story that’s already been told. It’s just like watching USC play Washington today on television when they replayed the game. It’s already over; it’s already done. The score’s already been established. You’re just watching something that already happened. And that’s the way God looks at your life, is like it’s already happened. He knows already what the score is.
So those whom He foreknew, “those whom He foreknew, He did also predestinate. And those that he predestinated, He also chose” ( Rom 8:29-30 ). So God chose you in Christ when? After you were born and after you came forward? No, God chose you in Christ before the foundations of the world, because He is outside of the timeframe zone and He could look down and He could see the whole end. He could see your life and the whole end of your life and on out, and He sees out because time doesn’t exist with God. He lives outside of time. So on the basis of this ability of being outside of the linear timeframe reference, God then made His choices. All right! He chose me! Isn’t that neat?
Having that kind of wisdom, He’d never choose a loser. So the fact that God has chosen me, that automatically writes me in. I’m a winner. For what God has begun in me, He’s going to finish. Now we have difficulty with the concept of pre-destination and election, chosen in Him and so forth. We have difficulty with that because we only think, and we can only think, we’re limited in our thinking, to this linear timeframe reference. And that’s what makes it hard to understand, “Well, how could God choose me? That isn’t fair God choose me,” and so forth. Oh, if He wants to choose me, that’s all right. I’m not going to argue. I’m only going to rejoice. Chosen in Him.
So I spend my life like a story that’s already been told. God knows the end of it. He knows the final chapter. I don’t know that yet. I’m coming into it, you know, and I’m discovering the things that God has already known. Anything I ever discover is something that God has already known. I’m only discovering things that God has. I’m not discovering new truth. New truth doesn’t exist. God has already known all these things. They are unfolding to me as I go along. But God… and so I love this whole concept that Moses gets into of the nature of God, the eternal nature of God from everlasting to everlasting. Outside, so our lives are as a tale that has been told.
The days of our years ( Psa 90:10 )
Now here I am in this linear timeframe, and I’ll spend seventy years in this linear timeframe, perhaps.
And if I go to eighty, it will be with great labor and sorrow; and I can be sure that I’m soon going to be cut off, and fly away ( Psa 90:10 ),
When you get up there.
Who knows the power of your anger? even according to your fear, so is your wrath. So teach us, Lord, to number our days ( Psa 90:11-12 ),
Now I’m living in this time zone so, God, teach me to number my days that I might really use the time that I am here to the best advantage. God has given me an allotted span of time. God has given me, in this timeframe, an allotted span of time. In this front timeframe, there’s a line down here that God knows, I don’t know it yet, but there’s a line down here that God says that’s the end of Chuck as far as his existence in the timeframe reference. God knows the day in which my soul and spirit are going to leave this body. God knows the day that I’m going to depart from this body. He already knows the day; He already knows the circumstances by which my soul and spirit will depart from the body. He already knows that. He’s already made the appointment for me. It’s a date down here, there’s a time down here that God knows. I don’t know it. I’m coming into it. I live by progressive revelation, but God already knows. He’s already established. I don’t know when it might be. It might be much sooner than what I’m anticipating. I may not even get to the threescore and ten. I personally don’t think I will have lost anything if I don’t. But God help me to use wisely each day. Lord, teach me to number my days, because I don’t know when the day of opportunity of my serving God is going to come to an end. So Lord, teach me to number my days that I might incline my heart to wisdom, that I might use wisely the time that I’m here. Use it to its best advantage for God.
Oh, we waste so much precious time in front of that stupid television. An evil device that is designed to rob you of precious time, making men very shallow because it’s filling their minds with emptiness. God, teach me to number my days.
that I might apply my heart to wisdom. Return, O LORD, how long? let it repent thee concerning your servants. O satisfy us early with your mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all of our days ( Psa 90:12-14 )
I don’t know how many days I have but, God, I want to live a happy life, rejoice and be glad.
Make us glad according to the days wherein you’ve afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children ( Psa 90:15-16 ).
And then the prayer of Moses I think is absolutely gorgeous.
Let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish it ( Psa 90:17 ).
The prayer, though, “Let the beauty of the Lord be upon my life.” We used to sing a chorus years ago when I was a little kid, “Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me. All of His wonderful passion and purity. O Thou Spirit divine. All mine nature refine, till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.”
Oh, let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, beauty of God might be seen in our lives and through our lives and through the works of our lives. Let God’s beauty show forth to this needy world.
Shall we stand.
May God be with you and watch over you during the week and God help us that we might number our days, incline our hearts to wisdom. Use the time that God has given us this week to serve Him, to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven. And may the Spirit of God work in your heart and life conforming you into the image of Christ, that the beauty of the Lord our God might be seen by others as you walk with Him this week. God bless you, keep His hand upon you. In Jesus’ name. “
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
A Prayer of Moses the man of God. It may help us to understand this Psalm if we recollect the circumstances which surrounded Moses when he was in the desert. For forty years, he had to see a whole generation of people die in the wilderness. In addition to the deaths which might occur among those who were born in the wilderness, the whole of that great host which came out of Egypt, numbering, probably, between two and three millions of persons, must lie in their graves in the desert, so that there must have been constant funerals, and the march of the children of Israel could be perceived along the desert track by the graves which they left behind them. You do not wonder, therefore, at this expression of the awe of Moses the man of God as he was so continually reminded of the mortality of mankind, and you note how reverently and trustfully he turns to the ever-living and eternal God, and rests in him.
Psa 90:1. LORD, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
Did not Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all our fathers dwell in thee?
And though we are now weary-footed pilgrims, who have no fixed dwelling place on earth, we do dwell in thee. Thou, Lord, art the true home of all the generations of thy people.
Psa 90:2. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
God is the only being who has had eternal and essential existence independently of all others, and all others have owed their existence to him.
Psa 90:3. Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.
He sends us forth into life, and he calls us back again in death.
Psa 90:4. For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
Yesterday, while it was with us, was a short period of four and twenty hours; but when it is past, it seems like nothing at all. A thousand years, all big with events which we consider to be full of weight and importance, make up a long period in which myriads of men come and go; yet these thousand years, in Gods sight, are but as yesterday when it is past, or but as the few hours in the night during which the mariner keeps watch at sea, and then is relieved by another. A thousand years are but as a watch in the night to the Eternal, and he needs no one to relieve him, for he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
Psa 90:5. Thou carriest them away as with a flood;
They have no power to stem the torrent.
Psa 90:5. They are as a sleep:
Our earthly existence is but as a sleep. Many things are not what they seem to us to be in our fevered dreams. The time of awaking is coming, and then things will appear very different to us from what they seem to be now.
Psa 90:5. They are like grass which groweth up.
Fresh, green, vigorous, lovely, restful to the eye.
Psa 90:6. In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.
It needs no long period, ages upon ages, to destroy its beauty; only let the swiftly-passing day come to its waning, and the grass is cut down, and withereth.
Psa 90:7. For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.
If we had to endure the flames of Gods anger, we should be consumed by it; but I think that Christians should not read this passage as though it applied to them. They are not under the divine anger, nor need they fear being troubled by the divine wrath, for his anger is turned away from them through the great atoning sacrifice of his Son Jesus Christ. But the children of Israel in the wilderness were being consumed by Gods anger, and by his wrath they were being troubled, so that the words of Moses did apply to them.
Psa 90:8-9. Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.
Like a romance, with which the Orientals still delight to beguile the passing hours. Such is the life of man: as a tale that is told.
Psa 90:10. The days of our years are threescore years and ten;
This was a gloomy fact to Moses, who lived to be a hundred and twenty years of age, and who probably remembered other men who had been far older than himself. Yet it is well that the ordinary period of human life has been shortened. It is still far too long for those who do evil, though it may not be too long for those who do good. Yet there are, even now, some who outlive their usefulness, and who might have been happier if they had finished their course sooner. The days of our years are threescore years and ten;
Psa 90:10. And if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow: for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
Whither do we fly? That is the all-important point. The cutting of the string that holds the bird by the foot is a blessing or a curse according to the way in which it takes its flight. If we fly up to build our nest on yonder trees of God that are full of sap, then, indeed, we do well when we fly away; and we may even long for the wings of a dove, that we may fly away, and be at rest.
Psa 90:11-12. Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
It has been well said that many men will number their cows, and number their coins, but forget to number their days. Yet that is a kind of arithmetic that would be exceedingly profitable to those who practiced it aright. Counting our days, and finding them but few, we should seek to use them discreetly, and we should not reckon that we could afford to lose so much as one of them. Who would be a spendthrift with so small a store as that which belongs to us?
Psa 90:13-14. Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants. O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
If they are but few, yet let them be happy. Give us an abundance of thy mercy, O Lord, and let us have it at once, so that, however few our days may he, every one of them may be spent in the ways of wisdom, and, consequently, in the ways of peace and happiness.
Psa 90:15. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.
Balance our sorrows with an equal weight of joys. Give us grace equivalent to our griefs; and if thou hast given to us a bitter cup of woe, now let us drink from the golden chalice of thy love, and so let our fainting spirits be refreshed.
Psa 90:16. Let thy work appear unto thy servants,
May we have grace to devote ourselves entirely to Gods service, and do the work which he has appointed us to do!
Psa 90:16. And thy glory unto their children.
If we may not live to see the success of our efforts, may our children see it! If the glory of that bright millennial age, which is certain to come in due time, shall not gladden our eyes before we fall asleep in Jesus, let us do the Lords work so far as we can that our children may see his glory.
Psa 90:17. And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us;
Even if we die, let our work live. May there be something permanent remaining after we are gone; not wood, hay, and stubble, which the fire will consume; but a building of gold, silver, and precious stones which will endure the fire that, sooner or later, will try every mans work of what sort it is.
Psa 90:17. Yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Psa 90:1-6
BOOK IV
INTRODUCTION FOR BOOK IV
There are seventeen psalms in this book, classified by Dummelow as:
Penitential Psalms, Psalms 90; Psalms 91; Psalms 94; and Psalms 101.
Psalms of Thanksgiving, Psalms 92; Psalms 93; Psalms 95-100; and Psalms 103-106,
National Psalms, Psalms 94; Psalms 97; Psalms 99; Psalms 102; Psalms 105; and Psalms 106.
Historical Psalms, Psalms 105 and Psalms 106.
A Gnomic Psalm, Psalms 101.
Dummelow’s last classification, Gnomic, means, “expressing maxims, or universal truths.” Of course, there is overlapping in such a classification, several elements often appearing in the same psalm.
Significantly, the Septuagint (LXX) classifies no less than eleven of these psalms as Davidic: Psalms 91; Psalms 93-99; Psalms 101; Psalms 103 and Psalms 104. The superscriptions in our version also assign Psalms 101 and Psalms 103 to David.
Some scholars are unwilling to allow that Moses is the author of Psalms 90, as indicated in the superscription, but no good reason whatever has ever been advanced for denying it. Furthermore, “Rabbinic tradition assigns the ten following Psalms, Psalms 91-100, to Moses. Other Psalms written by Moses are also found in Exodus 15, and in Deuteronomy 32.
Psalms 90
FROM EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING THOU ART GOD (Psa 90:2)
As noted above, this Psalm is ascribed to Moses in the superscription; and one objection cited by scholars against this is Psa 90:10 which declares man’s life-span to be “Three-score and ten years … or even four-score years.” That statement is alleged to disqualify Moses as the author, because he lived to be 120 years of age, and his brother Aaron likewise lived well past a hundred.
That objection is worthless, because Moses indeed, as was Aaron, was especially blessed of God for the purpose of God’s achieving the exodus of his people from Egypt and bringing them to the borders of Canaan. Not only did Moses reach that advanced age, but his eyesight had not failed, nor was his strength abated.
Also, that foolish objection ignores the fact that all of the Israelites who were above 20 years of age at the Red Sea Crossing died during the subsequent forty years, Caleb and Joshua, of course, being the only two exceptions.
Furthermore, the words here may be viewed as a prophecy of how man’s life-span would be restricted in the ages to come. Is it true? Indeed yes. The fact is that a very small percentage of mankind enjoys a life-span any longer than that laid down here. In view of all this, we reject this objection to Moses’ authorship.
One other very feeble and incompetent objection is founded upon Psa 90:1, in which the author glances back upon many generations of God’s blessings, the critical allegation being that Moses belonged to the “first generation” of the chosen people and could not have claimed God’s blessings for “all generations.” This objection is founded on the error that supposes the generation of the exodus to have been the “first generation” of the chosen people. God chose Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and the “chosen people” had already been under God’s loving protection for almost half a millennium in the days of Moses. As Delitzsch said, “Such trifling points as this dwindle down to nothing.
We shall conclude this study of the Mosaic authorship of Psalms 90 with this paragraph from Delitzsch.
“There is scarcely any written memorial of antiquity which so brilliantly justifies the tradition concerning its origin as does this Psalm … Not alone with respect to its contents, but also with reference to its form and language, it is perfectly suitable to Moses. Even Hitzig could bring nothing of importance against this view.
A Prayer of Moses the Man of God (Superscription). Three times this title is awarded to Moses in the Scriptures: Deu 33:1; Jos 14:6; and Ezr 3:2.
Based upon Psa 90:7-12, McCaw concluded that, “The definite historical background of the Psalm is the latter months of the wilderness wanderings (Num 21:14-23).
Despite the psalm being labeled “A Prayer of Moses,” it is a prayer only in the last six verses. The first six are a meditation.
Psa 90:1-6
THE MEDITATION
“Lord, thou hast 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.
Thou turnest man to destruction,
And sayest, Return ye children of men.
For a thousand years in thy sight
Are but as yesterday when it is past,
And as a watch in the night.
Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep:
In the morning they are like grass that groweth up.
In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up;
In the evening it is cut down and withereth.”
No more eloquent comment upon the wretched fate of the human race was ever made. God had warned Adam that, “In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.” And, as the great lawgiver of Israel thought upon the dying generations of the human family, the Spirit of God spoke through Moses in these precious words. It must have been a sad experience indeed for Moses to watch an entire generation of the Chosen People die in the wilderness.
“Our dwelling place in all generations” (Psa 90:1). This was true in two ways. In the nation of Israel itself, their faith in God dated back to the patriarchs. The years of Egyptian slavery had not destroyed their knowledge of the Lord. Even the mid-wives of Egypt knew enough about the God of the Hebrews that through fear of God they refused to follow strictly Pharaoh’s order to destroy all the male children. “The `God’ of this passage is `The Lord,’ the covenant God of the Hebrews; and “None can ignore those generations of faithful believers in the developing nation from the days of Abraham, all of whom made the Lord their dwelling place.
It is true in another sense. From the beginning of Adam’s race, God has been the only security of the human family. The discerning souls of all generations found their only hope in God, the only exceptions being the “fools” who said in their hearts that, “There is no God” (Psa 14:1).
An adaptation of these words was used by William Croft for the title of his famous chant (Called St. Anne), “Oh God, Our Help in Ages Past. Kyle Yates made this the title of Psalms 90.
“From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God” (Psa 90:2). The eternity of God, his prior existence as the First Cause, the God of Creation, the Maker and Sustainer of All Things is eloquently extolled and honored in this sentence, which we have chosen as an appropriate heading for this magnificent psalm.
“Return, ye children of men” (Psa 90:3). “For dust thou art, and to the dust shalt thou return” (Gen 3:19). Moses’ comment here is plainly a reference to this passage from Genesis.
“A thousand years … as yesterday … as a watch in the night” (Psa 90:4). This contrasts the dying generations of mankind with the eternity of God. The Apostle Peter quoted this verse (2Pe 3:8), warning Christians not to forget it, a warning which some have not heeded. Making “God’s days” to be 24 hours long is nothing but a human conceit, contrary to God’s specific word and its accompanying warning not to forget it.
It should be noted that “a thousand years” with God are also as a few hours (a watch in the night). It would be impossible to make it any plainer that God’s `days’ or God’s `years’ cannot be restricted to the limitations of the human understanding of those terms.
“Thou carriest them away as a flood … as a sleep” (Psa 90:5). Like the succeeding waves of the sea, the generations of men rise and fade away. As the hours pass away when one is asleep, the lives of men fly away (Psa 90:10). This writer has read these beautiful words at funerals throughout a period of sixty-four years in the ministry of the gospel of Christ.
“Like grass … in the morning it flourisheth … in the evening … withereth” (Psa 90:5-6). This simile is also used repeatedly in the New Testament. Christ used it in the Sermon on the Mount (Mat 6:30); James utilized it in Jas 1:10-11; and the Apostle Peter developed it in 1Pe 1:24.
It would be difficult to imagine a simile more expressive of the fleeting, ephemeral nature of human life.
THE LAMENT
Some have referred to these verses as “a complaint,” but to us, the word “lament” is better. We do not believe that Moses “complained” about God’s established order; but he certainly did grieve that it was the way it is.
E.M. Zerr:
General remarks. A considerable number of “authorities” say that this psalm was composed by Moses and was included in the collection of David’s writings. They do not seem to be very positive about it. Even as substantial a work as the Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia is willing only to say that it “is ascribed to Moses, and may be his.” I offer these remarks in fairness to the readers who may take them for what they are worth. But regardless of whether David or Moses wrote this chapter, it was written by an inspired man and I shall comment on it as such and will notice the many and great truths therein which are of interest to all or should be.
Psa 90:1. The original for dwelling place is defined “a retreat.” The idea is of a place where one can be always safe and comfortable against the storms of life. Lord is from ADONAI and Strong’s definition is, “The Lord (used as a proper name of God only).” Since God means the “supreme Being” and has always existed, he would have been a safe retreat in all generations.
Psa 90:2. The existence of the Creator prior to the work of creation is the thought in the beginning of this verse. The writer does not stop with that, but declares the divine existence to have been from everlasting to everlasting. Materialists and other critics of the Biblical doctrine of endless punishment make light of the idea that everlasting could mean endless. They ask how there could he two of them if one of them is endless. In this they expose their own shortsightedness as well as their ignorance of the subject in general. If the existence of God is endless (everlasting), it follows that His existence would be endless in both directions, or, front everlasting (past) to everlasting (future. The original for God in this place means strength or might. The sum of meaning of this verse is, therefore, that God has always existed and always will. That he is a Being of might and hence was able to create the mountains and everything that pertains to the earth.
Psa 90:3. Destruction is from a word that means “to be crushed” in spirit; to be made contrite or penitent for one’s sins. That is why the rest of the verse shows that God calls for the penitent one to return to Him.
Psa 90:4. God has always existed and always will. What we call “time” is only the measurement of part of that endless duration, measured by the movements of the heavenly bodies. Were it not for those movements we would not know any difference between a “day” and a “year.” Since God is not limited by these movements, what we call a thousand years does not mean any more to God than what we call a day. That is the reason Peter said what he did in 2Pe 3:8.
Psa 90:5. The frailty and comparative shortness of man’s life is the general subject of this psalm. Of course, said frailty is made evident by the statements on the boundless might and existence of the Lord and God of all creation. The pronoun them, refers to man. There are three illustrations in this verse to show the weakness and brevity of man’s existence on the earth. He is as helpless as a feather would be in the path of a flood. His life is like a sleep that soon comes to an end, and his stay here is as temporary as the grass of the field.
Psa 90:6. This verse continues the thought in the preceding one. As grass is permitted to live only through a day, figuratively speaking, so man’s life on the earth soon closes. This thought is expressed also in Jas 1:10.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
The main purpose of this psalm is revealed in the prayer with which it concludes (vv. Psa 90:13-17). This prayer is prefaced by a meditation on the frailty of man (vv. Psa 90:3-12), in the light of eternity of god (vv. Psa 90:1-2). By this backward method of analysis we gain a conception of the general scheme of the psalm which now enables us to take the three movements in their orderly sequence.
The eternity of God is described in three stages. First, as measured by the history of His people, He has ever been their dwelling-place. Secondly, as measure by creation, He was before all. Finally, whether the mind travel backward or forward to the vanishing point, He is still god. In this light man is seen in the frailty of his being.
To God a thousand years are comparatively nothing, and in every millennium men appear and pass in a sequence as orderly as that of the grass, but in a life as transitory. This frailty is the more feeble because man is a sinner; and therefore out of harmony with God. Yet this very eternity of God is the hope of man in his frailty and sin, and the heart is lifted to Jehovah in a prayer that the mornings, the days, the years of brief life may all be set in true relation to Him. Satisfaction, gladness, success in work must all come from the right relation of man in his frailty to the eternal Lord.
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
the Message of the Passing Years
Psa 90:1-17
The majestic music of this great psalm separates it from all the rest. It is like the deep bass stop of a mighty organ. Moses authorship is stamped upon it. It is worthy of the man who had seen God face to face.
Psa 90:1-6. The transitoriness of human life is contrasted with the stability of God. He is the asylum and home of all the generations of mankind, Deu 33:27. The earth and its mountains the universe and its worlds, were born of Him; but He Himself had no origin, no beginning. Time is but a sigh, a breath, the swift rush of the mountain-torrent, a tale told by the camp-fire at night, the grass of a mornings growth.
Psa 90:7-12. A wail is borne in these verses from the forty years of wanderings. The ceaseless succession of graves was the bitter harvest of Israels rebellions. Oh, that we might apply our hearts to wisdom that we may not fail of Gods rest!
Psa 90:13-17. In the closing words Moses utters a sublime prayer which includes us all. Let us seek to do some good work before we go, and may our children be a nobler generation than ourselves! But all beauty of character and permanence of work must emanate from God.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Psa 90:1
This is, beyond fair doubt, the oldest Psalm in the whole Psalter. It is the work, not of David, but, as the inscription tells us in the Bible version, of Moses. Especially like Moses is the union of melancholy and fervour which meets us here-the fervour of the intrepid servant of God dashed by the melancholy which followed on his great disappointments. In this verse he is the spokesman and representative of all that is good and great in the past annals of mankind. He is speaking for the living; he is speaking also for the dead. The spiritual experience which these words represent is continually deeper and wider; and they are repeated at this moment by more souls in heaven and earth than ever before-souls which have found in them the motto and the secret of life, whether in struggle or in victory-“Lord, Thou hast been our refuge from one generation to another.”
I. “Our refuge.” In the Bible version more accurately it is “our dwelling-place.” God is the home of the soul of man. The soul finds in the presence of God a protection against the enemies which threaten it with ruin in the rough life of the outer world. In this sense David cries, “I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength.” Besides this idea of protection from evils without, the word suggests a place where care is thrown aside, where the affections expand themselves freely and fully, where loving looks, and kindly words, and gentle deeds are the order of the day. When God is said to be the refuge or the home of man, it is meant that God gives to man his best and tenderest welcome, that God alone is the Being in whom man finds perfect repose and satisfaction for all the faculties and sympathies of his nature.
II. Contrast this idea of the relation between God and the man’s soul with the three fundamental relations in which we men stand to Him as our Maker, our Preserver, and the end or object of our existence. Here in this word “refuge” or “home” we have another and a much more tender relation of God to the human soul. He who bade us be, He who keeps us in being, He towards whom our whole being should tend, is also our true and lasting resting-place. He is the one Being within whose life we can find and make a lasting home.
III. “Lord, Thou hast been our refuge.” This is the spirit of the very noblest occupation in which we can engage; it is the spirit of prayer. This acknowledgment underlies all the forms which the soul’s intercourse with God is wont to take. Prayer is always, in its widest sense, an act by which the soul of man, here amid these changing scenes of time, seeks its true home and resting-place in seeking God. And as such it always ennobles men, not less now than in the earliest days of man’s history. Our gilded civilisation is no sort of protection against the widespread misery around us, “the changes and chances of this mortal life,” which are the lot of us all. The realities of life force us to look beyond it, to cry, with Moses, “Lord, Thou hast been our refuge from one generation to another.”
H. P. Liddon, Penny Pulpit, No. 920.
References: Psa 90:1.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. i., No. 46; M. B. Riddle, Christian World Pulpit, vol. ii., p. 324.
Psa 90:1-2
Scripture certainly emphasises in many places the frail and fleeting aspect of life; the thought of man’s mortality runs as a wail through many a psalm, and touches with pathos the heart of the prophet in his brightest visions. But then there is always in Scripture another side of the picture; and this is the higher, and in the sense of Scripture the truer, side. The good is the original, the substantive of which evil is the inversion. The good is being; the evil is but negation of being.
I. This Psalm, so venerable in its materials that it has been attributed to Moses, is in the main a psalm of mortality; and yet its primary thought is not mortality, but eternity. It opens with the note of eternal being. The idea of the eternal stands as a great light in front of the darkness. Man is mortal, but God is; and God is the Eternal, the home, the dwelling-place, of all generations. This is the grand peculiarity of Hebrew and of Christian thought, that God is first, man only second; that the eternal Being is the true Being, the present visible or transitory being only the derivative being, appearing and then vanishing away, according to the direction of the other.
II. But there is more in this brief word than the general assertion of eternal being, and of a great primary power directing, controlling, all nature and all life. The character of this Being is further so far defined. It is represented not only that God is, but that He is personal. The idea of God is everywhere noted by the personal pronouns “I;” “Thou;” “I am that I am;” “I am the Lord, and there is none else.” The word “personality” simply means that God is moral; that He is a character as well as an energy; that He is a Being full of affection, and care, and thoughtful and deliberate love. He is not only Creator: He is Father. The assurance is that we have a supreme Heart above us, responsive to our hearts; that there is a spiritual home encompassing us, a life that changes not with the varying pulses of our thought and feeling.
J. Tulloch, Contemporary Pulpit, vol. i., p. 297.
References: Psa 90:1, Psa 90:2.-A. M. Fairbairn, The City of God, p. 35. Psa 90:1-12.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xi., No. 59. Psa 90:2.-A. Mursell, Old Testament Outlines, p. 131.
Psa 90:3
Two of the greatest lessons which Christ came to teach us were the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. Look at man in himself, look at man as he makes himself by yielding to and aiding in the fraud and malice of the devil, and hardly any language can be too bitter to describe his baseness and his degradation. But look at man in the light of revelation; look at him under the triple, overarching rainbow of faith, hope, and love; look at him ransomed and ennobled into filial relationship with God, and you will see at once where men have learnt their high faith in their own being and the dignity of God’s image upon them, and who it is that has taught them to speak in such noble accents about themselves. To lose faith in man is to lose faith in God, who made him; to lose faith in man’s nature is to lose faith in your own. Notice some rules by which we may hold fast our faith in all human nature, and so help, it may be, to ameliorate the race.
I. Let us believe, or try to believe, that there is a good side in every man.
II. Let us sometimes turn away altogether from the thoughts of bad men to the galaxy of heavens wherein shine the clustered constellations of saintly lives. Read the lives and actions of these children of light.
III. Above all, as the best of all rules, think constantly of Christ, and fix your eye on Him. The only measure of a perfect man is the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
IV. The most sure way to justify our faith and hope in human nature is to justify it in ourselves. We can do this; we can do all things through Christ, that strengthens us.
F. W. Farrar, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxii., p. 321.
References: Psa 90:3, Psa 90:4.-Archbishop Thomson, Lincoln’s Inn Sermons, p. 1. Psa 90:4.-A. Mursell, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxiii., p. 11.
Psa 90:7-17
I. In this passage we find: (1) an exercise of penitential faith or believing repentance; (2) an exercise of believing appropriation and assurance.
II. The three petitions in Psa 90:16 and Psa 90:17 point to work or entering into work as being the peaceable fruit of righteousness. (1) The Lord’s work comes first. These praying men of God, penitent and believing, ask Him to give them and their children a sight of that and an insight into its glory. (2) The second petition is a prayer for personal holiness. It represents that holiness as being intimately connected on the one hand with the Lord’s causing His work and His glory in it to appear unto us, and on the other hand with our being enabled so to work ourselves as to warrant our asking God to establish the work of our hands. (3) In virtue of the Divine blessing, the work of these men acquires a character of stability, permanence, endurance, contrasting strangely with the vanity of their wilderness state.
R. S. Candlish, The Gospel of Forgiveness, p. 209.
Reference: Psa 90:8.-C. Short, Expositor, 1st series, vol. ix., p. 150.
Psa 90:9
No part of the ancient Scriptures is less obsolete than this Psalm. It is a picture still true to nature. Human life, viewed generally, has not since brightened up into a scene of joy and triumph. The text seems to express both a necessary fact and a censure. The rapid consumption of our years, their speedy passing away, is inevitable. But they may be spent also in a trifling manner, to little valuable purpose, which would complete the disconsolate reflection on them by the addition of guilt and censure.
I. The instruction supplied by all our years has been to little purpose if we are not become fully aware of one plain fact: that which was expressed in our Lord’s sentence, “Without Me ye can do nothing;” in other words, that it is only through the medium of God that we can effectually attempt any of the most important things, because we have a nature that is unadapted to them, repugnant to them, revolts from them. Therefore, if during the past year we failed in the essential point of imploring the Divine Spirit to animate us, well might we fail in the rest.
II. Sentiments of a grateful kind should be among the first to arise in every one’s meditation on the past year. If we have no right estimate and feeling for the past mercies of God, how are we to receive present and future ones with a right feeling? For future duty we shall want to have motives. Think, if all the force that should be motive could be drawn, in the form of gratitude, from one year’s mercies of God and, as it were, converged to a point, what a potent motive that would be! We have to look back over the year to collect this force.
III. Another consideration is that our last year has added to an irrevocable account. It has passed into the record of heaven, into the memory of God.
IV. Our year has been parallel to that of those persons who have made the noblest use of it. Why were the day, the week, the month, of less value in our hands than in theirs?
V. Another reflection may be on our further experience of mortal life and the world. We have seen it, tried it, judged it, thus much longer. Our interest upon it is contracted to so much narrower a breadth. At first we held to life by each year of the whole allotment; but each year withdrawn cut that tie, like the cutting in succession of each of the spreading roots of a tree. There should in spirit and feeling be a degree of detachment in proportion.
VI. The year departed may admonish us of the strange deceptiveness, the stealthiness, of the flight of time. Each period and portion of time should be entered on with emphatically imploring our God to save us from spending it in vain.
J. Foster, Lectures, 1st series, p. 292.
References: Psa 90:9.-Preacher’s Monthly, vol. vi., p. 354; A. Raleigh, From Dawn to the Perfect Day, p. 379; R. D. B. Rawnsley, Sermons in Country Churches, 1st series, p. 299.
Psa 90:10
It is a paradox, and yet, like many other paradoxes, a truism also, to say that death generally alters, sometimes reverses, the whole estimate of a life. It will scarcely be doubted that in such cases the second judgment, if not absolutely just, is the more just in comparison. The true judgment is the ultimate, not the intermediate. This is a difference real and practical for us the living. If the presence or absence of certain qualities or principles is to make a life good or evil, honourable or of ill report, in the retrospect of it from the graveside or from the judgment-seat, what ought it to be now? How shall we so live now as to be pronounced then to have lived the right life? Take, out of a multitude, three characteristics.
I. Disinterestedness. When the criterion of this Psalm is applied to any life, we shall see at once that it must be fatal to a selfish life. Disinterestedness is the first condition of the everlasting man. He sees himself one link, a very insignificant link, in a chain which binds together two eternities. He cannot fall down and worship the link. He must be true, he must be righteous, or he breaks the chain. For the chain is let down from the throne of God, and it fastens together-unintelligible else the union-God the Creator and God the Judge.
II. The second condition of an immortal life is that it is religious. In general it is the religious man who survives death. I believe that when death is once past, even earth is just. I believe that earth itself does homage only to dead saints. When ambition is in the dust, history appreciates virtue, applauds faith. The life that is to live after death, whether on earth or in heaven, must be a religious, a Christian, life.
III. The life which earth shall immortalize is a life not of power so much, but of love. We are all by nature worshippers, idolaters, bondmen, of power. It is not power, not wit, not genius, still less success of office or honour, it is love, which makes a man immortal. For his love’s sake, for his tenderness, for his sympathy, you will forgive him many a fault and many a shortcoming; you will retain his memory long as life lasts for that one word, that one line, that one look, which told you that he understood you, that he felt for you, that he was your friend.
C. J. Vaughan, Words of Hope, p. 206.
Psa 90:11
I. When I consider the difficulties which lie in the way of our measuring the anger of God, I conclude that it is chiefly His steady and orderly goodness which has thrust His displeasure out of sight. So far as one can see from the present arrangements of the world, it is God’s way to withdraw for the most part from our view the sterner features of His character, while He puts forward and emphasises everywhere His gracious and fruitful goodness. (1) The mere power or strength of God is itself rather concealed than thrust upon us. It hides itself behind the order within which He is pleased to exert it. (2) The extent to which God’s strength might come to be at the service of His anger, and be used by Him to destroy, is still more closely veiled from us by the uniform beneficence of His creation. Only occasionally does nature suggest wrath. Her deliberate arrangements are all inspired by goodness. (3) The experience which we have had of God in our own lives is to the same effect; our bitter days we count upon our fingers, our happier ones by years. Judgment is God’s strange work; but His tender mercies are over all His works.
II. By what line shall we fathom the unknown severity of Jehovah? Seeing that God intends His latent wrath to remain as yet concealed from us and hath Himself been at pains to conceal it, by what means shall we search it out? The writer of this Psalm puts into our hand a standard of comparison which, though insufficient, is at least approximative. The wrath of God, he says, is “according to His fear;” to His fearfulness, that is, or His fitness for inspiring in the bosoms of men an awful and sacred dread. Whatever suggests to our minds the enormous strength of God as against our weakness, suggests how terrific His wrath may be if He will. (1) Susceptible souls are sometimes under favourable conditions wrought to fear by the mere vastness, or mystery, or loneliness of God’s material works. According to this fear of Him, so is His wrath. (2) The mass of men are too unimaginative or too stupid to be much moved by the mere sublimity of God’s everyday creation. They need occasional outbursts of unwonted violence to prick their hearts to fear Him. In their coward hearts terror suggests judgment; and according to His fear, so is to them His wrath. (3) In order to estimate the capacity of wrath in the Almighty, we need to know more than His strength, more than His material terribleness. One event in history expresses to the full the moral terribleness of God. The Passion of Jesus Christ is the crown of all terrible things, and the supreme measure not only of God’s mercy, but quite as really of God’s severity. According to His fearfulness, so is His wrath.
J. Oswald Dykes, Sermons, p. 205.
Reference: Psa 90:11.-H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, No. 2593.
Psa 90:12
The great mistake, perhaps, that people make when they reflect on the probable time they shall live in the body, is to think of their life on earth as the only life they have. We should not number our days in any such fashion as this. Time is to be regarded and prized not for the harvests that we reap, but for the seed-sowing that it enables us to do. Earthly life is not a unit; it is only a minute fraction of a unit. For the unit of being is so large that it has in it all opportunity, all occasion, all achievements, and all duration. The way to look at this life is to look at it as an opportunity to get started along the line of desirable progress, as a time to get rooted for a measureless growth, as a time to get initiated into the holy mysteries of existence and become familiar with some of its primary and essential commandments and virtues.
I. The way, therefore, to number our days is not to so number them that they seem to include the result of our lives, but to so number them that they seem to include simply the beginning of our lives. They and all they bring are only stepping-stones which lead us up to the threshold of a nobler life, nobler in its opportunities, occasions, and the character of its joy. We shall then see what life is worth and what it is not worth. We shall see what it should lead to and what we cannot afford to have it lead to. And seeing this, we shall apply our hearts unto wisdom.
II. Wisdom is a great word, because the idea it symbolises is great. Wisdom represents that finer power, that higher characteristic of mind, which suggests the proper application of facts, the right use of knowledge, the correct direction of our faculties. He whose heart is applied to wisdom has put himself in such a position that he can think divinely-think as God would think in his place.
III. Your greatest responsibility is yourself. The gravest charge you have to keep is the charge of your own soul. Life weaves us into the fabric of society. We are knitted and knotted with other lives. But death unthreads us from our connections. In the last day you will be responsible for yourself. Search, then, and see how you stand. The blunders of life do not kill. Let us remember that. Past follies do not forfeit future opportunity. God is always eager to give a man or woman one more chance. Heaven is never hopeless, never despairs touching man’s ability to recover himself if he is down.
W. H. Murray, The Fruits of the Spirit, p. 157.
Psa 90:12
(with 2Ki 20:11)
The Bible is God’s dial, by which we have to measure life.
I. The dial must be so placed as to receive the rays of the sun. Every line will then come into use.
II. The dial of Ahaz was a public instrument intended for all the people of Jerusalem. The Bible is for all.
III. Clouds would sometimes obscure the sun, and then the dial of Ahaz was in shadow. Clouds sometimes come between the mind and God’s book, but the Sun of righteousness never sets, and there is a silver lining in the darkest cloud of the Christian’s experience.
IV. The sun went backwards, and not forwards, on the dial of Ahaz, as a sign to King Hezekiah that he would get well again. With God all things are possible.
J. H. Wilson, Christian World Pulpit, vol. v., p. 24.
References: Psa 90:12.-J. E. Vaux, Sermon Notes, 4th series, p. 2; E. J. Hardy, Faint, yet Pursuing, p. 159; R. Lee, Sermons, p. 268; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. xv., p. 24; D. Burns, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xx., p. 68; Short Sermons for Family Reading, p. 329. Psa 90:14.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. ix., No. 513; C. J. Vaughan, Harrow Sermons, 2nd series, p. 66; J. H. Wilson, The Gospel and its Fruits (C.S.), p. 75; J. Sherman, Thursday Penny Pulpit, vol. xi., p. 125. Psa 90:15-17.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxix., No. 1701.
Psa 90:16
This Psalm has a threefold interest: of subject, of authorship, and of association. It touches the most solemn, most momentous, most affecting point in the life of man. Its author is “Moses the man of God.” It has been heard by us when standing in the presence of death.
I. The words of the text are in substance the prayer of Moses in Exodus, “I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory.” They find their echo in Philip’s prayer on the night of the Passion, “Lord, show us the Father.” They are the cry of a soul feeling its want of Him in whom, known or unknown, averse or loving, it must live, and move, and have its being.
II. “Let Thy work appear unto Thy servants.” “The Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” Ill were it for the universe if the working hand were to rest one moment. God works everywhere and in all things, but man sees it not; it needs a separate work of God, as the text implies, to show His work. And therefore Moses prays this prayer for his people.
III. “And their children Thy glory.” The glory spoken of is the self-manifestation of God. The far-reaching eye, the self-forgetting love, of the man who saw, but must not enter, the land of rest and of inheritance, looked onward into Israel’s future, and while he prayed for the generation that was, thought also of the children that were yet unborn. “Show their children Thy glory,” is a petition after the very heart of God, who takes it into the deepest and safest treasure-house of His own promises, and brings it forth thence in boundless blessing, when the lips which framed it have been silent for ages in death.
C. J. Vaughan, Christian World Pulpit, vol. ii., p. 46.
Reference: Psa 90:16.-J. M. Neale, Sermons on Passages of the Psalms, p. 208.
Psa 90:16-17
I. The prayer of the Psalmist is not the prayer of the wearied, disappointed prophet, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life,” but the prayer of one who looks forward, of one who would fain build what will be continued by them that come after. “Show Thy servants Thy work, and their children Thy glory.” Amid all that is fleeting and perishable, make us to know what Thou doest; and for our children we can ask no richer gift. The work of God is the glory of God.
II. The “work” of God and the “glory” of God are shown to us when we care to know that neither we nor our fellows are left alone in the world without a heavenly Friend and heavenly guidance, when we bring ourselves to believe, and to rejoice in the belief, that God Himself is acting on all these human hearts, urging them to turn to Him, and to love Him, and to seek the good of others by aiding others also to love Him more.
III. Then the concluding utterance follows naturally. Once let us believe in our hearts that God is working in the world, and then it becomes an axiom that we too, in our humble measure, have a work to do, a work lofty and ennobling because it is done for Him and with Him, because we are in truth admitted to very co-operation with God.
H. M. Butler, Harrow School Sermons, 1st series, p. 424.
References: Psa 90:16, Psa 90:17.-G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 241; H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xv., p. 51.
Psa 90:17
I. What is the beauty of God? The excellence of His character. The meaning of all beauty is to image the holiness and excellence of God. The perception of beauty has been given us not, as some suppose, for enjoyment merely, but to bind us to the infinite, to make it more difficult for man to lose himself in time and sense, and to woo him to a heavenly perfection. The beauty of God is His love, mercy, patience, faithfulness. The justice of God, too, which may well appear to sinful man only terrible, has truly a grand beauty. Viewed from a higher point, the terrible in God is the beautiful, for it is seen to be a form of love. Once in the history of this sinful world infinite beauty appeared. Once God contracted Himself into the limits of our nature and walked the earth. Divine loveliness spoke and acted among us, shone through the eyes and lived in the actions and sufferings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is a perception of the beauty of God, a delight in it, a desire after it, which distinguish the spiritual man from others. They may feel that God is great and right; he feels that God is beautiful. A sense of the Divine beauty gives an elevation to all life, and clothes it with a certain infinite halo of gladness. Nothing can greatly afflict a soul that has a steady vision of the Divine beauty. Such a soul rises freely above temptation, heaven has entered into it, and it finds it easy to keep the road to heaven.
II. The beauty of God as reflected in man. The true beauty of God in man is not to be estimated at a glance. One must take in the whole range of human nature. He must certainly not forget the relations to God, and to the future, and to men as spiritual beings. There is something sad about all mere natural beauty. Its forgetting of ‘God is melancholy. Its blindness to the future and to all the height, and depth, and breadth of being is melancholy. There is always a suggestion of joy and hope about spiritual beauty. It speaks of a wide horizon. It is the beauty of a day in spring, having a hold of the future, while struggling with east winds and rain, looking on to summer, and not back upon it, as do the fairest autumn days. (1) Benevolence is the essential element of beauty. It is love that is lovely. (2) Strength is the natural and genuine root of love; and if there be anything fair to look upon that is not associated with this, but is rather a tender, delicate grace, inseparable from feebleness of principle or purpose, it must be somewhat of the nature of a sickly flush. (3) Unity is an element of beauty. Our nature must grow into unity by the power of a central life. (4) But unity must never be so understood as to seem in conflict with freedom. The beautiful is free, expansive, flowing. We are emancipated by the sight of God. The thought of eternity and infinitude takes away our limitation. (5) Joy is an element of beauty. The joy we get by looking to Christ is healing and softening. It is a joy from beholding beauty of the loftiest and tenderest kind, and must be productive of beauty. (6) Repose is not less an element of beauty. How powerfully this element of calm strikes us in the life of our Lord. Those who inherit His peace cannot but inherit something of His beauty. (7) Naturalness and unconsciousness must be added as necessary to all the elements of beauty. The beauty of life is life. We do not make beauty. It grows. We must not seek it directly, else we shall certainly miss it.
J. Leckie, Sermons Preached at Ibrox, p. 288.
References: Psa 90:17.-G. Matheson, Moments on the Mount, p. 273; A. P. Peabody, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxviii., p. 355.
Psalm 90
This Psalm sets out with the definite statement of a theologic doctrine: the doctrine of the eternity of God.
I. This splendid thought of the Divine eternity is made to touch the shifting and inconstant character of our earthly state by the single word “dwelling-place.” Here God’s eternity opens itself to our needs.
II. A correct view of the eternity of God conveys warning as well as comfort. (1) The eternal power of God convicts us of helplessness. (2) The eternal being of God convicts us of delusions. “Teach us to number our days,” etc.
III. In Psa 90:7-10 man is represented not as unfortunate, but as guilty, not as the victim of accident, but as the subject of punishment.
IV. The last five verses bring us back to the starting-point of the Psalm. Whither shall a sinful, short-lived man flee but to a holy and eternal God? Thither turns the prayer of these last five verses, and turns with hope and confidence. Man is the subject of God’s wrath, but there is mercy with Him to satisfy him who flees from the wrath to come.
M. R. Vincent, Gates into the Psalm Country p. 199.
References: Psalm 90-A. B. Bruce, Expositor, 1st series, vol. ix., p. 361; F. Tholuck, Hours of Devotion, p. 483.
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
IV. THE NUMBERS SECTION: BOOK FOUR: Psalm 90-106
The Ninetieth Psalm begins the fourth book of Psalms, corresponding in different ways with the book of Numbers. It opens with the only Psalm written by Moses in the wilderness when the people were dying on account of unbelief, and is followed by a Psalm which shows the second Man, the Lord as the head of a new creation. In this book are found numerous millennial Psalms, showing us prophetically when under Christ, in the day when all things are put under His feet, the wilderness experiences of His people end, glory comes to Israel, the nations and all the earth. Psa 90:1-17; Psa 91:1-16; Psa 92:1-15; Psa 93:1-5
Psalm 90
Mans Condition of Sin and Death
1. The Eternal One (Psa 90:1-2)
2. Frailty and Death because of Sin (Psa 90:3-10)
3. The Prayer: Return Jehovah! How long? (Psa 90:11-17)
This Psalm of Moses shows what man is as a sinner, picturing his nothingness, the misery and frailty of his life, and death. The race dies, but does not become extinct, for He says, Return ye children of men. They are carried away as with a flood, they are as a sleep-like grass which groweth up. In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down and withereth. And time to the Eternal One is as nothing, for a thousand years are to Him as nothing. (See 2Pe 3:8.) It is true, every statement as to frailty, uncertainty and death, of the entire race. But even in this Psalm of the first man with sin and death, we must see the prophetic aspect. If Psa 90:7-8 are true of those who died in the wilderness, they are also true of Gods earthly people in the time of their trouble. For we are consumed by Thine anger and by Thy wrath are we troubled. Thou hast set our iniquities before Thee, our secret sins in the light of Thy countenance. Hence their plea to return. The prayer with which this Psalm of death closes becomes illuminated when we look at it dispensationally. Return, O LORD, how long? And let it repent Thee concerning Thy servants. O satisfy us early with Thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.–Let Thy work appear unto Thy servants and Thy glory unto their children. It is the expression of hope uttered by His earthly saints.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
The Home of the Soul
Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place
In all generations.Psa 90:1.
The 90th Psalm, says Isaac Taylor, might be cited as perhaps the most sublime of human compositions, the deepest in feeling, the loftiest in theologic conception, the most magnificent in its imagery. True is it in its report of human life as troubled, transitory, and sinful; true in its conception of the Eternalthe Sovereign and the Judge, and yet the refuge and the hope of men who, notwithstanding the most severe trials of their faith, lose not their confidence in Him, but who, in the firmness of faith, pray for, as if they were predicting, a near-at-hand season of refreshment. Wrapped, one might say, in mystery, until the distant day of revelation should come, there is here conveyed the doctrine of Immortality; for in this very plaint of the brevity of the life of man, and of the sadness of these his few years of trouble, and their brevity, and their gloom, there is brought into contrast the Divine immutability: and yet it is in terms of a submissive piety: the thought of a life eternal is here in embryo. No taint is there in this psalm of the pride and petulance, the half-uttered blasphemy, the malign disputing or arraignment of the justice or goodness of God, which have so often shed a venomous colour upon the language of those who have writhed in anguish, personal or relative. There are few, probably, among those who have passed through times of bitter and distracting woe, or who have stood, the helpless spectators of the miseries of others, that have not fallen into moods of mind violently in contrast with the devout and hopeful melancholy which breathes throughout this Ode. Rightly attributed to the Hebrew lawgiver or not, it bespeaks its remote antiquity, not merely by the majestic simplicity of its style, but negatively, by the entire avoidance of those sophisticated turns of thought which belong to a latea lostage, in a peoples intellectual and moral history. This psalm, undoubtedly, is centuries older than the moralizing of that time, when the Jewish mind had listened to what it could never bring into a true assimilation with its own mindthe abstractions of the Greek Philosophy.1 [Note: Isaac Taylor, Spirit of the Hebrew Poetry, 161.]
1. There was a tradition among the Jews, although these traditions are not altogether trustworthy, that Moses, the man of God, wrote this psalm or prayer. And it has always been felt that the psalm seemed to have some special connexion with, or reference to, the experience and the impressions of the children of Israel in the days that they were doomed to wander up and down in the wilderness without being allowed to enter into the Promised Land. And there is much in the psalm that corroborates that view. It is the psalm of a generation of men who felt themselves to be wasting away under Gods wrath, consumed by His anger. They are spending their years as a tale that is told. The vanity and emptiness of life are pressed home upon them with great severity. At the same time, it is not a psalm of mere wailing and lamentation. Very far from it. There is the exercise of faith in it, not only in the first verse, but in the appeal to God to come and dwell with them as their case requires, and make them experience His mercy. The cloud is dark that hangs over the congregation, but faith is still, as it were, seeing the bow in the cloud.
2. By whomsoever written, the psalm makes it plain that the writer was thinking and speaking not only for himself, but for all his own people of Israel, if not for the whole race of mankind. These opening words are the Eternal Gospel of the Fatherly Love of God, in which the sons of men can ever find their home. How precious is that last word, and what a pity that our translators did not adopt it instead of dwelling place. Alas! how many there are whose dwelling-place is not a home. The Prayer-Book Version is a little better in giving us the word refuge; for to most of us home is the best refuge we can find, if not the only one. It is our retreat after the toils and turmoils of the busy world, our refuge from the strife of tongues, our covert from the scornful rebuke of the proud. Our home, if it be as God intended it should be, is the place where all that is best and sweetest in life is cherished and enjoyed, the one sacred shrine where even the outcast can find love, and the stern, hard heart can also find an opportunity for giving a little love in return. Home is the scene of our keenest anxieties and our bitterest griefs, no less than of our most restful peace and of our highest joys. But in the process of evolving and growing mankind, all things are yet unfinished and imperfect; even our very homes are not full enough of purity and peace and love to satisfy the immortal heart of man. Defect, disturbance, and decay, with all the varied chances of this mortal life, make even the best of homes partial and transient. Our immortal souls want everlasting security, unbroken peace, unalloyed happiness. Nothing less than the Eternal God can be a perfect refuge, a perfect home, for the souls of His children. And in Him is all that the most craving and grasping can possibly desire. God has made us so that nothing shall, nothing can, ever satisfy us but Himself. And when we have found Him, and made Him our real refuge and home, we have gained the Eternal Peace, which the whole world can neither give nor take away.
Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Beside that venerable and ancient abode, that has stood fresh, strong, incorruptible, and unaffected by the lapse of millenniums, there stands the little transitory canvas tent in which our earthly lives are spent. If I make God my Refuge, I shall get something a great deal better than escape from outward sorrownamely, an amulet which will turn the outward sorrow into joy. The bitter water will still be given me to drink, but it will be filtered water, out of which God will strain all the poison, though He leaves plenty of the bitterness in it; for bitterness is a tonic. The evil that is in the evil will be taken out of it in the measure in which we make God our Refuge, and all will be right that seems most wrong, when we recognize it to be His sweet will.1 [Note: A. Maclaren, The God of the Amen, 166.]
I
Home
1. Men everywhere have either burrowed under the ground or built above it, and sought to provide some kind of place in which they might dwell, and which they call home. Rude and imperfect it often is, made of such materials as they could find to hand, or in such ways as their faculties could devise. Or where civilization and intelligence have advanced or wealth abounded, men have built houses larger, more splendid, and furnished with ample conveniences. But in all, the aim and desire have been to have a place where they could obtain shelter and rest.
The wilderness episode in Israels life meant that they had no home. They were always moving, movingall the year, and then another year, for forty years. Never settling down at home, always movingyou might well call such an experience a wilderness. Old Egypt, the land of bondage, had been bad enough; but at least there were homes in Egypt, and it was no wonder if at times the people longed to turn back into Egypt. Homes had been promised in Canaan, but that promise was for the benefit of their children. These adult Israelites through one long forlorn generation must be always moving. And the long-continued homelessness taught them something. For all time to come the memory of that homeless wilderness would make them value the homes that God should give them in Canaan.
Archbishop Leighton died in an inn in 1684 during a visit to Loudon. He had often expressed a wish to die in an inn because it looks so like a pilgrims going home, to whom this world is all a pilgrimage.1 [Note: A. Alexander, in The Expository Times, xii. 563.]
How passionately the longing could possess Stevenson is familiar to all those who have read the thoughts of home from abroad in Songs of Travel and Vailima Letters. In a deeper sense, as it concerned the inward life, the same thing is true. Apparently an unresting traveller in the spiritual country, he yet had come to rest upon certain great convictions, in which his spirit had its home. These he expresses often with an evident sense of relief and the comfortable peace of assurance. In the longest journey of all, the lifelong journey, the same shadowy but hospitable and firelit sweetness awaits its close. The Covenanters pass the dark river amid a storm of harsh and fiercely jubilant noises which add a tenfold peacefulness to the shores which they had reached. For himself, who does not know the Requiem which, written seven years before his death, was inscribed upon his tombstone at the last:
Under the wide and starry sky,
Dig the grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.
This be the verse you grave for me;
Here he lies where he longed to be;
Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.
Such words imply more than they express; perhaps they mean more than the speaker knows. In them we hear echoes of a great voice that calls home the thinker to faith, the struggler to achievement, and the dead from dying to a new life. And so there is arrival as well as travel, after all. Indeed the two are combined in regard to faith, and achievement, and that dimly seen but beautiful country beyond the grave. In all these, the true life is at once making for a land that is very far off, and yet at the same time it is ever coming home.1 [Note: John Kelman, The Faith of Robert Louis Stevenson, 183.]
Now more the bliss of love is felt,
Though felt to be the same;
Tis still our lives in one to melt,
Within loves sacred flame:
Each others joy each to impart,
Each others grief to share;
To look into each others heart,
And find all solace there:
To lay the head upon one breast,
To press one answering hand,
To feel through all the souls unrest,
One soul to understand:
To go into the teeming world,
The striving and the heat,
With knowledge of one tent unfurld
To welcome weary feet:
A shadow in a weary land,
Where men as wanderers roam:
A shadow where a rock doth stand
The shadow of a Home.2 [Note: George J. Romanes.]
2. There are places in which men live, calling them homes, but in which there is no comfort, and not even the appearance of it. Poor, wretched dwellings and abodes of poverty, squalor, and suffering, where there is scarce a glow on the hearth to warm, or a morsel on the table to soothe the pangs of hunger. Or there are dwellings of misery and wretchedness from vice and its effects, scenes of brawling, strife, and anger. Or there are abodes where, though there may be earthly abundance and luxuries, there is a moral coldness, a want of sympathy and affection between those who dwell under the same roof; and so with all its comforts, it is a home of misery. But it is not such that we associate with the true idea of home, for the right and good and true home is a place of happiness and comfort.
How can those who do not know Christ and our Fathers home in heaven form any idea of them save from what they see in us and our homes? That is the way the heathen learn of Christ and heaven. In Hangchow, China, Mrs. Mattox had been accustomed to invite the little children to her home and make them happy there. Once a Chinese teacher was talking to some of them, and asked, Where do you want to go when you dieto heaven? No, they answered. To hell? No. Where, then, do you want to go? To Mrs. Mattoxs house, they replied. They could not imagine anything more heavenly than that.1 [Note: R. E. Speer, Men Who were Found Faithful, 141.]
3. There is no place on earth which is so dear to the heart as home, if the home is such as we usually associate with the name. It is connected with our earliest and happiest resolutions. It is the place round which are twined the most tender and hallowed memories. It is the spot in which are centred our fondest affections, and it contains in it the hopes of all the purity and goodness which are to come hereafter. However humble or lowly, still it is home, a dearer and a sweeter spot than all the world beside. And it is one of the most endearing aspects in which God can be regarded, when He is revealed as the home of His people, as the habitation, the dwelling and abiding place, of the soul in all time and under every circumstance.
Arriving in New York, after their tour in Canada, the party proceeded by the night train to Washington, where they spent a day driving round and seeing all the chief buildings, and then, two days afterwards, they went on board the Lucania. My father writes: Never shall I forget the joy of this morning and the excitement of seeing, as we drove up, the funnels of the grand Lucania: I passed through the crowded wharf as on enchanted ground, and stepped on board with a feeling of delight and gratitude reaching almost to ecstasy. Thank God for this trip, for all His mercies, for all the kindness of friends and for the pleasure and instruction of the experience; but oh, the joy of returning to the old country, and to home! That swallows up all other gratification in one great rejoicing. When at length I reach the gates of death, may I have the same joy in prospect of the heavenly home!1 [Note: The Life of Henry J. Pope, by his Son, 174.]
As one contemplates Mr. Gladstones triumphs, one finds oneself recurring in memory to the beautiful background of domestic quiet and stately dignity in which he was as much or more at home than in the public gaze. I can see him now in an old wideawake and cloaktrudging off in the drizzle of an October morning to an early service. I remember how, at Hawarden in 1896, on one of the sad evenings after my fathers death, I dined alone with him and one other guest, and with what beautiful consideration he talked quietly on about things in which he thought we should be interestedthings that needed neither comment nor response, and all so naturally and easily, that one hardly realized the tender thoughtfulness of it all. And last of all, I remember how I came one evening at a later date to dine at Hawarden, and was shown into a little half-lit ante-room next the dining-room. He was just at the beginning of his last illness, and he was suffering from discomfort and weakness. There on a sofa he sat, side by side with Mrs. Gladstone; they were sitting in silence, hand in hand, like two children, the old warrior and his devoted wife. It seemed almost too sacred a thing to have seen; but it is not too sacred to record, for it seemed the one last perfect transfiguring touch of love and home.2 [Note: A. C. Benson, Along the Road, 53.]
II
God our Home
Moses was a homeless man. Early in life he had fled from Pharaohs court, where he had been brought up. When he lived in Midian as the son-in-law of Jethro, he took part in the wandering life of the desert tribes. When he was called upon to deliver the children of Israel from Egypt, and to be their leader and lawgiver, he shared their wanderings for forty years in the great and terrible wilderness, where they had no fixed abode. In all their journeys they had before them the prospect of Canaan, the good land which God was to give them for a possession. But Moses was not permitted to enter upon that goodly inheritance. He was to see it from afar from Mount Pisgah, but he was to die in the wilderness, where no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. And so the old man, who knew no home or lasting abode on earth, finds his home and refuge in Him. He contrasts the eternity and unchangeableness of God with the transitory and fleeting circumstances of man. Thinking of the past generations, he remembered what God was to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, when they had no fixed abode, but confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on earth. And looking to future generations he discerned beyond the earthly Canaan the city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. And so, for the homeless man and the homeless people, faith beheld the promise of a dwelling-place, a home, in the Lord.
Nay, by no cumulative changeful years,
For all our bitter harvesting of tears,
Shalt thou tame man, nor in his breast destroy
The longing for his home which deadens joy.
Not blindly in such moments, not in vain,
The open secret flashes on the brain,
As if one almost guessed it, almost knew
Whence we have sailed and voyage whereunto;
Not vainly, for albeit that hour goes by,
And the strange letters perish from the sky,
Yet learn we that a life to us is given
One with the cosmic spectacles of heaven,
Feel the still soul, for all her questionings,
Parcel and part of sempiternal things;
For us, for all, one overarching dome,
One law the order, and one God the home.1 [Note: F. W. H. Myers, The Renewal of Youth.]
1. God is the natural home of the soul. In that home it was born, from that great Father our spirits came, trailing clouds of glory from God, who is our home. To live and dwell in Him, nurtured by His care, fed by His bounty, watched by His grace, guarded by His mercy; to be brought up and kept in His love, and to love Him with our heart and soul, and there and then to find all peace, rest, and blessednessthat is our purpose and our destiny, that the design and blessedness of our existence. And only in Him do we find what we requireprotection against temptation, shelter from trials, and refuge from calamity, light in the midst of darkness, warmth to cheer our dulled and deadened hearts, release from the burden of sin, deliverance from the power of passion, food for our hunger, safety from every evil, and rest, quiet, peaceful rest, to our agitated and worn hearts.
When we have been long in a foreign land, associating with strangers or casual acquaintances who have little interest in us, and no love for us; if we have been ill, far away from home and friends, and have had no friendly faces to smile on us, and no sweet, tender sympathy to soothe us, how gladsome it is, after such an experience, to leave that land of exile and strangeness and to sail for home, where we know
There is an eye will mark
Our coming, and look brighter when we come.
And how cheering and comforting it is for us to know that, though now we are wanderers from home, our home in God still awaits us, the door is ever open to receive us, and the kind, compassionate Father watching for us, eager for our return, and ready to receive us and enfold us in His love, and set us in royal state at His own right hand to partake of His fulness, to be with Him and His dear and loved ones, whose faces will beam on us with tenderness and whose hearts will overflow to us with sympathy and affection; and that out of that home we shall never again go, but be there in infinite joy and glory for evermore. Your soul leaves its house of clay within which it has dwelt here below. Where shall that soul, when it goes, find rest and home?
Here is the house,
Empty and lone;
Where is the home of that which is gone,
Out in the regions of boundless black space,
Floating and floating, no space, no place?
Or did it gather its wealth and remove
To the home up above?
Alls still in the house here below,
God grant that the soul that has wandered away,
Be not homeless to-day.
Into Thy house,
Lord, take us straight,
Lest we be left in the darkness to wait;
Lest we be lost in realms without sun,
And wander for ever where mansion is none,
Crying without, Let us in! Let us in!
When the feast shall begin,
And the door shall be shut.1 [Note: R. Stephen, Divine and Human Influence, ii. 271.]
2. Home suggests a place where care is thrown aside, while the affections expand themselves freely and fully, and loving looks and kindly words and gentle deeds are the order of the day. When God is said to be the refuge or home of man, it is meant that God offers man His best and tenderest welcome; that in God, and God alone, man finds that which yields perfect repose and satisfaction to all the pure and tender sympathies of his nature. For mans higher or spiritual self the One Eternal Being is what the fireside represents to the hearts affectiona sphere in which man may abandon himself to perfect enjoyment, to that unrestrained delight which accompanies a sense of being among friends, with whom reserve is neither necessary nor possible.
There is a presence moving in that home, anticipating all our wants, cheering us when we are sad, hushing us when we are fretful and impatient, smoothing us when we are ruffled, ministering to us when we are in suffering; and the soul, enfolded in Gods great, tender love, finds rest and blessedness. And as it is a home of love, it is one in which there is no coldness or reserve. In the world there is always a certain reserve. There are joys which delight us, but which others cannot care for. There are sorrows, cares, anxieties which trouble us, but in which others have no interest. There are things that we do not tell and cannot tell. Even with our most familiar acquaintances, there are some chambers in our heart kept locked from them. But at home, in a home of love, everything is open, frank, free, natural; we throw off all restraint, unbosom all our hearts cares and troubles; we know we shall get sympathy; we speak to interested ears and loving hearts, whose joys and sorrows are ours. We are not afraid to whisper our secrets. It is to no rude and heartless gaze we expose them. We do not fear ridicule or cold indifference. We confide in hearts which love us as they love themselves. And we get relief by others sharing and bearing with us. So the soul finds sympathy in God.
Lord, I have viewed this world over, in which Thou hast set me; I have tried how this and that thing will fit my spirit, and the design of my creation, and can find nothing on which to rest, for nothing here doth itself rest, but such things as please me for a while, in some degree, vanish and flee as shadows from before me. Lo! I come to Theethe Eternal Beingthe Spring of lifethe Centre of restthe Stay of the Creationthe Fulness of all things. I join myself to Thee; with Thee I will lead my life, and spend my days, with whom I aim to dwell for ever, expecting, when my little time is over, to be taken up ere long into Thy eternity.1 [Note: John Howe, The Vanity of Man as Mortal.]
3. The Old Testament is rich in promises that God will supply the earthly needs of those whose trust is in Him. He fed His people with manna in the wilderness; He satisfieth our mouth with good things (Psa 103:5). He prepareth a table before us in the presence of our enemies (Psa 23:5). The promise to those who trust in the Lord is that verily they shall be fed (Psa 37:3). And the Psalmist records his lifelong experience that he had never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread (Psa 37:25). And He who gives us our daily bread also satisfies the higher needs of our souls. This blessed fact is fully developed in the New Testament; but even the Old Testament saints record that they panted for God as the hart panteth after the water brooks (Psa 42:1); that by Him their soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness (Psa 63:5). He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness (Psa 107:9). If we make the Lord our habitation, all our wants, spiritual and temporal, will be supplied.
As is a mother to her babe, so is God to us. She makes the childrens homenot the two-roomed cottage of the peasant, with the bare walls and scant furniture, nor the many-roomed ducal palace, with its teeming wealth and oppressive luxury; but the love and light, the warm kisses and tender care, the sweet smile and the strong soul of the mothershe, and all that she is, makes Home, sweet, sweet Home. She is the dwelling-place of the childs heart, the satisfaction of desire, the unfailing nourishment of the childs life. What God has made that mother to her child, He Himself is to us menour asylum of peace, our refuge from passing foes, our dwelling-place and home from age to age.1 [Note: J. Clifford, Social Worship, 26.]
4. The inviolability of home is the spirit of our English proverb, that a mans house is his castle. And in this sense God is the Home of the soul; the soul finds in the presence of God a protection against the enemies which threaten it with ruin in the rough life of the world. In this sense David cries, I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. Or again, Be thou my strong rock for an house of defence to save me. For thou art my rock and my fortress. Or, again, Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort; thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress. Once more, He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I will trust. For he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his pinions, and under his wings shalt thou take refuge: his truth is a shield and a buckler.2 [Note: H. P. Liddon, Christmastide Sermons, 243.]
One incident of the voyage to America served as a sharp test to Wesley of his own spiritual condition. Amongst the passengers he found a little group of Moravian exiles, who, by the simplicity and seriousness of their piety, strangely interested him. A storm broke over the ship one evening just as these simple-minded Germans had begun a religious service; Wesley describes what follows: In the midst of the Psalm wherewith their service began, the sea broke over, split the mainsail in pieces, covered the ship, and poured in between the decks as if the great deep had already swallowed us up. A terrible screaming began amongst the English. The Germans calmly sang on. I asked one of them afterwards, Were you not afraid? He answered, I thank God, no. I asked, But were not your women and children afraid? He replied mildly, No; our women and children are not afraid to die. From them I went to their crying, trembling neighbours, and pointed out to them the difference in the hour of trial between him that feareth God and him that feareth Him not.1 [Note: W. H. Fitchett, Wesley and His Century, 98.]
5. The soul that talks to God rises out of a narrow and selfish individualism into fellowship, not only with the Eternal Creator, but also with the vast and various family of God in the past, present, and future. We are dwelling in the same home as our fathers and brothers and sons. Israel is there in its completeness. God is the eternal home of the race. The elders who, through faith, obtained a good report, in the grey dawn of the world, dwelt therein. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the founders of Israel, had long since passed away, but their home was not broken up, for they still lived in and to God. Indeed, all our dead live in Him, for He is not the God of dead men, but of living men, for all live unto Him. Thus we are already all together with the Lord.
Bunyans Mr. Fearing was kept very low, and made his life burdensome to himself by fear of death. But as he came near to his end his fear disappeared, and he went over at last not much above wetshod, sending, as his last message to his friends, the brave words, Tell them all, its all right.2 [Note: J. Clifford, Social Worship, 31.]
Literature
Clifford (J.), Social Worship an Everlasting Necessity, 26.
Glover (R.), The Forgotten Resting-place, 3.
Liddon (H. P.), Christmastide in St. Pauls, 240.
Marten (C. H.), Plain Bible Addresses, 173.
Myres (W. M.), Fragments that Remain, 122.
Rendall (G. H.), Charterhouse Sermons, 276.
Richards (W. R.), For Whom Christ Died, 141.
Shannon (F. F.), The Souls Atlas, 68.
Spurgeon (C. H.), New Park Street Pulpit, i. (1855), No. 46.
Stephen (R.), Divine and Human Influence, ii. 255.
Christian Commonwealth, xxxi. (1911) 557 (R. J. Campbell).
Christian World Pulpit, xlvii. 396 (W. Sinclair); lxiv. 419 (E. H. Eland); lxv. 102 (R. Rainy).
Fuente: The Great Texts of the Bible
the man: Exo 33:14-19, Deu 33:1, 1Ki 13:1, 1Ti 6:11
Lord: Psa 71:3, Psa 91:1, Psa 91:9, Deu 33:27, Isa 8:14, Eze 11:16, Joh 6:56, 1Jo 4:16
all generations: Heb. generation and generation, Psa 89:1, *marg.
Reciprocal: Gen 2:4 – the generations Exo 25:22 – between Lev 26:5 – dwell Jos 14:6 – the man 1Ch 23:14 – the man Psa 31:2 – an house Psa 36:1 – servant Psa 55:19 – even Psa 61:4 – abide Psa 84:3 – sparrow Psa 102:12 – thou Psa 102:24 – thy years Isa 33:16 – shall dwell Jer 50:6 – have forgotten Jer 50:7 – the habitation Dan 4:34 – is from Hab 3:1 – prayer Joh 14:23 – make 1Co 10:5 – General 2Co 6:16 – I will dwell
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
The first man.
A prayer of Moses, the man of God.
The preface to this is necessarily the picture of man as fallen away from God -the first man; as Adam’s seed may be most justly called, if Christ be in His day but a Second. The history of the world has fully proved this fall, and the broad fact of death being upon all the race has put God’s seal upon it. It is this last upon which Moses naturally dwells as the most concise and clearest argument. It is what the law also has demonstrated by experiment, conclusively, in saying, “the man that doeth these things shall live in them,” and “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” The current views of the law have removed all this from the field of practical observation and common knowledge into the unseen future, so that men may dream and speculate upon it as they list. God’s purpose is that it should be present, definite certainty, that “by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified.” The very effectiveness with which it gives this has been by the strange perversion of unbelief made an argument against its having a meaning which is too plain to be the right one!
1. But if death be that which has come in through sin; then life -immortal existence here -is the alternative; and for this man was originally created. It was necessarily conditional upon his continuing with God in the uprightness which he had at the beginning. Dependent he was, and must remain; for without this no creature-blessing is possible. “In God we live and move and have our being,” and the recognition of this is uprightness for us. This is the key to the statement with which the psalm here begins.
“Lord, Thou hast been a habitation for us, in all generations”: not, as in the common version; “our habitation”; for, alas, man has not profited by that which God has kept ever open to him. Paradise indeed has vanished from the earth, but the door of the Father’s house, which he has left, -for naturally, God being the “Father of spirits,” “we are also His offspring” (Heb 12:9; Act 17:28), -has never been closed against him. “The Lord” -not here Jehovah, but the Ruler of the earth and men -is always the Lord of life and He is the Mighty and Eternal One: “Before the mountains were brought forth, or Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, and from age to age, Thou art, O Mighty” (El). Here then is abundant resource, the Fountain of life ever open; the link with eternity in the Eternal God Himself, never distant from His creatures. How has it availed for man? how, after all, has he profited by it?
2. The answer is plain: it is no matter of speculation. Once, and but once, in the days before the flood, a man had walked with God 365 years of life, and then; without seeing death, been removed to heaven to walk with Him there. That life of Enoch, on which the shadow of death had never fallen, might suffice to show the possibility. Practically it might be left out in such an estimate as this: the answer remains really unaffected, or made the more solemn only by that possibility unavailed of: Thou makest frail man (Enosh) return to dust and sayest, Return; ye children of men.” So God had to decide. It was His will, yet not of His will. And there remained but as contrast with His feeble creatures, that eternity of His into which they entered not: the thousand years that transcended even the life of a Methuselah, in His sight as but the remembrance of the past yesterday “and in its darkness of shadow, only “as a watch in the night.”
But however brief, there is a long lesson in that brevity, and in that shadowed life, which is from God. The psalmist is pondering it before Him, and cannot let it go. “Thou carriest them away as with a flood” -” -“washest them away,” literally -no doubt it is of the deluge he is thinking: manifest judgment, and yet generalized here, as the lot of every one, though he go singly. “They are asleep”: what is appointed for man’s refreshment, though a sign of his frailty and dependence, yet but an incident, becomes, as it were, the whole thing. They themselves are that -a sleep without awaking!
The images of nature over which he was once appointed lord, nay, of the grass under his feet, become images in which he may see himself. now leveled to the general condition of that which was his kingdom only. and subject to him. Like grass which groweth up: -in the morning it flourisheth and groweth up by the evening it is cut down and withereth.”
3. Such then is, very obviously, man’s condition: too obviously, it might be thought, to need the comment. But this is not ended yet; and the reason of it is now dwelt upon; and owned to God. The cause of it is His anger, which is consuming us, His hot wrath, which distresses us. But why such anger? Ah, it is not the unreasoning glow of passion; but discriminating judgment that weighs things in the evenest balances. “Thou hast set our iniquities before Thee:” and, with knowledge from which nothing can escape, “our secret sins in the light of Thy countenance.” Thus in the full realization of what is here -“all our days pass away in Thine overflowing wrath:” upon us with that steady persistence under which a Job might plead, “How long wilt Thou not look away from me?” and the psalmist, “Look away from me, that I may recover strength.” “We spend our days as a thought”: perhaps, rather, “a moan.”
Then comes the reiterated statement of man’s vanity, the experience, now shrunk from near a thousand to seventy or eighty years, in which man’s pride, if it last so long, goes out in travail. Soon cut off indeed, we fly away.
4. But this experience has, therefore, its practical use, to which the rest of the psalm is devoted and here it turns from contemplation and confession into prayer. “Who knoweth,” the psalmist asks, “the power of Thine anger?” One might think He had pressed it heavily upon man but how could He do less? look, after all, at the folly that is bound up in man’s heart! He only strives to banish thought, “kill time,” put away conviction; do Satan’s work for him as completely as possible. And yet no thought can exceed the truth of God’s anger against sin: even according to the fear of Thee is Thine overflowing wrath.”
Let us not shun, then, the reality of things, he asks: let us profit by it: “so make us to number our days, that we may acquire a heart of wisdom.” Here is the “beginning of wisdom” for here is the “fear of the Lord,” which is that. Here the soul finds the need it has of Him, turns to Him, seeks to have Him turn to it: and so the psalmist: “Return; Jehovah” -not simply “Lord” now, but the nearer name of covenant-goodness, -“and let it repent Thee concerning Thy servants.” For as soon as man repents, God has declared that He will repent of the evil that He thought to do to them (Jer 18:8); and the story of Jonah and Nineveh is a precious illustration of His mercies in this way.
But to avert His judgment is comparatively a little thing. The heart truly touched longs after Himself. How can a creature be satisfied apart from his Creator? “Satisfy us with Thy loving-kindness in the morning, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” This joy in God, how rarely is it to be found after this fashion! our days come generally clad in much soberer apparel than is implied in this. And yet this is not less than we may all of us possess, and should possess. Nay, the soul taught of God in His wondrous ways of grace, claims compensation even for the affliction it has known before. “Make us glad according to the days Thou hast afflicted us, and for the years in which we have seen evil.” Think of compensation from a judge for just judgment inflicted! But rather it is a Father’s heart that is free to show itself in wiping off the tears that for a time were salutary. It was a discipline which he prays now may be effectual, the “work appear,” and His “glory” shine out after the storm is passed aye, and even “upon the children” afterwards.
The last verse closes with the prayer for perfect blessing, “the beauty of Jehovah our God upon us,” nay, “the work of our hands” established, too. And this he is emphatic about: for “whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected” (1Jn 2:5). The glory of God is indeed accomplished in finding not only a free way for His love to show itself, but fruit also from the reconciled heart, upon which He can put the seal of His own approbation.
Fuente: Grant’s Numerical Bible Notes and Commentary
Psa 90:1. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place, &c. Although we and our fathers, for some generations, have had no fixed habitation, but have been strangers in a land that was not ours, and afflicted four hundred years; (see Gen 15:13;) and although we now are, and have been for some time, and must still continue, in a vast, howling wilderness, dwelling in tents, and wandering from place to place; yet thou, Lord, hast been instead of a dwelling-place to us, by thy watchful and gracious providence over us in all places and exigencies. This is said by way of preface to the Psalm, to intimate that the following miseries, which came upon them, were not to be imputed to God, but to themselves.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The fourth book of Hebrew psalms opens here. The characters of the composition are majestic and sublime beyond imitation. The Chaldaic says, that this was a prayer of Moses, when the Hebrews were cut off in the desert. See note on Psa 90:10.
Psa 90:1. Our dwelling-place, on, or as the Gothic, wone, to dwell, to inhabit, to co-inhabit: the reference is to the mercyseat. The LXX, Vulgate, and other Versions read, place of defence, or refuge; for in God is our refuge, even from the strokes of divine justice.
Psa 90:3. Thou turnest man to destruction. Hebrews dakka. This word in the Arabic signifies dust; and is supposed by Michelis to have the same signification in the Hebrew; for which however there is no sufficient authority. It is therefore by no means clear, that this text relates to the resurrection of the human body. Yet many so understand it.
Psa 90:4. A thousand years. According to the chronology of the Samaritan pentateuch, it was about a thousand years from the flood to the time of Moses. See on Gen 11:13.
Psa 90:10. The days of our years are threescore years and ten. This is a Hebraism, like that which Jacob used to Pharaoh when telling his age: The days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years.
Gen 47:9. This affords a presumptive proof that the author of Genesis, and of this psalm, is the same Moses. But it has been objected, that Moses and other contemporaries lived more than eighty years. Answer, some did; yet the judges and the kings did not live longer; and the judges immediately succeeded Moses, and Joshua his contemporary. It is now only about one in a hundred thousand that exceeds a hundred years.
Psa 90:14. Oh satisfy us early with thy mercy. Cheer and revive us after visitations for sin, as the earth is revived with showers of rain.
REFLECTIONS.
Moses evidently composed this psalm when his mind was deeply impressed with some awful visitation on the people of Israel. They were cut off with the pestilence, with the burning, with the serpents, and all but two fell by the common sentence at Kadesh. It is really difficult to enter into the fine and impressive sentiment of the prophet. He associates himself with a sinful and suffering people; and conscious that there is no retreat from God, he flies with confidence to the arm of vengeance for protection. Lord, thou hast been our refuge, our hiding place, from one generation to another: since the day that Abraham left Haran to this time, thou hast protected us by thy power. Therefore thou alone art our rock and everlasting defence.
He next views God as the father of eternity, the maker of the world, and the judge of all the earth. In comparison of his existence, all the long-lived fathers died in infancy; and their children covering the earth, with passions unreined, were turned to destruction by the deluge. And though it were then about a thousand years since they fell, God, pitying human nature, had said, return, convertimini filii hominum, come again ye children of men. And lo, the earth was filled with people, and somewhat better than the old world.
Moses, the more to prevail with God to mitigate the punishments of Israel, finely expatiates on the shortness and calamities of life. As the peaceful flocks will often couch near a river, and on a soil somewhat elevated, till they are insulated and carried away by the rising flood, so the wicked, fattening at ease, and blinded by attachment to life, are surrounded and swept away by the visitations of God. Thus the life of man, short and calamitous in itself, is shortened as the watch in the night, and all his boasted works vanish as a vision, and are forgotten as a tale. In another view, though man flourish as the grass refreshed with the morning dew, and youth bloom as the flower at noon, the scythe of war or pestilence cuts him down, and he withers away.
Moses is careful to glorify God by connecting Israels punishment with Israels sins. All their iniquities and secret sins were brought into open court. He trembled, and exclaimed, Who knoweth the power of thine anger; for the terrors of punishment correspond with the terrors of conscience. Prout terribilis es, furorem tuum; as thou art terrible in majesty, so is thy anger in the day of visitation. Earthly judges punish open crimes, but the allseeing Judge takes cognizance of secret sins.
Moses prays that we may be so instructed by the brevity of life, and all its afflictions, as to apply our hearts unto wisdom. And what better wisdom can we learn than what this psalm suggests? To revere the eternity of God, to take refuge in him, to build nothing on a life so short and uncertain, to pray for pardon and purity, and to do every action of life with a view to futurity, and the approbation of God. So shall the beauty or glorious majesty of the Lord our God be upon us. His presence will be with us, as the cloud was on Israel; and he will instruct both us and our children in the glory of his works.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
BOOK IV.PSS. XC.CVI.
XC. Mans Mortality and his Refuge in the Ever-living God.
Psa 90:1-6. The nothingness of mans life, the eternity of Gods life.
Psa 90:7-10. It is the sinfulness of man which makes his life so short.
Psa 90:11 f. Mans lot should teach him reverence and wisdom.
Psa 90:13-17. Prayer for Gods blessing in the future.
Psa 90:1. dwelling-place: the thought is beautiful but irrelevant. The Psalmist is speaking of Gods eternity, not of His dealing with Israel. Moreover, Psa 90:1 a and Psa 90:1 b are out of order. Read, Lord, thou hast been in all time. Even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God. Before the mountains were brought forth or ever the earth and the world had been formed. Not thou hadst formed, for no one would need to be told that the Maker must have existed before the things which He made.
Psa 90:3. Return: to the dust from which you were made.
Psa 90:5 a. RV is scarcely possible. Read, Thou sowest them year by year. New generations spring up, flourish, and die, God lives for ever.
Psa 90:11 b. Read, And who looketh upon thy fury?
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
PSALM 90
The man of God appealing to Jehovah, who, through all generations, is the resource of His people.
(v. 1) The psalm opens with a sublime appeal to Jehovah as the dwelling place of His people. The man of God looks back over all the generations of God’s people. He sees, as it were, Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, as pilgrims and strangers without any certain dwelling place; he recalls the years of the wilderness wanderings when Israel was without a home and without a country, exposed to dangers and perils, and, throughout all these generations, he sees that Jehovah has been the home and refuge of His people.
The man of God takes his stand on the blessed fact that God is the resource of His people. In the light of this fact he can face the frailty and failure of God’s people, and on this fact every utterance of his appeal is based.
(vv. 2-6) Having stated the ground of his confidence in appealing to God, the psalmist draws a contrast between the eternal God and mortal man. God is the unchangeable God, the same before the world was as now. Creation may pass, yet God remains. The One who is our resource is everlasting and unchanging – From eternity to eternity thou art God (JND).
In contrast to God the psalmist sees the mortality of man and the passing of time. God is immortal, but man is mortal and returns to dust (JND). In the sight of God there is no time as men count time. A thousand years in the sight of God are as soon gone as yesterday, or as a watch in the night.
Moreover, a world that seems to be established for ever is carried away by a flood, and like men in a sleep, those swept away are unconscious of all that transpires on earth. With all their brave show of glory and power, men perish like grass that flourishes and grows for a day, but is cut down and withered by night. Joseph, in his day, was made ruler over all the land of Egypt, but the last we hear of Joseph is that he was put in a coffin in Egypt (Gen 50:26). All the glory of man ends in the dust of the grave and in the darkness of death. Such is frail and fallen man, for the man of God is speaking of the natural man, not of the spiritual; of the first man, not of the second; of the earthly not of the heavenly.
(vv. 7-10) Faith, however, looks above the changing circumstances of time and sees, through all these things, the ways of God in His governmental dealings with His people in view of His purpose. Hence there is the confession of sins, both open and secret – all are before God – and there is the consciousness that sins justly incur the governmental dealing of God. If we wither, if our days pass away, it is but the due reward of our deeds. Thus in condemning ourselves we justify God in His dealings with us. It may be that by reason of strength our years are lengthened out beyond the allotted span of threescore years and ten, but even so, the strength that we are proud of, and the years that we boast in, will only bring labour and vanity.
(vv. 11-12) This recognition of God’s wrath against sin will be according to the measure of our fear of God. Fear is the outcome of the knowledge, and recognition, of God as He is according to truth. The more we recognize the holy character of God the deeper will be our sense of His hatred of sin. Dost thou not fear God, says the thief on the cross; and realizing who God is, he realizes also the holy wrath of God against sin, for he immediately adds, We receive the due reward of our deeds (Luk 23:40-41). Thus the man of God desires that we may acquire a wise heart (JND), for a wise heart is one that fears God. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God.
(v. 13) With the fear of God, and the confession of sin, there comes confidence in God. Thus at once the man of God appeals to Jehovah for His blessing. So the thief on the cross, with the fear of God in his heart, and the confession of sins upon his lips, can at once turn with confidence to the Lord and say, Lord remember me. In like spirit the psalmist can say, Return, Jehovah: how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants. Satisfy us early with thy loving-kindness (JND).
Faith recognizes that it is God’s purpose to bless His people, and therefore faith knows there must be an end to the time of affliction and sorrow in the governmental ways of God. Thus faith says How long? This is the language of faith and hope – of faith in the purpose of God to bless, and hope that reaches out to the coming blessing.
(vv. 14-15) Faith, growing yet bolder, can say, Satisfy us early with thy loving-kindness. Faith looks to God, not to failing men or passing circumstances, to give everlasting satisfaction. Nevertheless, faith realizes that satisfaction can only be given to a guilty sinner on the ground of grace, hence the cry is, Satisfy us with thy loving-kindness. The glorious end is that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. So the psalmist prays, Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, according to the years wherein we have seen evil.
(v. 16) If, however, God acts in grace, it must be on the ground of His own work. So at once there is the prayer, Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy majesty unto their sons. The efficacy of His work rests on the majesty of His Person. To sully the majesty of His Person is to belittle the efficacy of His work.
(v. 17) Moreover, the blessing that is secured by God’s work must far transcend the requirements of our need, and the deliverance from sorrows by the way. The end is that the beauty of the Lord will be upon us, or as the Christian can say, Conformed to the image of His Son. Then, when blessing has been secured by grace, we shall find that the work of our hands will be established. The works of self-righteousness will pass, but the works that flow from grace will be established. Not a cup of cold water given for Christ’s sake will be forgotten.
Fuente: Smith’s Writings on 24 Books of the Bible
90:1 [A Prayer of Moses {a} the man of God.] Lord, thou hast been our {b} dwelling place in all generations.
(a) Thus the Scripture refers to the prophets.
(b) You have been as a house and defence to us in all our troubles and travels now this four hundred years.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
IV. BOOK 4: CHS. 90-106
Moses composed one of the psalms in this section of the Psalter (Psalms 90), and David wrote two of them (Psalms 101, 103). The remaining 14 are anonymous. Book 4 opens with a psalm attributed to Moses, and it closes with one in which Moses is the dominant figure. Prominent themes in this book include the brevity of life, Yahweh’s future reign on the earth and proper human response to that hope, and Yahweh’s creative and sustaining power. So one might think of Book 4 as the book of Moses, but perhaps a better title would be "the book of the King."
Psalms 90
The psalmist asked God to bless His people in view of life’s brevity. This "one of the most magisterial of the psalms" [Note: Brueggemann, p. 110.] has been called a communal psalm of trust.
"The psalms of trust are written for the express purpose of declaring the psalmist’s trust in God. . . . A second element of the psalms of trust or confidence is the invitation to trust issued to the community. . . . A third element of this group of psalms is the basis for trust. . . . A fourth element in the psalms of trust is petition. . . . Given the nature of the psalmist’s faith, it is not surprising that in at least two instances a fifth element enters the psalm. The worshiper makes a vow or promise to praise the Lord (Psa 16:7; Psa 27:6 b; Psa 115:17-18). . . . The sixth element, and next to the declaration of trust, the most frequent component of the psalms of trust, is the interior lament. It is not a lament as such, but the remnant of one." [Note: Bullock, pp. 168-70.]
Bullock considered Psalms 115, 123-26 as other community psalms of trust. [Note: Ibid., p. 169.] The superscription attributes the authorship of this psalm to Moses (cf. Deu 33:1). It is evidently the only one he wrote that God preserved in the Psalms. The content suggests that he may have written it during the wilderness wanderings, possible at Pisgah (Deuteronomy 34). In any case, it is probably one of the oldest of the psalms if not the oldest. Brueggemann believed that this psalm was attributed to Moses but not necessarily written by him. [Note: Brueggemann, p. 110.]
"In an age which was readier than our own to reflect on mortality and judgment, this psalm was an appointed reading (with 1 Corinthians 15) at the burial of the dead: a rehearsal of the facts of death and life which, if it was harsh at such a moment, wounded to heal. In the paraphrase by Isaac Watts, ’O God, our help in ages past’, it has established itself as a prayer supremely matched to times of crisis." [Note: Kidner, Psalms 73-150, pp. 327-28.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
1. The transitory nature of human life 90:1-12
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Moses began by attributing eternality to Yahweh. All generations of believers have found Him to be a protective shelter from the storms of life. God existed before He created anything, even the "world" (Heb. tebel, lit. the productive earth). This Hebrew word is a poetic synonym for "earth" (Heb. ’eres, i.e., the planet).
God outlasts man. He creates him and then sees him return to "dust" (Heb. dakka, lit. pulverized material). From God’s eternal perspective 1,000 years are as a day is to us (2Pe 3:8). This does not mean that God is outside time. Time simply does not bind or limit Him as it does us. All events are equally vivid to Him. Time is the instrument we use to mark the progression and relationship of events. God’s personal timeline has no end, whereas ours stretches only about 70 years before we die.
Human life is therefore quite brief compared to God’s eternality. A watch in the night was about four hours long. The years of our lives sweep past, as something a flood might carry off, before we can retrieve them. Our lifetime is similar to one day from God’s perspective or as a flower that only blooms for one day. Life is not only brief but frail.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 90:1-17
THE sad and stately music of this great psalm befits the dirge of a world. How artificial and poor, beside its restrained emotion and majestic simplicity, do even the most deeply felt strains of other poets on the same themes sound! It preaches mans mortality in immortal words. In its awestruck yet trustful gaze on Gods eternal being, in its lofty sadness, in its archaic directness, in its grand images so clearly cut and so briefly expressed, in its emphatic recognition of sin as the occasion of death, and in its clinging to the eternal God who can fill fleeting days with ringing gladness, the psalm utters once for all the deepest thoughts of devout men. Like the God whom it hymns it has been “for generation after generation” an asylum.
The question of its authorship has a literary interest, but little more. The arguments against the Mosaic authorship, apart from those derived from the as yet unsettled questions in regard to the Pentateuch, are weak. The favourite one, adduced by Cheyne after Hupfeld and others, is that the duration of human life was greater, according to the history, in Moses time than seventy years; but the prolonged lives of certain conspicuous persons in that period do not warrant a conclusion as to the average length of life; and the generation that fell in the wilderness can clearly not have lived beyond the psalmists limit. The characteristic Mosaic tone in regarding death as the wages of sin, the massive simplicity and the entire absence of dependence on other parts of the Psalter which separate this psalm from almost all the others of the fourth part, are strongly favourable to the correctness of the superscription. Further, the section Psa 90:7-12 is distinctly historical, and is best understood as referring not to mankind in general, but to Israel; and no period is so likely to have suggested such a strain of thought as that when the penalty of sin was laid upon the people, and they were condemned to find graves in the wilderness. But however the question of authorship may be settled, the psalm is “not of an age, but for all time.”
It falls into three parts, of which the two former contain six verses each, while the last has but five. In the first section (Psa 90:1-6), the transitoriness of men is set over against the eternity of God; in the second, (Psa 90:7-12) that transitoriness is traced to its reason, namely sin; and in the third (Psa 90:13-17), prayer that God would visit His servants is built upon both His eternity and their fleeting days. The short Psa 90:1 blends both the thoughts which are expanded in the following verses, while in it the singer breathes awed contemplation of the eternal God as the dwelling place or asylum of generations that follow each other, swift and unremembered, as the waves that break on some lonely shore. God is invoked as “Lord,” the sovereign ruler, the name which connotes His elevation and authority. But, though lofty, He is not inaccessible. As some ancestral home shelters generation after generation of a family, and in its solid strength stands unmoved, while one after another of its somewhile tenants is borne forth to his grave, and the descendants sit in the halls where centuries before their ancestors sat.
God is the home of all who find any real home amidst the fluctuating nothings of this shadowy world. The contrast of His eternity and our transiency is not bitter, though it may hush us into wisdom, if we begin with the trust that He is the abiding abode of short-lived man. For this use of dwelling place compare Deu 33:27.
What God has been to successive generations results from what He is in Himself before all generations. So Psa 90:2 soars to the contemplation of His absolute eternity, stretching boundless on either side of “this bank and shoal of time”-“From everlasting to everlasting Thou art God”; and in that name is proclaimed His self-derived strength, which, being eternal, is neither derived from nor diminished by time, that first gives to and then withdraws from, all creatures their feeble power. The remarkable expressions for the coming forth of the material world from the abyss of Deity regard creation as a birth. The Hebrew text reads in Psa 90:2 b as above, “Thou gavest birth to”; but a very small change in a single vowel gives the possibly preferable reading which preserves the parallelism of a passive verb in both clauses, “Or the earth and the world were brought forth.”
The poet turns now to the other member of his antithesis. Over against Gods eternal Being is set the succession of mans generations, which has been already referred to in Psa 90:1. This thought of successiveness is lost unless Psa 90:3 b is understood as the creative fiat which replaces by a new generation those who have been turned back to dust. Death and life, decay and ever-springing growth, are in continual alternation. The leaves, which are men, drop; the buds swell and open. The ever-knitted web is being ever run down and woven together again. It is a dreary sight, unless one can say with our psalm, “Thou turnest Thou sayest, Return.” Then one understands that it is not aimless or futile. If a living Person is behind the transiencies of human life, these are still pathetic and awe kindling, but not bewildering. In Psa 90:3 a there is clear allusion to Gen 3:19. The word rendered “dust” may be an adjective taken as neuter -that which is crushed, i.e. dust; or, as others suppose, a substantive -crushing; but is probably best understood in the former sense. The psalm significantly uses the word for man which connotes frailty, and in b the expression “sons of man” which suggests birth.
The psalmist rises still higher in Psa 90:4. It is much to say that Gods Being is endless, but it is more to say that He is raised above Time, and that none of the terms in which men describe duration have any meaning for Him. A thousand years, which to a man seem so long, are to Him dwindled to nothing, in comparison with the eternity of His being. As Peter has said, the converse must also be true, and “one day be with the Lord as a thousand years.” He can crowd a fulness of action into narrow limits. Moments can do the work of centuries. The longest and shortest measures of time are absolutely equivalent, for both are entirely inapplicable, to His timeless Being. But what has this great thought to do here, and how is the “For” justified? It may be that the psalmist is supporting the representation of Psa 90:2, Gods eternity, rather than that of Psa 90:3, mans transiency; but, seeing that this verse is followed by one which strikes the same note as Psa 90:3, it is more probable that here, too, the dominant thought is the brevity of human life. It never seems so short, as when measured against Gods timeless existence. So, the underlying thought of Psa 90:3, namely, the brevity of mans time, which is there illustrated by the picture of the endless flux of generations, is here confirmed by the thought that all measures of time dwindle to equal insignificance with Him.
The psalmist next takes his stand on the border moment between today and yesterday. How short looks the day that is gliding away into the past! “A watch in the night” is still shorter to our consciousness, for it passes over us unnoted.
The passing of mortal life has hitherto been contemplated in immediate connection with Gods permanence, and the psalmists tone has been a wonderful blending of melancholy and trust. But in Psa 90:5 the sadder side of his contemplations becomes predominant. Frail man, frail because sinful, is his theme. The figures which set forth mans mortality are grand in their unelaborated brevity. They are like some of Michaelangelos solemn statues. “Thou floodest them away”-bold metaphor, suggesting the rush of a mighty stream, bearing on its tawny bosom crops, household goods, and corpses, and hurrying with its spoils to the sea. “They become a sleep.” Some would take this to mean falling into the sleep of death; others would regard life as compared to a sleep-“for before we are rightly conscious of being alive, we cease to live” (Luther, quoted by Cheyne); while others find the point of comparison in the disappearance, without leaving a trace behind, of the noisy generations, sunk at once into silence, and “occupying no more space on the scroll of Time than a nights sleep” (so Kay). It is tempting to attach “in the morning” to “a sleep,” but the recurrence of the expression in Psa 90:7 points to the retention of the present division of clauses, according to which the springing grass greets the eye at dawn, as if created by a nights rain. The word rendered “springs afresh” is taken in two opposite meanings, being by some rendered passes away, and by others as above. Both meanings come from the same radical notion of change, but the latter is evidently the more natural and picturesque here, as preserving, untroubled by any intrusion of an opposite thought, the cheerful picture of the pastures rejoicing, in the morning sunshine, and so making more impressive the sudden, sad change wrought by evening, when all the fresh green blades and bright flowers lie turned already into brown hay by the mowers scythe and the fierce sunbeams.
“So passeth, in the passing of an hour,
Of mortal life, the leaf, the bud, the flower.”
The central portion of the psalm (Psa 90:7-12) narrows the circle of the poets vision to Israel, and brings out the connection between death and sin. The transition from truths of universal application is marked by the use of we and us, while the past tenses indicate that the psalm is recounting history. That transitoriness assumes a still more tragic aspect, when regarded as the result of the collision of Gods “wrath” with frail man. How can such stubble but be wasted into ashes by such fire? And yet this is the same psalmist who has just discerned that the unchanging Lord is the dwelling place of all generations. The change from the previous thought of the eternal God as the dwelling place of frail men is very marked in this section, in which the destructive anger of God is in view. But the singer felt no contradiction between the two thoughts, and there is none. We do not understand the full blessedness of believing that God is our asylum, till we understand that He is our asylum from all that is destructive in Himself; nor do we know the significance of the universal experience of decay and death, till we learn that it is not the result of our finite being, but of sin.
That one note sounds on in solemn persistence through these verses, therein echoing the characteristic Mosaic lesson, and corresponding with the history of the people in the desert. In Psa 90:7 the cause of their wasting away is declared to be Gods wrath, which has scattered them as in panic. {Psa 48:5} The occasion of that lightning flash of anger is confessed in Psa 90:8 to be the sins which, however hidden, stand revealed before God. The expression, for “the light of Thy face” is slightly different from the usual one, a word being employed which means a luminary, and is used in Gen 1:1-31 for the heavenly bodies The ordinary phrase is always used as expressing favour and blessing; but there is an illumination, as from an all-revealing light, which flashes into all dark corners of human experience, and “there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.” Sin smitten by that light must die. Therefore, in Psa 90:9, the consequence of its falling on Israels transgressions is set forth. Their days vanish as mists before the sun, or as darkness glides out of the sky in the morning. Their noisy years are but as a murmur, scarce breaking the deep silence, and forgotten as soon as faintly heard. The psalmist sums up his sad contemplations in Psa 90:10, in which life is regarded as not only rigidly circumscribed within a poor seventy or, at most, eighty years, but as being, by reason of its transitoriness, unsatisfying and burdensome. The “pride” which is but trouble and vanity is that which John calls “the pride of life,” the objects which, apart from God, men desire to win, and glory in possessing. The self-gratulation would be less ridiculous or tragic, if the things which evoke it lasted longer, or we lasted longer to possess them. But seeing that. they swiftly pass and we fly too, surely it is but “trouble” to fight for what is “vanity” when won, and what melts away so surely and soon.
Plainly, then, things being so, mans wisdom is to seek to know two things-the power of Gods anger, and the measure of his own days. But alas for human levity and bondage to sense, how few look beyond the external, or lay to heart the solemn truth that Gods wrath is inevitably operative against sin, and bow few have any such just conception of it as to lead to reverential awe, proportioned to the Divine character which should evoke it! Ignorance and inoperative knowledge divide mankind between them, and but a small remnant have let the truth plough deep into their inmost being and plant there holy fear of God. Therefore, the psalmist prays for himself and his people, as knowing the temptations to inconsiderate disregard and to inadequate feeling of Gods opposition to sin, that His power would take untaught hearts in hand and teach them this-to count their days. Then we shall bring home, as from a ripened harvest field, the. best fruit which life can yield, “a heart of wisdom,” which, having learned the power of Gods anger, and the humber of our days, turns itself to the eternal dwelling place, and no more is sad, when it sees life ebbing away, or the generations moving in unbroken succession into the darkness.
The third part (Psa 90:13-17) gathers all the previous meditations into a prayer, which is peculiarly appropriate to Israel in the wilderness, but has deep meaning for all Gods servants. We note the invocation of God by the covenant name “Jehovah,” as contrasted with the “Lord,” of Psa 90:1. The psalmist, draws nearer to God, and feels the closer bond of which that name is the pledge. His prayer is the more urgent, by reason of the brevity of life. So short is his time that he cannot afford to let God delay in coming to him and to his fellows. “How long?” comes pathetically from lips which have been declaring that their time of speech is so short. This is not impatience, but wistful yearning, which, even while it yearns, leaves God to settle His own time, and, while it submits, still longs. Night has wrapped Israel, but the psalmists faith “awakes the morning,” and he prays that its beams may soon dawn and Israel be satisfied with the longed for lovingkindness; {compare Psa 30:5} for life at its longest is but brief, and he would fain have what remains of it be lit with sunshine from Gods face. The only thing that will secure life-long gladness is a heart satisfied with the experience of Gods love. That will make morning in mirk midnight; that will take all the sorrow out of the transiency of life. The days which are filled with God are long enough to satisfy us; and they who have Him for their own will be “full of days,” whatever the number of these may be.
The psalmist believes that Gods justice has in store for His servants joys and blessings proportioned to the duration of their trials. He is not thinking of any future beyond the grave; but his prayer is a prophecy, which is often fulfilled even in this life and always hereafter. Sorrows rightly borne here are factors determining the glory that shall follow. There is a proportion between the years of affliction and the millenniums of glory. But the final prayer, based upon all these thoughts of Gods eternity and mans transitoriness, is not for blessedness, but for vision and Divine favour on work done for Him. The deepest longing of the devout heart should be for the manifestation to itself and others of Gods work. The psalmist is not only asking that God would put forth His acts in interposition for himself and his fellow servants, but also that the full glory of these far-reaching deeds may be disclosed to their understandings as well as experienced in their lives. And since he knows that “through the ages an increasing purpose runs,” he prays that coming generations may see even more glorious displays of Divine power than his contemporaries have done. How the sadness of the thought of fleeting generations succeeded by new ones vanishes when we think of them all as, in turn, spectators and possessors of Gods “work”! But in that great work we are not to be mere spectators. Fleeting as our days are, they are ennobled by our being permitted to be Gods tools; and if “the work of our hands” is the reflex or carrying on of His working we can confidently ask that, though we the workers have to pass, it may be “established.” “In our embers may be” something that doth live,” and that life will not all die which has done the will of God, but it and its doer will “endure forever.” Only there must be the descent upon us of “the graciousness” of God before there can flow from us “deeds which breed not shame,” but outlast the perishable earth and follow their doers into the eternal dwelling place. The psalmists closing prayer reaches further than he knew. Lives on which the favour of God has come down like a dove, and in which His will has been done, are not flooded away, nor do they die into silence like a whisper, but carry in themselves the seeds of immortality, and are akin to the eternity of God.