Psalm 90

Psalm 90 (The first psalm of Book 4 of the Psalter)
Psalm 90 is the oldest Psalm, as old as both Genesis and Job.
Psalm 90 is the only Psalm in the Psalter attributed to Moses and the only piece of Poetry written by Moses.

Pray
There are two other songs of Moses, Ex 15:1-8, after the drowning of the Egyptian army in the Red sea and Deuteronomy 32: 1-43 written to recite to the people before his ascent and death on Mt. Nebo.
The first song is pure joyful praise, the second about Israel’s rebellion and God’s judgment and the last, Psalm 90, the most somber and personal.
The historical setting of this Psalm is understood by the events in Numbers 20
The death of Miriam Moses’ sister in the wilderness of Zin, Moses strikes the rock keeping him from entering the Promised Land, The death of Aaron, Moses’ brother.
As Moses recollects these events in the Psalm, it is not entirely bitter and pessimistic, rather a somber reminder that men are frail and prone to failure and that God’s grace and character are our only respite and home. These words are plain realistic thinking.
One of our best loves hymns is from Psalm 90, “our God, our help in ages past” by Isaac Watts,
“Our God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home.
The Psalm will teach us that our lives are but a breath, but that our home is in the eternal God.
THE DEATH OF MIRIAM AND AARON
1. Miriam’s death is reported briefly, just six words in English Num 20:1 (And Miriam died there and was buried there). This must have been a nightmare for Moses. She was by no means perfect- she led Aaron in a rebellion against Moses in Num 12- but nevertheless she was close with Aaron and Moses and would have shared time in Egypt.
-By this point, Moses, Miriam, Aaron, Caleb and Joshua are the only survivors out of the generation leaving Egypt, meeting with the Lord at Sinai and have been turned back from entering Canaan. Miriam’s death is a reminder of the wrath of God on this generation that none should enter Canaan and the somber reminder that Moses and Aaron were to die as well.
2. Moses’ sin in striking the rock- Moses was 120 years old by this time, For 38 years he had led the people looking forward to the conquest on the promised land, a conquest which should have taken place 4 decades earlier. And eventually his patience with the people broke. His sin, cost him the land and we would all do the same. This is found in Num 20 v 2-13
3. The death of Aaron
Aaron was taken to Mt Hor, being stripped of his garments, which were given to his son Eleazar in the sight of all the people. This was a dramatic reality followed by 30 days of weeping. Moses and Aaron had worked together for 40 years and that 40 years had now come to an end.
“Hebrews reminds us “Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment. Death is inescapable, it is important that we prepare for it.
1. The Grandeur of God (1-2)
This psalm is the greatest in contrasting the Majesty of God with the frailty of man. Moses is explaining that God did not only separate the seed of Abraham by special privilege from the rest of humanity but the psalmist magnifies the grace of adoption, showing them that God did not only accept the patriarchs, but also them and their children.
Life throws disappointments, and Moses was aware as we are now.
18 months after leaving egypt Moses was in Kadesh Barnea, sending in the spies, and Joshua and Caleb wanted the land, 10 said the cities are built to heaven and we are like grasshoppers. The people tried to stone Moses and go back to Egypt. God brought a punishment that all the men in the army 20 and over could not enter the land.
Writing this Psalm Moses is in the context of death. Of all the generation that was to fall in the desert in what was to be a 38-year period. Moses witnessed an entire generation die, possibly 1 million Israelites, possibly 85 people a day. That would have been 7people an hour. Moses understood the brevity of life and the reality of death.
This is what Moses wrote concerning God.
Our rest was is in the fact that God is the foundation and controller of it all. One thing is for certain; the soul that is anchored in him is secure for eternity. The Hebrews would call God their dwelling place using imagery of large wings.
This is known as Anthropomorphisms- giving physical attributes to God for the sake of imagery and teaching.
Consider how the Westminster Confession describes our dwelling place
There is but one only living and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute, working all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will, for His own glory; most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him; and withal most just and terrible in His judgments, hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty.
II. God hath all live, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of Himself; and is alone in and unto Himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creatures which He hath made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting His own glory in, by, unto, and upon them: He is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom, are all things; and hath most sovereign dominion over them, to do by them, for them, and upon them, whatsoever Himself pleaseth. In His sight all things are open and manifest; His knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the creature, so as nothing is to Him contingent or uncertain. He is most holy in all His counsels, in all His works, and in all His commands. To Him is due from angels and men, and every other creature, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience He is pleased to require of them.
In the unity of the Godhead there be three Persons of one substance, power, and eternity; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.
And although the creeds are not inspired by God but are used for sound teaching and orthodox understanding with all the truth taken from the scripture itself, Psalm 90 is inspired.
Moses is explaining to the people what exactly this dwelling place is. This is no mere idol made of iron and wood, this is a God who stretched out the heavens and filled the oceans with life. He spreads pinks and purples across the sunset sky, brings rain and snow as he pleases and so ponder the majesty of our eternal home.
Here we have no fixed home, Moses, Abraham and others realize that. Both Moses and Abraham constantly had loved ones taken away from them, the things they cherished most had been removed time and time again.
In the midst of the desert wanderings God was their dwelling place. The self-existing, everlasting God shelters, comforts, protects, preserves, and loves all that belong to him. Grand palaces of kings have fallen to the ground, Castles and fortresses have been tumbling down in decay, buried beneath the sands of time, but we dwell securely, despite the circumstances in the vine, in whom we bear much fruit. And we may not be blasted by the sands of the desert or in danger of venomous snakes in the wilderness but in this life we face blasting sand and venom all around us for who we are and what we believe. YHWH is our God, he belongs to us, he is ours.
The mountains have been formed, creation is always changing, yet the nature of God remains exactly the same. He is consistent in his promises and in his nature, he is unmoved and immutable in his being.
And note that this is the God that was in the beginning, present and sovereign over all the chapters in his word, he walked beside Abraham when he left his homeland in faith, he was preset with Moses at the top of Sinai, battled with Joshua, Sovereignty brought Ruth out of Moab. He conversed with David and Solomon, ordained the building and destruction of both of Israel’s kingdoms and temples, brought Christ into the world at the opportune time, crucified him and rose him from the dead. This God is in control of the whole world, he is present and active and alive, and through all this he was writing the scriptures using human history. This God is our dwelling place.
And there are only two options here if that is not enough, either nothing created everything, or something created everything. And since something created all things, there is something that always was. That eternal, everlasting God is the one who has called you by name. He has predestined you for himself.
“Abraham’s tent was a reminder that he was a sojourner here and his altar a reminder that his home was in heaven. Perhaps your home is your tent, but the word of God and our identity in Jesus is a reminder that our home is in heaven, amongst the majesty of God.
Moses was looking, as are we to a city with foundations whose architect and builder is God. Hebrews 11:10.
Not to an earthly promised land in modern day Isreal, not to a new temple in Israel, Christ alone is our temple. “Paul said, “We fix our eyes not on which is seen, but on what is unseen. “For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Cor 4:18).
2. The frailty of man (3-6)
By this time in the week many of the Valentines Day flowers that were received by the woman as gifts are now wilted and on their way to perishing. Moses reminds us that our lives are like that.
The Hebrew word ADAMA means ground or land. You can hear the name Adam in there, formed from the ground destined to return to it. The Hebrew word Adam means humankind or man
Genesis 3:19- you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken: for you are dust, and to dust you shall return”.
Psalm 103:14 “For he knows our frame, he remembers that we are but dust.
Job 14:1 “Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble. He comes out like a flower and withers, he flees like a shadow and continues not.
1 Chronicles 29:15 “For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as our fathers were. Our days on earth are like a shadow.
A great reminder of what we are should drive us to humility.
A great reminder that our Lord Christ, although fully God, took on this frail humanity for a time, for crucifixion and death for our sins
But consider a neighbor or a friend or a family member that knows or cares nothing for God. Perhaps they begin their day without a care for God. As were learning in the morning they consider the origins of the universe but there is no room for a creator God. They leave God out in politics and social problems as if we can care for a body and not for the soul. A mind set that is focused on the flesh, failing to think outside of our fallen nature. These people pursue their own plans in life, and this mindset is fatal.
Nevertheless, Moses point is that time passes quickly for humans, not for God. This is were Peter gets his point in 2 Peter 3:8 “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day”. Peter’s point is that God waits for the return of Christ in order to bring more people to saving faith in Christ by patience, Moses’ point is that Even if we should live 1,000 years as Methuselah almost did in Gen 5:27, it is still only “a watch in the night”.
A watch for the ancients was split into four parts, consisting of three hours each. Moses is pointing out that for God a thousand years is similar to a half awake watchmen in the night. You might compare this to falling asleep in front of the television and awaking 3 hrs later as if it was 1 minute.
Verse 5 reads, “they are like a dream.
The average dream can take between 2 seconds to up to 45 minutes. And science admits that a human life that spans maybe 60 to 70 years compared to eternity would be I billionth of a second, The time between a traffic light turning green and a New York City cab driver blowing his horn.
You can see the emotion in Moses at this point in the Psalm. It was just yesterday that Miriam was next to her brother, just yesterday that Aaron and Moses stood before Pharaoh. It was a moment ago that Moses was amongst the complainers that fell dead in the sands of the desert, and now time is running out for him as well.
Perhaps we remember our loves that have moved on so clearly, memories, films dreams. Man is frail and Psalm 90 reminds us of this reality.
3. Man’s sin and God’s wrath (7-12)
Mans problem is not only his frailty, but the fact that he is born into sin and invites the wrath of a holy God. This sin is what causes death and misery.
We die because Adam sinned-
Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as sin came into the world by one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all me because all have sinned”
We also die because we all have sinned
Regardless of what you believe about sin, the facts are that sin is serious.
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.“
Psalm 7:14:16- “Behold, the wicked man conceives evil, and is pregnant with mischief, he gives birth to lies. He makes a pit, digging it out himself and then falling into the hole that he has made. His mischief returns upon his own head and on his own skull descends violence.
St Augustine was walking down the streets of Carthage when he encountered his old mistress. She spotted him and yelled Augustine, Augustine it is I! He turned to her and said yes, but it is not I”.
His frailty and sin caused him to be ashamed, how could she understand that he was a new man?
Romans 6:21-23 “But what fruit were you getting at the time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God punished the Israelites unremittingly for the wages of their sin.
Moses goes on to admit that the normal human life is spanned over 70 years. Maybe 80 if your healthy enough and all days after that are bonus days. Days of trouble and hardships, imagining the elderly in the wilderness is almost unbearable to think about. These days are to consider your status before the living God, will you stand before him offering up your own righteousness which will be utterly rejected or will you stand before him in the righteousness of Christ in by faith?
4. Man’s need of God’s Grace (13-17)
God needs nothing from you, and arrogance is the only thing that might believe God does.
V 14- “The only thing that will secure life long gladness is a heart satisfied with the experience of God’s love.” – Alexander Maclaren
Nothing will satisfy the human heart aside from God. Forget trying to fill it with mere things, or the approval of man, who may change his mind on a wimb. Do not even put full hope in other people, they will change and eventually die off.
Pray with st Augustine- Our hearts are restless until they find rest in thee”
As for death -
The mortal fades to make room for the immortal, the elderly in Christ wake up to perennial youth, “for it is soon cut off and we fly away, the cable is broken and we the vessel sail upon the great sea of eternity, the chain is snapped from the birds ankle so it is able to fly above the clouds in freedom. Spurgeon
Death as a grace of God?
Who in Christ wishes it to be otherwise Why should we linger here? What does this world have to offer us, get us out of here because this is not our rest?
Despite Gods justice on the people, Moses realizes that the grace of God is the character by which he should be known. After all, he delivered them in more ways than one, exercised grace abundant in maintaining the welfare of the people, as he does with us today.
This is why David can say at the end of his life
“As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my soul out of every adversity.”
Moses concludes by asking God to be behind all the works of his people.
“For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
Jesus is our morning
Conclude
1. Majesty of our God
2. The depravity of our condition
3. Our sin and God’s wrath
4. The Grace - resurrection