Psalm 90 Part 2

The 5 books of the psalter answer in order the books of the Pentateuch (1st 5 books of the Bibles.) It is significant then that the first psalm of book 4 should so perfectly reflect the story of Israel as it is set forth in Numbers and reviewed in Deuteronomy. The first 2 verses speak of God’s eternity, the second 2 of man’s frailty. V5-6 then uses 3 figures to illustrate man’s frailty. 

In the first section of this psalm, Moses connected the idea of God’s eternal nature with His judgment upon man. In the next section (v7-12) the two ideas are repeated. The God who stands over time and sees a thousand years as yesterday certainly has the right and the authority to judge mankind, especially His own people. 

Note the words ‘consumed’, ‘wrath’, ‘terrified’, ‘anger’, ‘fury’ in regards to the crushing judgments on a rebellious generation that melted away in the wilderness, cut short by justice on account of their waywardness; they failed and experienced judgment for their ‘iniquities.’ In this experience, Israel was being taught what Paul would articulate in the NT; “The wages of sin is death.” (Rom 6:23a.) Moses understood that God’s anger against His people was not unreasonable or unearned. If God is our ‘refuge’ or ‘dwelling place’(v1) we need to understand that He is so from all that is destructive, including the universal experience of death; “The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.” (Rom 6:23b)

With poetic power in v9-11, Moses compared the eternal nature of the holy God with the frail, temporary nature of sinful man. God stands forever, but long days ‘have passed away in Your wrath and we finish our years like a sigh.’ It was toward the close of the desert wanderings that Moses wrote this sublime psalm, all the imagery of which is borrowed from the wilderness. The watch around the campfire at night; the rush of the mountain flood; the grass that sprouts so quickly after the rain, and is as quickly scorched; the sigh of the wearied pilgrim. God has a much better option in store for us!