SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE (Psalm 90)

Today we begin our study of the fourth section in the book of Psalms - the Numbers Psalms. This portion parallels the fourth book of the Old Testament.

This is significant. As you may recall, the book of Numbers covered the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness by the children of Israel. It has been called “the book of the journey.” It gets its name from two numberings, one at the beginning of the book and the other at the end. If you study it, you will find that people died in such great numbers during the 40-year wandering that the people were diminished.

There is a great lesson in that: the Lord blesses us when we obey Him, but there are consequences when we disobey. The numberings were a vivid reminder to the children of Israel that you cannot prosper when you are not obeying the Lord.

The Numbers Psalms teach us to obey God at every step along the journey. God doesn’t want you to wander; He wants you to follow. He doesn’t want you in the wilderness; He wants you close to Him.

This section begins with Psalm 90, which is also significant because it is the oldest psalm in the Bible. It was written by Moses, not David. Most people believe he wrote it while standing at Kadesh-Barnea on the verge of the nation’s 40-year wilderness wanderings.

These are the Holy Spirit-inspired reflections and recordings of a man who understands that God is right when so often we are not.

Verse 1: “Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.”

Isn’t “Lord” a great way to begin? This oldest psalm reminds us that in a changing world, God alone never changes. Psalm 100:5 says, “His truth endureth to all generations.”

Solomon reminded us in Ecclesiastes 1:9, “There is no new thing under the sun.” God Himself testified in Malachi 3:6, “I am the Lord; I change not.”

We live in a changing world. Look at the economy, the health situation of people, and the political climate. Look at your own life - everything changes, except for the things that are found in Psalm 90.

THE ETERNAL NATURE OF GOD NEVER CHANGES.

God is God, and He is eternal. That is what verse 1 was talking about, and the description continues in the verses that follow.

Verse 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.”

The earth is nothing compared to God. Go back in time to when nothing was there, and then go all the forward until everything vanishes. In both places, God is still there.

Verse 3: “Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.”

Man is nothing compared to God. Remember, Moses was writing this as a very old man, understanding that he had no control over the length of his life. He knew that when God speaks the word, that is your divine appointment and your life is over.

Verse 4: “For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.”

Time is nothing compared to God. The Bible says in I Peter 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.” That thought was taken from Psalm 90.

The illustration of “a watch in the night” is important because, in the time of Moses, that was only about three hours. That shows how insignificant time is to our everlasting God.

Time is an instrument for us to use, not Him. God does not live in time; time lives in God. He gave each of us an eternal soul, and only He can give us eternal life.

THE BREVITY OF LIFE NEVER CHANGES.

In verses 5-12, the Lord reminds us that life here is brief. Society reminds us that things here are always changing, but one thing that will not change is the fact that your life here is not forever.

Remember, Psalm 90 was written just before the beginning of what amounted to a 40-year burial march. Imagine all of the people they would be burying over that time. Because of this, Moses gave two perspectives on the brevity of life.

Notice the earthly point of view. Verses 5-6: “Thou carriest 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.”

Here we see life compared to a flood that can sweep into a region at any time and be gone just as quickly; an all-too-brief time of sleep (we never seem to get enough sleep); and a patch of grass that is cut on a whim. In Eastern culture, the grass could begin to grow in the cool of the early morning hours only to be scorched later in the heat of the day.

Verse 9: “For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.” Life is like a story that, for many, seems to end much too soon.

Then there is an eternal point of view. We are seen as God sees us.

He shows us our sin in light of His holiness in verse 8. “Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.”

He shows us our days in light of His wisdom in verses 10-12.

“The days of our years are threescore years and ten; 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. 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.”

Every man must come to the place where he sees his own frailty, his own mortality, and his own brevity. Some things never change.

THE NECESSITY OF MERCY NEVER CHANGES.

We will never stop needing God’s mercy.

Verse 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.”

Are you glad that his mercy endures forever and is “new every morning” (Lam. 3:23)? We need it every day. Every good thing in life and eternity flows out of the mercy of God.

Verses 15-17: “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.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.”

All of the beautiful things described in these final three verses are possible because of the mercy of God. Psalm 90 is not just Scripture; it is a prayer.

Make it your prayer. Spend some time talking to God about what He is talking to you about today. We need Him at every moment along this journey, and if we obey Him we will see His mercy at every twist and turn along the way.