Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.3 You return man to dust
and say, “Return, O children of man!”
4 For a thousand years in your sight
are but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a watch in the night.5 You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning:
6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.7 For we are brought to an end by your anger;
by your wrath we are dismayed.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;
we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
10 The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
11 Who considers the power of your anger,
and your wrath according to the fear of you?12 So teach us to number our days
Psalm 90:1-17
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
13 Return, O Lord! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
16 Let your work be shown to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!
Our worldview determines our relationship to reality. If we have a Biblical worldview, we will understand that God’s steadfast love determines the outcome of our lives.
Worldview
First, I want to be clear on what ” worldview ” means. Miriam Webster dictionary defines it as “a comprehensive conception or apprehension of the world, especially from a specific standpoint.” In other words, it is how we perceive the entire cosmos. I am using the word “cosmos” rather than creation because the word “creation” presupposes my worldview, which says that God created all that is. Other worldviews do not begin with that presupposition.
Psalm 90 begins by establishing the worldview of the author. He says, “from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.” The God he addresses is from eternity past to eternity future, as we time-bound humans must say. This is the Biblical worldview. God made it all. It all belongs to God.
Not only did God make it all, but he holds all of his human beings accountable to him. In verse three, God calls his people to repent and return to him. There is an interesting point that doesn’t show up in most translations. In the phrase, “You return man to dust,” the Hebrew word for “man” is enos. But when God calls for repentance in “Return, O children of man!” The Hebrew word for “man” is Adam. The use of Adam underscores that all humans are subject to the curse of Adam’s sin. And Adam’s sin has been the cause of shortened life.
God’s wrath and anger
Verses seven through eleven emphasize God’s wrath and anger, topics we don’t like to contemplate. However, it is life in God’s world that we are living, and we are accountable to God. Like it or not.
Who considers the power of your anger,
Psalm 90:11
and your wrath according to the fear of you?
There is an inevitable conclusion to this reasoning. The psalmist concludes, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” A Biblical worldview is a view that includes the fear of God. Some say that the fear of God doesn’t mean that one is scared but has reverential awe of God. Indeed, the fear of God includes reverential awe. But taken in the context of verse eleven, it seems to me that it also consists of the idea that we are and should be scared of God when we consider the power of his anger and wrath.
The gospel content
In verse fourteen, we come to the beautiful declaration of gospel truth that changes everything. There is a remedy to the wrath and anger of God. It is his steadfast love. I have made this verse a frequent prayer for my family and those with whom I have relationships, including my local church family. Let us be satisfied fully with God’s steadfast love. When we find satisfaction in God’s steadfast love, it overflows with rejoicing and gladness that lasts as long as God’s steadfast love.
“Steadfast love” is not common, everyday language. So, what does it mean? It is translated from the Hebrew word HESED variously as mercy, lovingkindness, goodness, kindness, faithful love, unfailing love, graciousness, and loyal love. I recently learned that the Hebrew translation of the New Testament translates the Greek word for grace, charis, with the Hebrew word HESED. This implies that HESED is the equal of the New Testament word grace. So we can say steadfast love equals grace. Looking at the other translations of HESED, we may expand our understanding of grace as more than just “unmerited favor.” Maybe you can see why this word, HESED, has become one of my favorite words in the Bible.
When our appetites are sated with steadfast love, we will rejoice and be glad all of our days. A sated appetite is not hungry for something else. What else could we hunger for when we are so satisfied with the incomparable grace of God?
Hope for the future
Steadfast love brings on a positive view of the future. The fear of God is still there, but so is his steadfast love that determines the outcome of life. We find a new view in verses sixteen and seventeen.
Let your work be shown to your servants,
Psalm 90:16-17
and your glorious power to their children.
17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!
Before God’s steadfast love, the view was that “all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh.” But now, the psalmist looks to God’s work and his glorious power. He is looking for the Lord’s favor to establish the work of his hands. Life is no longer one of futility and pain. There is a future in the kingdom of God. God’s steadfast love determines the outcome of life.
The walk of faith is mostly a long-term affair. The psalmist shows us that the establishment of the work of our hands, which is a long-term affair, follows our being satisfied with God’s steadfast love. The intimate, all-satisfying love and friendship with God is the ingredient that establishes our life. If we refuse this Biblical worldview, the work of our hands will not be established. You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning, it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening, it fades and withers.
Jesus is the manifestation of God’s steadfast love
The greatest manifestation of God’s steadfast love is in Jesus. He came to earth and became a man on our behalf. he lived perfectly in our stead; he also died in our place for our sin and rose again from the dead, proving that what he had done was enough. He overcame death. He then ascended to heaven and reigns as a King on the throne of David. For those who believe this and put their trust in all that he did, they experience God’s steadfast love eternally.
Is your life like the grass that in the morning flourishes and is renewed; in the evening, it fades and withers? If so, then turn to King Jesus and experience his steadfast love. Follow him.
