Psalm 90: "Eternal God and Mortal Man"

Discussion Questions:

What relationships do you value most in your life?

Where do you find your own self-worth now, and how can we find self-worth in relation to God?

Do you think God’s punishment for sin is just anger and wrath or does it have purpose? Why/How?

What does it look like to live in God’s favor now? For eternity?

What, from this passage, is something you think could be encouraging to a friend in your life? Reference the verse and why. (Don’t gossip about your friends).

Intro

The title for my sermon is taken straight from the subheading for the Psalm in the CSB. I think it is fitting and helpful to set up the song at hand. Another interesting note is that there is a signifier that this psalm is supposed to be heard from the perspective of Moses. Oftentimes, we think of prayers of Moses in relation to the exodus, the process and leaving of Egypt. But this psalm doesn’t seem to fit in that perspective of Moses. It actually fits more around the time of the journey through the wilderness, when the disobedient generation is not allowed to enter the promised land because of their lack of trust in God (this is recorded back in Deuteronomy 1). We will see this connection to the wilderness generation in certain sections of the psalm, so I thought it was worth noting.

Along with those contextual notes, I want us to ask a question of ourselves: “How do I feel about God’s judgment against humanity?” A lot of times, we give a churchy answer of it being just or good, etc… But how do you actually feel about it? When you think about things you’ve suffered as a consequence of your own sin or even just the brokenness of the world currently, what is the proper mindset or “heartset” of emotions? This psalm is an embodiment of and answer to that question.

And the answer to the question of judgment and suffering and consequences is all tied up in who God is; the Psalmist makes this clear. As a matter of fact, the entire psalm can be structured as follows: “v.1-2: Who is God?, v.3-6: Why is he in charge?, v.7-12: What has he done?, and v.13-17: What does his favor look like and when will it come?” It is all about the Lord, even though it contains descriptions of how the speakers feel (hence the “us”” language).

God’s Identity (1-2)

The fixed and sure place in this psalm is God himself. Notice it says “in every generation”, “from eternity to eternity...” One of my favorite commentators on this passage says “United with [God], we enjoy permanence” (Motyer, NBC). What he means by this is that when we root ourselves and rest in our relationship to God, we are relating ourselves to something, someone—eternal. And since we have relationship with him, we have a place in the eternal. That level of value can only be found in relationship to God himself, not anywhere else.

So, as “Moses” prays this, he opens with an identification of who God is and who the people of Israel are; God is their dwelling place and rest, they are his people. And that will never change, because God is eternal.

Listen, before we get into anything else, recognize that your value and meaning in the vast expanse of all space and time—it is found in the one who is greater than that expanse, who stands at both ends of the infinite. Don’t seek value or a starting place anywhere else; nothing can compare to the value found in having a relationship with God himself.

God’s Sovereignty (3-6)

Here, the psalm hits its stride. It turns to humanity, or in J.A. Motyer’s terms, “The endangered species.” Without diving too deep, let’s compare the description of God in v.1-2 to the description of humans in v.3-6. God: “eternity to eternity…in every generation…before the mountains were born...” Humanity: “the dust…withered…dried up...” God is eternal. We’re not. (Duh, that’s kind of one of the reasons he’s so mysterious…).

BUT more than the distinction, Moses is pointing to something more important. It is God who returns man to the dust. It is God who sees thousands of years like a day. It is God who is in control. We are bound by time and space; He is not. And even more amazingly, He cares enough about our little place in time and space to be sovereign over it as well.

That word sovereign is a doozy, and people kind of throw it around willy-nilly sometimes. What it means is that there is no higher power than God, and nothing happens that is beyond his control.

When we try to be in control of our own lives, the whole universe sees and thinks it is silly, not just bad, but foolish. My puppy, Delta, I think is a great example here. When she does what I instruct her to, it is the best. She’s cute, emanating life, enjoying life. But sometimes, she does something just dumb… Grabs a pair of underwear, chews on the floor, tries to eat feces… You laugh, but it is just dumb, honestly. I am in control of the house. She is not going anywhere or doing anything that she wants without permission and guidance. But she lives like she is in control. It is pointless, and her life would be so much more free, if she would just live a life that recognizes my authority. But she won’t always do that. And we do not either. See, we are a piece of grass that tries to make our own plans, but by the time we figure out what we want and need, that’s the end. How many stories do we know from people who lived their whole lives for one goal and when they reach the end, they say something like, “I wish I had spent more time with… or I wish I had done....” Only God can plan our lives well and knows what is best for us.

God’s Purposed Judgment (7-12)

Inside of God’s plan though, is often some consequences. The people of Israel were seeing these in Moses’s day. They had to travel around in the desert for 40 years because of their disobedience… 40 years! That’s like “” whole life! And what we see in v.7-11 is Moses recognizing the sin of the people and himself. It is God’s wrath on the people’s sin that has them waning away in the desert. Verse 10 points out that even the longest lives are short in light of a hundred years, much less eternity. And those longer lives are still filled with sorrow, caused by sin.

Verses 3-11 as a whole are mourning the fact that we humans, who were meant to eat from the tree of life, instead taste the dust of death (Motyer). Verses 7-11 tell us why: it is God’s wrath upon sin. Death as a whole shows us that we are not as we should be. And in showing us that, God’s judgment has purpose—>

Verse 12: “Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.” In recognizing our finitude, our limits, and God’s sovereign eternal reign, there is wisdom. Not just knowledge or understanding, but wisdom—that which drives us to live good and meaningful lives. God’s judgment has purpose, just like my bopping lightly on the nose of Delta: He’s showing that something is wrong—and that something is us, our actions, our hearts. We have chosen death; it was not meant for us. So how are we to live so as to produce life—we look to the one who is against that which produces death—the Lord.

There is great wisdom to be found in recognizing our limits, and even more to be found in recognizing why our world is the way it is. Sin has taken hold of our hearts and lives; we need an eternal God to free us, to show us his favor not just his wrath.

God’s Favor (13-17)

And when is God to free us? Moses asks the same question in verse 13. “Lord—how long?...” He calls upon God to show compassion. Notice he doesn’t say, “Look how much better we are doing now; don’t ya think we should be able to go into the promised land for just a bit, huh?” No, he looks to God’s character.

And he recognizes that the problem with Israel is not their actions, but their affections, their loves. (Seems a little bit like Micah all over again). Verse 14, Moses requests for the people to be satisfied in God’s faithful love that they may have joy. Verse 15, he asks that the people rejoice for as long as they have been humbled. Verse 16, he asks for them to all see God’s works and glory. And verse 17, he asks the Lord to establish, to be the foundation, of the works of Israel...

Herein lies God’s favor: satisfying out hearts in himself, blessing those who have suffered in their own sin and others’, beholding God’s glory and works, and doing human works by the Lord’s guidance. God’s favor is not material…not emotional…not spiritual. It is not a categorical thing; God’s favor is to give us life and life with him in abundance.

Conclusion/ So what?

So what are you seeking tonight in the midst of this tense and stressful time? Are you looking to God for value, for your definition of freedom, for perspective? Or are you looking somewhere else, to an idol (like we talked about in Micah)? Not only are our idols evil, they never satisfy. They just leave us in despair without hope or power to change. Let us remember: God is the beginning of all things and the end; He is world creator and ender, from eternity to eternity. The greatest thing or person we could seek after or look to is Yahweh himself!

And guess what—he offers us himself! Jesus, the one who came to satisfy our hearts, to bless us who even sinned against him, who was and is the perfect revelation of God’s glory, who completed all the works of the law, and who saves us that we may walk in good works he prepared for us. Jesus is our connection to eternity.

So tonight, if you are in the wilderness, suffering the consequences of your own sin—turn from that sin and to Christ, who offers himself. If your value is found elsewhere or your guidance, turn to the only one who gives good counsel and can give eternal value.

If you’re suffering at the hands of someone else’s sin, know that he is just and is sovereign over all things, working for good even now.

And as we prepare to go back into our individual lives after tonight, remember that no matter the darkness of our world, the Lord is in control, and he has established good works for our hands to do, that the world may see his light in us. Let’s pray.