You have been our dwelling place

Psalm 90-91 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.

Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. ² Before the mountains were born Or You gave birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

³ You turn man back into dust And say, “Return, O children of men.” ⁴ For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it passes by, Or as a watch in the night. ⁵ You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep; In the morning they are like grass which sprouts anew.
⁶ In the morning it flourishes and sprouts anew; Toward evening it fades and withers away.

⁷ For we have been consumed by Your anger And by Your wrath we have been dismayed.
⁸ You have placed our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your presence.
⁹ For all our days have declined in Your fury; We have finished our years like a sigh.
¹⁰ As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, Or if due to strength, eighty years,
Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; For soon it is gone and we fly away. ¹¹ Who understands the power of Your anger And Your fury, according to the fear that is due You? ¹² So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.

¹³ Do return, O Lord; how long will it be? And be sorry for Your servants. ¹⁴ O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness, That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. ¹⁵ Make us glad according to the days You have afflicted us, And the years we have seen evil. ¹⁶ Let Your work appear to Your servants And Your majesty to their children. ¹⁷ Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; And confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands.

Security of the One Who Trusts in the Lord.

91 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” ³ For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence. ⁴ He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

⁵ You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; ⁶ Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. ⁷ A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you. ⁸ You will only look on with your eyes And see the recompense of the wicked. ⁹ For you have made the  Lord, my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place. ¹⁰ No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent.

¹¹ For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. ¹² They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone. ¹³ You will tread upon the lion and cobra, The young lion and the serpent you will trample down. ¹⁴ “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name. ¹⁵ “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. ¹⁶ “With a long life I will satisfy him And let him see My salvation.”

There is a common theme in both Psalm 90, written by Moses and Psalm 91, written by David. They both refer to God be the dwelling place of the people. Psalm 90 says:  Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations, and in Psalm 91:  He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!”   It is important that we too, like these two men separated by years and by circumstance, recognize that God is not far off. He is not in an inaccessible place. Rather He dwells and abides with us and even more, unlike these two, because of the cross, the Holy Spirit of God actually abides in us. In Psalm 90 it says:  Before the mountains were born Or You gave birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.  That same God, who created the earth and the heavens, that same God who is bigger than anything we can think or imagine, who is infinite and eternal, is the God who has chosen us as His dwelling place; to abide with us and in us.

Look at the benefits described in Psalm 91, to those who abide and dwell with God:   He will deliver you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes And see the recompense of the wicked. For you have made the  Lord, my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent.    Romans 8:31 says:  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?    If the infinite, eternal, omniscient, omnipresent God of creation is not only for us, but with us and in us, then what can come against us? Anything that can come against us is less than God.

In psalm 90 it says:  We have been consumed by Your anger And by Your wrath we have been dismayed. You have placed our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your presence. For all our days have declined in Your fury; We have finished our years like a sigh.
As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, Or if due to strength, eighty years,
Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; For soon it is gone and we fly away. Who understands the power of Your anger And Your fury, according to the fear that is due You? So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.    For Moses and the Israelites, the presence of God in their lives was in part based on their obedience to Him. Sin separated them from God. They viewed the difficulties they experienced as God’s anger or punishment. In truth, they chose to walk outside of God’s protection and provision. God did not leave them. They left Him.  Remember again the promises of protection for those who abide and dwell with God:   He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes And see the recompense of the wicked. For you have made the  Lord, my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent.   Those promises are contingent upon dwelling and abiding with God. For the one who chooses to walk away from God, God’s promises are no longer valid.

Here though is where we, through Christ have an advantage over the psalmists. In John 14:19-23 Jesus says:   Because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him. If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.    Why would God punish or show anger toward Himself or the place He has chosen to reside? For us the presence of God in our lives is not based on what we do, but rather on what He did. It is through the cross that we have the indwelling Spirit of God. It is our response, loving Him because He first loved us. Looking again at Romans 8:31-39, it says:   If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? …But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.    In truth, the only thing that can separate us from the love of God is our own choice. Even though God dwells in us, in John 14:15;23-24 Jesus says: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments…“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words.”    Our love for God should bring about our obedience to Him. In John 16:13 Jesus says:   “When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”   While God dwells in us through the Holy Spirit, we still must choose whether He will be our guide or we will walk in disobedience outside of the protection and promise of God.   

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; And confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands. Thank You that You answer when I call and that Your salvation has given me the promises of Your protection and provision. I choose to respond to Your love in obedience so that I might walk in Your ways.  Amen.