Psalm 90, Brevity of Life and The Eternal God
Psalm 90 is a unique psalm because it is attributed to Moses. We do not think of Moses as a songwriter, however, there are a couple of songs that are attributed to him (Exodus 15; Deuteronomy 32). One scholar suggests that Psalm 90 was written after the traumatic events of Numbers 20. In Numbers 20 there are three painful events in Moses’ life: (1) The death of Miriam, (2) Moses’ sin of striking the rock, and (3) The death of Aaron. Moses loses his sister and his brother and also loses the right to enter the promised land because of his sin. Perhaps these are the circumstances that cause reflection in Moses’ song and prayer to God.
The Eternal Grandeur of God (1-2)
The psalm begins with recognition of God as a refuge and dwelling place for His people in every generation. Then Moses praises God for His eternal nature. Verse 2 states a fact that is hard for humans to wrap their minds around. Before there were mountains and before there was an earth, God existed. From eternity to eternity there is no beginning or end to God. This is difficult because everything we know in life is temporal. Everything has a beginning and an end. So we have to remember that God is eternal. God has seen it all and is able to see all things to know what is best for us.
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Psalm 90, The Psalm of Moses [37:06m]:
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Tags: deuteronomy 32, eternal god, exodus 15, moses, psalm 90
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Psalm Bible Study (Worshiping God)
Psalm 87, Zion, Lovely Zion
Psalm 87 is a short psalm about Zion. Zion is described as being beloved above all else. In all of the places in Israel, Zion is loved the most. The second point of the psalm is that there is a blessing of being born in Zion. But notice who are the people born in Zion. They are people from the other nations who now know God. They are from the nations of Egypt (Rahab), Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Cush. The Gentiles are pictured as being of God’s registered people born in Zion. The final point of the psalm is found in the last verse where we see all the blessings of God are found in Zion. Springs and streams of water are used throughout the Old Testament as a symbol of God’s blessings (Isaiah 12:3; 41:18; 49:10).
This may seem like an irrelevant psalm because we are reading about the hope of the people being bound in Zion, the holy of city of Jerusalem. But it is important to first of all see how important Zion was to the people. The people understood this as a special privilege of God’s love to his people. The New Testament, based upon this understanding, describes these images in this psalm being fulfilled. People can come to God and be part of Zion, the holy city of God.
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Psalms 87-89, The Faithfulness of God [36:02m]:
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Tags: faithfulness of god, holy city, new testament, old testament, psalm 87, psalm 88, psalm 89, zion
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Psalm Bible Study (Worshiping God)