Psalms 90:1

BOOK IV

1

(Psalms 90–106)

1

Psalm 90

1

A prayer of Moses, the man of God.

1 Lord, you have been our help, generation after generation.

Psalms 90:1 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 90:1

Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations,
&c.] Even when they had no certain dwelling place in the world; so their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, dwelt in tabernacles in the land of promise, as in a strange land; and their posterity for many years served under great affliction and oppression in a land that was not theirs; and now they were dwelling in tents in the wilderness, and removing from place to place; but as the Lord had been in every age, so he now was the dwelling place of those that trusted in him; being that to them as an habitation is to man, in whom they had provision, protection, rest, and safety; see ( Psalms 31:2 ) ( 71:3 ) so all that believe in Christ dwell in him, and he in them, ( John 6:56 ) , they dwelt secretly in him before they believed; so they dwelt in his heart's love, in his arms, in him as their head in election, and as their representative in the covenant of grace from eternity; and, when they fell in Adam, they were preserved in Christ, dwelling in him; and so they were in him when on the cross, in the grave, and now in heaven; for they are said to be crucified, buried, and risen with him, and set down in heavenly places in him, ( Galatians 2:20 ) ( Colossians 2:12 ) ( 3:1 ) ( Ephesians 2:6 ) , and, being converted, they have an open dwelling in him by faith, to whom they have fled for refuge, and in whom they dwell safely, quietly, comfortably, pleasantly, and shall never be turned out: here they have room, plenty of provisions, rest, and peace, and security from all evils; he is an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the storm. Some render the word "refuge";

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 such is Christ to his people, being the antitype of the cities of refuge; and others "helper", as the Targum; which also well agrees with him, on whom their help is laid, and is found.

F26 Huillus Patriarch. in Origen. apud Hieron. adv. Ruffin. l. 1. fol. 67. L.
F1 (Nwem) "refugium", V. L. Vatablus; "asylum", Gejerus.

Psalms 90:1 In-Context

1 Lord, you have been our help, generation after generation.

2 Before the mountains were born, before you birthed the earth and the inhabited world— from forever in the past to forever in the future, you are God.

3 You return people to dust, saying, "Go back, humans,"

4 because in your perspective a thousand years are like yesterday past, like a short period during the night watch.

5 You sweep humans away like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning.