Psalm 90:2 – From everlasting to everlasting you are God
Forever. Eternal. Those are hard words for us.
Because we’re creatures, we think about the kinds of time that we’re familiar with: hands on a clock, months of the calendar… But eternity is being without time. Eternity is a constant, unceasing “now.”
And that’s how God exists, according to Psalm 90:2, “from everlasting to everlasting.”
These words are from what is called “A Prayer of Moses.” It’s not exactly a cheerful prayer. It’s more like a meditation on the sinfulness and frailty of human life.
Moses was qualified to speak about such things. He’d witnessed the terrible sufferings of the Israelites in Egypt, but he’d also seen their constant rebellion in the desert. Over those decades, what had Moses learned? That we are from the dust, and to the dust we will return (v. 3). God simply has to speak, and we’re gone. Meanwhile, our many sins invite God’s holy anger (vv. 7-8). In his sight we certainly don’t deserve to live very long!
Moses might be melancholy about all this, yet he also points God’s people to our sure hope. It begins in the first verse: We can find our dwelling place in God, the Lord who is “from everlasting to everlasting.” When the eternal God looks at time, there’s no difference between a day and a thousand years—they’re the same to him.
And for those who find their refuge in him, God’s eternity is a great encouragement. It means that as the years go by, God's power is unchanging. His promises won’t be broken. He doesn’t vary in any way. So sinners and weaklings like us can depend completely on him!
Today you might be anxious about the difficult situation in your family, or at work, or in the church. Perhaps people close to you have recently shown themselves to be unreliable in some way—they’re only human, after all. But in your worry and trouble, look to the eternal God! Know that you can depend on him for the sake of God’s Son, our Saviour. Of him Scripture says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb 13:8).
Our Saviour too, is everlasting. He too, has always been majestic in power and wisdom, glorious in faithfulness and grace! He hasn’t changed, and he will not change, which gives us a sure position before the Father.
In him we have our everlasting dwelling place!
[excerpt from Christ's Psalms, Our Psalms: Daily Meditations]
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