“Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
You turn people back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—
they are like the new grass of the morning:
In the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it is dry and withered.“
Psalm 90:1-6

–

Now that I’ve been around for almost five decades, I’m alarmed to discover that the rumors are true: Life is short, and the years fly by. And yes, they have a disturbing way of speeding up as we go. Just when we gain the wisdom to cherish the gift of life and hold each day as precious, they begin to slip through our fingers.

It’s funny to look back and realize just how different time seemed when we were younger. An afternoon could drag on forever. A month could last a lifetime.

The Psalmists use poetic language to help us think about God and ourselves. They use metaphors drenched in artistic truth to express what is inexpressible, to contemplate what is unknowable.

Here in Psalm 90, the Psalmist imagines God creating us from the dust in the beginning, then returning us back to dust at the end. It’s a creative way of saying: We humans cannot begin to see all the way back to the beginning of time, or all the way forward to the end of time. Yet to God, this is nothing. To God, we are like grass, our years a mere blip on the screen.

Or, to put it another way, a thousand years to us (40 generations! The rising and falling of many, many empires!) feels like one short day to God, just part of a day that passes so quickly.

All these are poetic ways to say: God is far, far beyond our ability to even imagine. God is infinite, eternal.

And yet, somehow, God chooses to remain so close to us, to His Creation which He considers so precious.

Questions for reflection and discussion:

  • Reading this Psalm, what images stand out to you?
  • What do they tell you about God, and about yourself?
  • Why is it important that God is eternal and considers us beloved?

Church Reading Plan: Isaiah 30; Jude