Psalm 90 – NKJV

Overview

This psalm is titled A Prayer of Moses the man of God. Some commentators think this was not the same famous and familiar Moses, but the evidence is much stronger for believing that this was indeed the great leader of Israel. This is the only song of Moses in the psalms, but there are two other songs in the Pentateuch (Exodus 15 and Deuteronomy 32), as well as the blessing of the tribes of Israel in Deuteronomy 33. (Guzik)

 If we connect it with any particular time in the life of Moses, the best suggestion is the time described in Numbers 20. “The historical setting is probably best understood by the incidents recorded in Numbers 20: (1) the death of Miriam, Moses’ sister; (2) the sin of Moses in striking the rock in the wilderness, which kept him from entering the Promised Land; and (3) the death of Aaron, Moses’ brother.” (James Montgomery Boice)

Moses was mighty in word as well as deed, and this Psalm we believe to be one of his weighty utterances, worthy to stand side by side with his glorious oration recorded in Deuteronomy. Moses was peculiarly a man of God and God’s man; chosen of God, inspired of God, honored of God, and faithful to God in all his house, he well deserved the name which is here given him. The Psalm is called a prayer, for the closing petitions enter into its essence, and the preceding verses are a meditation preparatory to the supplication. Men of God are sure to be men of prayer. This was not the only prayer of Moses, indeed it is but a specimen of the manner in which the seer of Horeb was leant to commune with heaven, and intercede for the good of Israel. This is the oldest of the Psalms, and stands between two books of Psalms as a composition unique in its grandeur, and alone in its sublime antiquity. Many generations of mourners have listened to this Psalm when standing around the open grave, and have been consoled thereby, even when they have not perceived its special application to Israel in the wilderness and have failed to remember the far higher ground upon which believers now stand. (Spurgeon)

This psalm is one of the most remarkable in the whole collection. It is said, in the title, to be “A Prayer of Moses, the man of God;” or, as it is in the margin, “being a Psalm of Moses.” The original word – תפלה t^ephillâh – means properly. (Barnes)

(1) intercession, supplication for anyone;

(2) prayer or supplication in general;

(3) a hymn or inspired song.

BOOK FOUR

Psalms 90–106

The Eternity of God, and Man’s Frailty

A Prayer of Moses the man of God.

1 

Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.

Lord, You have been our dwelling place: This prayer of Moses was almost certainly written during the wilderness years on the way to Canaan. In all those years Israel lived in constant need of refuge, shelter, and protection. More than their tents and their armies, Israel had God as their dwelling place, their refuge and their protection. (Guzik)

i. Lord: The psalm “begins with this great affirmation concerning the relation of man to God. Addressing Him, not as Elohim the Mighty One, nor as Jehovah, the Helper, but as Adonai, the Sovereign Lord, the singer declares that He has been the dwelling-place, the habitation, the home of man in all generations.” (Morgan)

ii. Our dwelling place: “The Hebrew word for ‘dwelling place’ may also be translated ‘refuge,’ which is how it appears in Deuteronomy 33:27, one of the other songs of Moses.” (Boice)

b. Our dwelling place in all generations: Moses understood that Yahweh’s help to His people did not begin with the exodus from Egypt. From their pilgrim beginnings under their patriarch Abraham to the days of Moses, God had been their dwelling place, their refuge and protection. (Guzik)

i. It isn’t a good thing to refer to anyone as homeless. Spiritually speaking, that never needs to be the state of the believer. We have our home in Him, and home should be a place where we rest, where we can be ourselves, where love and happiness dominate. All this should mark our relationship with God. (Guzik)

ii. “He that dwelleth in God cannot be unhoused, because God is stronger than all; neither can any one take another out of his hands, John 10:29. Here, then, it is best for us…to seek a supply of all our wants in God alone.” (Trapp)

Lord – Not יהוה Yahweh here, but אדני ‘Adonāy. The word is properly rendered “Lord,” but it is a term which is often applied to God. It indicates, however, nothing in regard to his character or attributes except that he is a “Ruler or Governor.”

Thou hast been our dwelling-place – The Septuagint renders this, “refuge” – καταφυγἡ kataphugē. So the Latin Vulgate, “refugium;” and Luther, “Zuflucht.” The Hebrew word – מעון mâ‛ôn – means properly a habitation, a dwelling, as of God in his temple, Psalms 26:8; heaven, Psalms 68:5; Deuteronomy 26:15. It also means a den or lair for wild beasts, Nahum 2:12; Jeremiah 9:11. But here the idea seems to be, as in the Septuagint, Vulgate, and Luther, “a refuge”; a place to which one may come as to his home, as one does from a journey; from wandering; from toil; from danger: a place to which such a one naturally resorts, which he loves, and where he feels that he may rest secure. The idea is, that a friend of God has that feeling in respect to Him, which one has toward his own home – his abode – the place which he loves and calls his own.

In all generations – Margin, “generation and generation.” That is, A succeeding generation has found him to be the same as the previous generation had. He was unchanged, though the successive generations of men passed away. (Barnes)