PSALM 90

 

PSALM 90: 1-6; 13-17 – THE ETERNAL GOD

Appointed psalm for 25th October 2020

21st Sunday after Pentecost

The solemn and earnest spirit with which this psalm is imbued, and the nobility and comprehensiveness of its thought give it an authority which is not easy to evade. I suggest that we may look through Moses eyes in the telling of this Psalm. He has reached the end and is standing on mount Pisgah looking over to the promised land to which he has been headed all his life. Now it dawns on him that he will not go there. He embraces that painful reality that his life pursuit of fidelity will stop short of fruition. He submits to that reality from God – but that does not stop the yearning.

1       Lord you have been our refuge:
from one generation to another.

2       Before the mountains were born
or the earth and the world were brought to be:
from eternity to eternity you are God.

These two verses are a meditative reflection on the realities that may result in such a disposition of trust, obedience, and submission. It may be that out of a serious separation that the poet sticks so firmly to the opening word: ‘Lord’ indicating that things have not been alright just recently but his faith brings him to the address of God without any such things as adjectives. This is an almost intimate way of addressing God without flowery language to embellish what is being said.

3       You turn man back into dust:
saying ‘Return to dust you sons of Adam.’

4       For a thousand years in your sight,
are like yesterday passing:
or like one watch of the night.

5       You cut them short like a dream:
like the fresh grass of the morning;

6.     In the morning it is green and flourishes
at evening it is withered and dried up

These verses are a reflection on the limitedness and transitoriness of human life. The poet is aware that the human creature is a “dust creature” destined for dust. The two metaphors of dust and grass serve to characterise the true relationship between God and the poet.

There is a break at this point and the last verses make up the rest of these thoughts.

 

The final verses are a vigorous complaint. It is like being glad to be at home but then immediately announcing that the home is not adequate and there is a serious need for a transformation of things. Still, in the midst of disorientation, this persistent faith does battle toward newness. Trust in YAHWEH leads to a zealous insistence on change, and the change is wrought through a lament.

13    Relent O Lord how long will you be angry?
take pity on your servants.

The most interesting rhetorical feature is the intense imperative “return” (relent). YAHWEH turns humankind to dust. Now YAHWEH is summoned to make a turn. It is YAHWEH’s work to turn misery to joy.

14    O Satisfy us early with your mercy:
that all our days we may rejoice and sing.

15    Give us joy for all the days you have afflicted us;
for the years we have suffered adversity

16    Show your servants your work;
and let their children see your glory,

Verses 14-16 show the characteristics of the lament with the imperatives, ‘satisfy’, ‘give’ and ‘show’ asking God to intervene in the lives of the people.

17    May the gracious favour of the Lord our God be upon us:
prosper the work of our hands
O prosper the work of our hands!

Verse 17 concludes the psalm with a prayer asking God to make our works prosper in the same way that God’s hands prospered in the creation we have been given. The poet has looked at it squarely in the face and has concluded that our situation is not all dust and grass, but by the one who makes us at home safely.

Thank you Fr Graham Alston for your weekly commentary on the appointed psalm