Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth or ever You had formed the earth in the world, from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
– Psalm 90:1–2
What a picture of God’s greatness, from everlasting to everlasting. We don’t talk like that, we say from beginning to end. But that’s the point? We can’t really talk that way about God because he has no beginning and he has no end. We do. Verse three goes on to say, “Man returns to dust, we die, but not God.” God has no end. And then verse four right after that says, “A thousand years in your sight, but as yesterday when it has passed or as a watch in the night, how God is Lord over all time.” We exist in time. God exists beyond time.
Psalm 90:1–2 reminds us that everything changes, except God.
Isaiah 57:15 says, “God inhabits eternity in such a way that a thousand years are like a day or like a few hour watch in the night.” So just think about that. All that happens in a thousand years. Generation after generation after generation. The rise and fall of empires. A thousand years of history for us are like a few hours in the night to God. And he is unchanging throughout all that time. We all change with time, the way we look, think, and act changes over time. We grow in wisdom over time. And we increase and then decrease in strength over time, but not God. He never changes.
This is really good news, just think about it. We don’t ever have to worry about God changing for the worst, who God is today is who God will be tomorrow. He will never change for the worse. And God never changes for the better, which we might think, “Well, it’s always good to get better at something, right?” But not with God.
Because if God changed for the better in some way, then that would mean God wasn’t the best possible being in the first place. And he is. God in all of his attributes is perfect at all times. He’s just as perfect today as he was a billion years ago, and God will be just as perfect a billion years from now as he is today. He is eternally glorious, which is what I love about this whole Psalm. It’s written by Moses as God’s people are wandering through the wilderness from place to place to place, and Moses says, “You, the everlasting, unchanging God are our home. You are our dwelling place, our refuge.” And you just think about all that you’re walking through in your journey, in your life today, the reality is when you fear this God, you don’t have to fear anything else in this world.
Psalm 90:1–2 encourages us to trust our everlasting God.
When you trust the everlasting, unchanging God, you don’t have to worry about anything else in this world. When you worship this God, you will have the wisdom you need in this world for whatever comes your way, because he is your dwelling place. And so we pray, Oh God, all glory be to your name. From everlasting to everlasting, You are God. You are infinitely loving, infinitely wise, infinitely all-powerful.
Lord, you are sovereign over all. You are perfect and holy in all your attributes, in all your ways. Oh God, we exalt you as the everlasting perfect holy God, you are. And we praise you that you are our dwelling place, that you are with us, that you are for us. Jesus, we praise you for dying on the cross for our sins, for making it possible for us to be restored… To be reconciled to relationship with you, the everlasting God.
So help us to live in the confidence, the humble confidence, the security, the steadfast security that’s found in being your children. You being our dwelling place, God, help us to not fear anything in this world. Help us to not worry about anything in this world. Help us with the wisdom we need for everything this world brings our way… Because you are our dwelling place, and from everlasting to everlasting, you are God. And help us lead people to you as their dwelling place. Friends, family members, co-workers, neighbors, classmates.
Prayer for the Jewish People
God, help us to point people to you, the everlasting God, today. And God we pray, even as we read the Psalm, for Jewish men, women, and children scattered in places all around the world, from Israel to countries around the world. God, we pray that this Psalm… This prayer written by Moses and ultimately fulfilled in Jesus, the Messiah… You in the flesh come to save us from our sins.
God, we pray the name of Jesus as Messiah would be made known, believed, enjoyed, and exalted among Jewish men and women and children worldwide. We pray all of this in light of your Word in Psalm 90:1–2. From everlasting to everlasting, you are God. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
