Look Back, Look Forward, Look Up

Psalm 90

A prayer of Moses the man of God.

¹ Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
² Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

³ You turn people back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
⁴ A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
⁵ Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—
they are like the new grass of the morning:
⁶ In the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it is dry and withered.

For many of you, Psalm 90 has been a fixture in your New Years’ reflections.   Before we leave the New Year theme completely, I would like to make a couple of observations from the above verses.

1.       Time is both linear and cyclical.  The Bible affirms that time moves forward from one point to another through history.  Creation has a beginning point.   There is also a repetitive element to time.  On that basis, the Mosaic writer can refer to the way God always does things. He turns people back to dust. As humans, we are like grass that springs up, withers and dies. It was always thus and will continue to be such.

2.       God has a different relationship to time than we do.  He is from everlasting to everlasting. He always was and will be. A thousand years is like a watch in the night.  Does He stand outside of time? The Bible is not particularly clear on that point. However, it is absolutely clear on the fact that He is not bound to it in the same way we are.

3.       God is our dwelling place.  Wherever we are, whatever we face, whatever we do.. we always have a PLACE.  This is especially in the face of our mortality and brokenness. 

There is, of course, much more to say. But at the beginning of the year I consider that I am taking another lap around the circuit. While the future is ahead and mysterious, I have seen much of the future before. Much of it will be repetitive.

Given that, I know the One who knows what is ahead. He does not have to guess at it. He does not have to predict it. He KNOWS.  And this One who knows, who is always ahead of me, is my dwelling place, just as He has been for me in the past and just as He has been for generations which have preceded me.

A word of encouragement, then, as we launch into a new term. Look back. Look forward. Most of all.. Look up.