Our dwelling place
Psalms 90: 1/4
Psalms chapter ninety is said to be a prayer of Moses as he remembers the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when they dwelt in tents in a strange place heading toward the promise land.
In their journey we see Abraham willing to offer Isaac, I believe as a test of his faith. And in our walk with the Lord there will times that our faith will be challenged through trials and tribulation but God will see us through them all.
We know that the favor and protection of God is the only sure rest and comfort that can be found in this evil world, and that Jesus Christ is our refuge and a dwelling-place where we can find peace. For it is in Him that we move and have our being.
Israel had no certain dwelling place in the land, and their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were dwelling in tabernacles (tents) and living under great affliction and oppression in a land that was not their own.
God had called Moses from the back side of the desert to deliver the children of Israel out of bondage pointing them to the Promised Land. They had spent years wondering in the wilderness, and God had overshadowed them with a cloud by day and fire by night. God provided fresh water from the cleft of the rock and fresh manna each day.
So, with Moses as their leader they are now dwelling in tents in the wilderness, and moving from place to place; but as the Lord had been in every age, He is now their dwelling place as they make their way toward the land they were promised.
God had become a habitation to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob where they found provision, protection, rest and safety. David said, “In thee O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed, deliver me in thy righteousness. Be thou my strong rock for a house of defense to save me.”
We as a nation are in decline and the comforts we now enjoy could be stripped from us in a moment’s notice. Here’s an example, you may have lived in your home for a number of years, have a clear title. But if you fail to pay your property taxes they can seize you home and this is being promoted from the top level of government down to the local levels because cities and states are bankrupt.
Here is my point, we really don’t own anything. We are a lot like the children of Israel, they would set up their tents, and the enemy would appear, and they would tear them down and move to the next location. So it is in this live, we buy a home plant flowers, and keep the grass mowed; but one of these days because of the evil forces that is plundering our land, we will hear the sounding of the trumpet and move to our promised land.
But while we are here, God is ever-living and providing, so we can find in Him a safe place. Even when men turn their back on God, which sometimes brings heartaches and afflictions God still called them to return unto Him to repent of their sins, and live a new life.
Moses said, “Lord thou hast been our habitation, or dwelling-place, a refuge, and our help in all generations.”
Giving God praise for his continued care and keeping, should be man’s highest priority. Praising God will bring heaven to you soul or better yet, bring your soul to heaven. “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
The children of Israel had fallen under God’s displeasure, and He had threatened to abandon them, so they were pleading and praising God for His former kindnesses to their ancestors.
Canaan was a land of pilgrimage to their fathers the patriarchs, who dwelt there in tabernacles; God was their habitation, and, wherever they went, they were at home and at rest in Him. Egypt had been a land of bondage to them for many years, but even then God was their refuge; and His protecting hand was upon them.
Today, true believers are at home in the presence of God, free from all the toils and tribulations that we meet with daily. We find in God a shelter in the time of storm, He is our dwelling-place and in Him our help is found.
Israel as a nation had look for a leader, one that would deliver from the great oppression they were under. Their fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. Jesus told them that He was the bread of life which came down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
Man had fallen into sin because of Adam’s transgression. But the second man Adam, referring to Christ came to redeem men from the curse of the law. By believing in him and being converted, we have an open dwelling in Him by faith, we can look to Him for refuge, and in Him we dwell safely, quietly, comfortably, and shall never be turned aside.
In Him there is plenty of room, plenty of provisions, rests, and peace and security from all evil. He is our hiding place and a shelter in the time of storm. He is our dwelling place, and has been through all generations. He is our city of hope or refuge, helper, provider, friend and He will deliver us from strong hold of Satan.
This prayer of praise and thanksgiving was preserved from Moses’s time till the collection of psalms was put together, and divinely inspired. Moses taught the people of Israel to pray, and he put words into their mouths to be used use in their turning to the Lord.
Moses was called the man of God, because he was a prophet, the father of prophets, and an eminent type of the greatest prophet that ever lived, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Moses taught them to praise God in the morning when the sun was coming up and in the evening when the sun was lowered. He taught them to number their days, that they may apply their hearts unto wisdom.
Then Moses taught the people s
aying, “O satisfy us early with thy mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.”
Moses ended the Psalm by stating, “And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us; and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish it.”
I would challenge you tonight to begin to praise God in the little things and see if He will not open the windows of Heaven and pour you out blessings that your heart cannot contain.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name.”“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hill, from whence cometh my help. My help comes from the Lord which made heaven and earth.” Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwells in the heavens.” “They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion which cannot be removed, but abides forever.”
