Psalm 90
1Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
2Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3You turn men back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, O sons of men.”
4For a thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
(Psalm 90:1-4, NLT)
The Daily DAVEotional
A.W. Tozer is famously quoted as saying, “what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
What do you think about when you think about God? What do you think God is like? How would you describe Him? What are some of his attributes?
How we think about God is extremely important. In fact, the second of the ten commandments says that we are not to fashion an idol in the form of an animal and worship it (see Exodus 20). This is because God is not an animal. Since God created all the animals, God is GREATER than any animal. Hence, it is demeaning to think of God as an animal – something that he actually created.
So what is God like?
The psalmist paints a partial picture of God with some incredible attributes, including the following:
-
- “Before the creation of the world, you are God”. In other words, God existed before the world did, which means that He is distinct from His creation.
- “For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by.” What this means is that God is not subject to the same laws of time as we are. God is outside of time. Hence, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day.
The psalmist is accurately describing the eternal first cause.
Philosophers understand that when thinking about the origin of the universe, there must be an eternal first cause or else you run into the problem of infinite regression.
What is infinite regression?
Infinite regression is when you find yourself caught in an infinite series of questions and responses concerning the creation. For example, suppose a 5-year old asks, “where did I come from?”
You answer, “from your parents.” He follows up by asking, “but where did they come from?”
You reply, “from their parents.”
He replies to your reply with the same question, “but where did they come from?” And you reply each time with the same response, “from their parents.”
This chain of questions and responses regarding origins could go on forever – to infinity, UNLESS you arrive at a first cause that was itself eternal and uncaused.
For years, scientists and philosophers assumed that the universe itself was eternal, that it has ALWAYS existed. In that case, when one asks, “but where did the universe come from?” the answer is that it didn’t come from anyone or anywhere. It has always existed. It has always been there. Since it has always existed, we do not need to answer the question, “where did it come from?”
The problem is that we now know scientifically that the universe is NOT eternal. We know that it had a beginning. In fact, the Big Bang states that all matter, energy, space AND TIME came into existence at a point about 13.7 billion years ago. This demonstrates that the universe itself is NOT eternal.
So we are back to the question, “where did the universe come from?”
According to the psalmist, the universe came from God, who existed BEFORE the universe was created and BEFORE the concept of time. Hence, two major attributes of God are that 1) He is outside of space (creation) and 2) He is outside of time.
There is much more that could be said about God and his attributes but these two characteristics of God are foundational to understanding who He is. If he is outside of creation (space) and outside of time, then God must be eternally self-existent and He must be infinitely greater than any of us can even imagine. This is why any attempt to depict him in a way that is finite, such as a created animal, is demeaning to God. It is an offense to His very nature.
Reflection
What is your concept of God? What words and phrases would you use to describe Him?
Tozer says that what we think about God is the most important thing about us. Do you agree? Why or why not?
What reasons would you give someone when explaining why it is wrong to worship a created image?
The Big Bang states that the universe came into existence about 13.7 billion years ago. How does this scientific fact provide evidence for God’s existence?
Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash
The Lowedown 
One Reply to “”