“Steadfast and solid”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Saturday, June 18, 2022
Psalm 90 (Forward, p. 51) CEV p. 611
We like to think of the mountains as being steadfast, solid and immovable, but even they are subject to change and decay. The once solid and massive Laurentian Mountains have now eroded down to a mere vestige of their former glory. The incredibly large Lewis Overthrust resulted in the ‘migration’ of a great wedge of rock to an eventual destination many miles to the east, and the overlying rocks of Yamnuska Mountain near Banff did the same thing, albeit on a much smaller scale. And even today, according to geologists our Rocky Mountains are still rising, though only at something akin to a snail’s pace—if that!
So, it is rather comforting to recognize that God is immovable, steadfast, solid and eternal. Our lives are fleeting and transitory, almost like a breath or a dream in the night, but God has always been there, and will continue to do so. These two facts, God’s eternity and our lack thereof, prompt our psalmist to suggest two things:
a) Firstly, to trust in God, delight in Him and turn to Him to satisfy us and meet our needs, because, after all, He can be counted on.
b) And secondly, to value and appreciate our short stay on earth and then to use what little time we have wisely.
So, basically, this psalm is a reminder of who God is and who we are and should then prompt us to surrender ourselves afresh to His loving and steadfast care. Amen.
Forward notes: “Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to another” (verse 1).
“I recently read Robert Alter’s translation of the Hebrew Bible. I did so in a way I had never done before, namely, straight through, fairly quickly, and in the order used by our Jewish siblings in faith, which differs from the order Christians are familiar with after 2 Kings.
“I recommend reading it this way at least once. Doing so illuminates the great narrative, across thousands of years, of God’s relationship with humanity, and particularly Israel. It begins with the creation of the cosmos and a face-to-face relationship with God and concludes by looking forward to the end of the Babylonian exile and the construction of the Second Temple, where the Jewish people can resume worship according to the way of their ancestors.
“For me, reading the text this way offered a new depth of meaning to the genealogy that opens Matthew’s Gospel. In the past, I’ve skimmed those verses. But now, I see them as signifying the continuity of Christ’s ministry with everything that had come before, the testimony of God’s faithfulness from one generation to the next.”
Moving Forward: “Read the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew.“