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\u201cLord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations\u201d (Psalm 90:1).

When I was younger, our family\u2019s New Year's Eve celebration would end with my dad reading Psalm 90 and leading us in prayer. I'm not sure why he read this psalm every year, but it might be rooted in his immigration from the Netherlands to Canada.

When I flew to Europe at 19, I fully expected to fly home again. When my dad flew to Canada at age 19, he believed he would never fly back, nor would he ever again see the people he was leaving behind. In those days, it was a one-way ticket for life.

It is easy for me to imagine that Psalm 90 was a source of comfort to him as he made his home in Canada. He had left everything familiar behind, but God went with him.

This Psalm has often been important to Christians in times of transitions. Like Psalm 23, it is frequently read at funerals. Yet, it is beneficial to reflect on these verses outside that setting. Its theme is simple: God is our home. He is a refuge more secure and lasting than any structure or community we have on this earth.

We find security in lots of things: work, family, church, routine, retirement savings, etc. We are allowed to enjoy the blessings of all these things, but they do not bring the security God does. Thus, Jesus teaches us to pray, 'Our Father'. Those opening prayer words are anchored in this psalm.

It speaks about the brevity of human life. All things considered, our time on this earth is rather short. Some days it may feel like a long time; but considering this globe's history, our time is like no time at all. Further, as strong as we might think we are, we are easily snuffed out.

These reflections come out of deep humility and foreshadow the prayer, "give us this day our daily bread".

The opening words may cause us to think we have a right to expect God's protection. But those thoughts are quickly repudiated. Our sin against God arouses his anger. He is our good refuge, but He is not safe. It is very unwise to imagine that we have a right to God's protection or grace.

We are inclined to minimize our sin and rebellion against him. Comparing ourselves to others, we pretend we are not so bad; God must like us more than them. But the psalmist will have none of that. Such presumption is deadly and so we pray "forgive us our sins."

It speaks about God's compassion. The psalmist recognizes the mercy of God. We have no right to presume on God's compassion and protection, yet God gives it to us. This song appeals to God's character. We can expect mercy because God is merciful.

We look at ourselves, find ourselves unworthy and assume God will not want anything to do with us. But that is faulty logic, says the Israelite poet. God is our security because he is God, not because we have earned it.

It speaks about God establishing our work. Again, we may think we are quite something. We may think highly of our strength or intellect or intuition or persuasive ability, but unless God blesses our labours, everything we build is like a house of cards that the tiniest breath of wind can destroy.

Psalm 90 puts us in our place. We are not much. But it is a good place because it puts us in the arms of our God. It puts us in the place where we pray "yours is the Kingdom, the glory, and the power forever." We want our work and our lives to be for his glory and kingdom, not our own.