“Before the Mountains”

“YOU have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” (Psalm 90:1, 2, New International Version) Those words were addressed to our Creator, and how comforting they are​—especially today, when nothing seems stable!

In a deteriorating economic situation, few feel confident about the future. An alarming increase in crime and drug abuse has changed some cities into war zones. Even that age-old institution, the family, is tottering. We hear of such novelties as homosexual families. Single-parent families are growing in number, with the one parent often having to cope with great stress. The peace of many families is shattered by such abominations as spouse beating and child abuse.

Who will guide us through these difficult times? Well, there is no lack of advice from psychologists, educators, and others, but much of it is contradictory. For a whole generation in the West, Dr. Benjamin Spock was the foremost adviser in the matter of educating children. Then he admitted that his advice had been mistaken!

How much wiser to have God as our “dwelling place”! In these turbulent times, he is a rock of stability, existing “from everlasting to everlasting.” He said of himself through the prophet Malachi: “I am Jehovah; I have not changed.” (Malachi 3:6) God’s standards, as recorded in the Bible, are completely reliable. He existed “before the mountains,” and his counsel, accessible in the Holy Scriptures, is based on his eternal wisdom. It is exactly what we need for happiness and success.

It is wise, then, to have confidence in God’s Word, the Bible. Study it to benefit from God’s wisdom. Trust what you learn, and let it be a light to guide you down the pathway of life. (Psalm 119:105) Only those who do so have reason to be confident in the future and have genuine peace of mind.