Our car speeds through a hazy forest in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains. The smog is dense, but the sun breaks through the trees the higher up we go. Suddenly, our bodies jerk forward as our driver slams on his breaks. The dusty road forms a cloud around our windows, and our driver shouts the Hindi word for elephant – “Hathi! Hathi! Hathi!” Three massive wild elephants stand in the forest less than 50 yards from our car. We had heard stories of villages that were obliterated by spooked elephants. So we don’t move. I hold my breath and my heart pounds in my chest. Yet, I can’t take my eyes off them. Time seems to slow as we watch them wave their trunks and stomp their feet. After a few minutes, they turn away and walk deeper into the forest.

This personal experience helps me imagine what the sudden presence of God might be like. When we see God for who he really is – mighty, powerful, majestic – we will fear him. In Psalm 90, Moses helps us see the fearsomeness of God. We read that God is worthy of our fear because He is eternal, man is momentary, and we have sinned against God.

Moses begins this psalm by declaring that God is forever. In Psalm 90:2, we read “from eternity to eternity, you are God.” From eternity, God has always been. To eternity, God always will be. God is eternal in every way, which means that God is eternally just and eternally holy.

The foreverness of God is a fearful reality, especially in contrast to momentary man.^[1] Psalm 90:3-6 compares mankind to dust, a single day, and grass. Each of these contrast with God’s nature. Mankind returns to dust, but God remains forever. Mankind is restricted by time, but God is above the constraints of night and day. Mankind grows and withers like grass, but God always is.

Man is momentary because we told the One who rules forever that He has no authority over our lives (Genesis 3:22). God is perfectly eternal and holy, and we sin against Him. We all stand before this eternal God with everything exposed. He knows every sin. These sins are what warrant God’s wrath. So Moses says, “Who understands the power of your anger? Your wrath matches the fear that is due you” (Psalm 90:11).

What does it look like to have righteous fear?

First, fear of God causes us to “number our days” (Psalm 90:12). Our days are limited and our lives “end like a sigh” (verse 9). Numbering our days means that we recognize the brief nature of our life, and in turn, acknowledge that one day we will stand before the eternal God. We confess that even the “secret sins” (verse 8) of our finite lives are infinite acts of treason against God’s eternal holiness. This causes us to plead for God’s compassion: God, would you turn and look at us? Would you give us your faithful love? Would you give us joy? Would you see our work? (Psalm 90:13-16)

God hears our pleas for mercy and says “yes” in Jesus.

Second, fearing God means that we must place our trust in Jesus to have communion with God. If we do not fear God, we will endure his wrath forever in hell. If we humble ourselves before God and trust Jesus, we will receive salvation; for Jesus was trampled by the wrath of God on our behalf. Now the resurrected Jesus brings us into God’s presence instead of outside of it. When we fear God in Christ we find security and refuge there. We do not receive wrath. We find our dwelling place (Psalm 90:1).

The fearsome God becomes our friend through Jesus’ blood.

And then, when our souls fly into eternity, we will hear the angels cry “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, who is, and who is to come” (Revelation 4:8). Our fearsome Lord will look toward us, knowing full well how we broke his heart. He will have every right to obliterate us. But Jesus will intercede, plead his blood, and welcome us home.