Psalms 90

Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!”

For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.

You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning:

in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.

For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed.

You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.

For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh.

The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.

Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you?

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants!

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil.

Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!

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Psalms 90

Psalm 90 is a meditation establishing theology of human mortality contrasted with God's eternal nature at Book IV's beginning, exemplifying the theological concerns of Book 3. The psalmist employs vivid imagery and direct address to God, establishing the intimate dialogue between worshiper and the divine that characterizes the psalmic tradition. The theological assertions center on God's character as both judge and redeemer, creating a comprehensive vision of divine justice and mercy integrated with human experience. The psalm reflects on both personal circumstance and communal identity, suggesting that individual faith finds validation through shared experience with the covenant community. The liturgical context indicates this psalm's function in worship where personal piety integrates with communal celebration of God's acts and attributes. The concluding movement typically affirms confidence in God's faithfulness, exemplifying the psalmic pattern of transformation through prayer and remembrance of divine acts throughout history.

Psalms 90:1

Psalm 90, attributed to Moses, opens with an affirmation of God's eternal nature: "Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations." The characterization of God as dwelling place—a place of refuge and habitation—establishes the intimate security of the covenant relationship. The span "in all generations" emphasizes the continuity of divine shelter across time.

Psalms 90:2

God's eternality is contrasted with creation: "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God." The cosmic perspective establishes that God's existence precedes and transcends all creation. The repetition of temporal infinity (everlasting to everlasting) emphasizes the incomparable span of God's being.

Psalms 90:3

Human mortality is introduced: "You turn mortals back to dust, and say, 'Turn back, children of Adam.'" The divine decree transforms humans back to their material origin (dust). The address "children of Adam" invokes humanity's common ancestor and suggests the universality of the mortality decree.

Psalms 90:4

The divine perspective on time: "For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night." The compression of a millennium into a single day or night watch establishes the vast difference between divine and human temporal experience. What seems long to mortals is instantaneous from God's perspective.

Psalms 90:5

The swiftness of human life: "You sweep them away; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning." The metaphor of grass—growing in morning light and withered by evening—becomes the paradigm for human brevity. Life is transient like a dream.

Psalms 90:6

The day's cycle mirrors mortality: "in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers." The daily cycle of grass growth and death becomes a microcosm of human life. The repetition emphasizes the inevitability of decline.

Psalms 90

Psalms 90:7

Psalms 90:8

Psalms 90:9

Psalms 90:10

Psalms 90:11

Psalms 90:12

Psalms 90:13

Psalms 90:14

Psalms 90:15

Psalms 90:16

Psalms 90:17