English · KJV

Psalms 90

Listen to this chapter
0:00 0:00

God, Our Eternal Refuge 1–2

1
A Prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. ​
2
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. ​

The Brevity of Human Life 3–6

3
Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men. ​
4
For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. ​
5
Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.
6
In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.

Mortality as a Consequence of Sin 7–11

7
For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled. ​
8
Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. ​
9
For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. ​
10
The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. ​
11
Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.

A Prayer for Wisdom and Mercy 12–17

12
So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. ​
13
Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants. ​
14
O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15
Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. ​
16
Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. ​
17
And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 90

Verse 1

our dwelling place — Ma'on, an abode or home. The heading calls Moses 'the man of God', as does Deut 33:1, introducing his blessing, in which he says: 'The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms' (Deut 33:27). The LORD was home to Israel in 'all generations', including the years of pilgrimage and bondage.

Verse 2

from everlasting to everlasting — 'Formed' is chul, to writhe in birth pangs: earth and mountains are pictured as born, while God has no beginning. Olam ('everlasting') runs both directions. The same timelessness is stated in Ps 102:27, 'thy years shall have no end', and Heb 13:8.

Verse 3

Thou turnest man to destruction — Dakka is something crushed, dust. The command 'Return' (shub) echoes the sentence of Gen 3:19, 'for dust thou art'. 'Children of men' (adam) names all mankind, so death is God's word, not chance. The same verb shub becomes the plea of v.13.

Verse 4

a watch in the night — Ashmurah, a night watch, one of the divisions of the night (cf. Ex 14:24, 'the morning watch'). A thousand years is 'but as yesterday when it is past'. Peter turns the comparison round: 'one day is with the Lord as a thousand years' (2 Pet 3:8).

Verse 7

consumed by thine anger — Kalah, to bring to an end; 'troubled' is bahal, to be suddenly alarmed. Death is traced to God's wrath, not mere nature. The wilderness generation said, 'Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish' (Num 17:12); Heb 3:17 recalls those 'whose carcases fell in the wilderness'.

Verse 8

our secret sins in the light of thy countenance — Alam means concealed, hidden from sight. Sins thought covered are set in the light of God's face, as 'Thou hast set our iniquities before thee'. Hence the prayer of Ps 19:12, 'cleanse thou me from secret faults', and Heb 4:13.

Verse 9

as a tale that is told — Hegeh is a murmur or sigh, a breath of sound rather than a story. Life passes 'in thy wrath' (ebrah, an outburst of anger). Ps 78:33 gives the same judgment on Israel: 'their days did he consume in vanity, and their years in trouble'.

Verse 10

threescore years and ten — Seventy, or eighty 'by reason of strength'. Moses himself 'was an hundred and twenty years old when he died' (Deut 34:7), so the psalm states the common span. 'Labour' is amal, toil; 'sorrow' is aven, trouble; 'we fly away' uses uph, to fly.

Verse 12

number our days — Manah, to count out or appoint; the days are reckoned as a limited sum. 'Apply' is literally to bring in (bo): the heart is brought into wisdom. Compare Ps 39:4, 'make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days', and Eph 5:16, 'Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.'

Verse 13

Return, O LORD, how long? — The same verb shub as in v.3: man is told to return to dust, and now the LORD is asked to return. 'Repent' is nacham, to relent, as in Ps 135:14, 'he will repent himself concerning his servants'; the plea rests on their being 'thy servants' (ebed).

Verse 15

Make us glad according to the days — The petition measures joy against affliction: 'days' and 'years' of being afflicted (anah, to humble) are answered by gladness (samach, the verb of v.14). Ps 30:5 states the pattern: 'weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.'

Verse 16

Let thy work appear — Poal is the LORD's deed; 'glory' is hadar, majesty or splendour. The request reaches 'their children', so the deliverance is to be handed on. Ps 44:1 recalls the pattern: 'our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days'.

Verse 17

the beauty of the LORD our God — Noam, pleasantness or delight, here the LORD's favour resting on his people. 'The work of our hands' is asked to be 'established' (kun, to make firm) twice. Isa 26:12 gives the ground: 'thou also hast wrought all our works in us.'