TRV
Study This Verse
Public-domain commentary
Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry comments on passages, not single verses — this entry covers Psalms 90:12–17. His two-level outline is real structure in the source text, so it is rendered as structure.
These are the petitions of this prayer, grounded upon the foregoing meditations and acknowledgments. Is any afflicted? Let him learn thus to pray. Four things they are here directed to pray for: -
I.For a sanctified use of the sad dispensation they were now under.
Being condemned to have our days shortened, "Lord, teach us to number our days (Psa 90:12); Lord, give us grace duly to consider how few they are, and how little a while we have to live in this world." Note,
1.It is an excellent art rightly to number our days, so as not to be out in our calculation, as he was who counted upon many years to come when, that night, his soul was required of him. We must live under a constant apprehension of the shortness and uncertainty of life and the near approach of death and eternity. We must so number our days as to compare our work with them, and mind it accordingly with a double diligence, as those that have no time to trifle.
2.Those that would learn this arithmetic must pray for divine instruction, must go to God, and beg of him to teach them by his Spirit, to put them upon considering and to give them a good understanding.
3.We then number our days to good purpose when thereby our hearts are inclined and engaged to true wisdom, that is, to the practice of serious godliness. To be religious is to be wise; this is a thing to which it is necessary that we apply our hearts, and the matter requires and deserves a close application, to which frequent thoughts of the uncertainty of our continuance here, and the certainty of our removal hence, will very much contribute.
II.For the turning away of God's anger from them, that though the decree had gone forth, and was past revocation, there was no remedy, but they must die in the wilderness: "Yet return, O Lord! be thou reconciled to us, and let it repent thee concerning thy servants (Psa 90:13); send us tidings of peace to comfort us again after these heavy tidings. How long must we look upon ourselves as under thy wrath, and when shall we have some token given us of our restoration to thy favour? We are thy servants, thy people (Isa 64:9); when wilt thou change thy way toward us?" In answer to this prayer, and upon their profession of repentance (Num 14:39, Num 14:40), God, in the next chapter, proceeding with the laws concerning sacrifices (Num 15:1, etc.), which was a token that it repented him concerning his servants; for, if the Lord had been pleased to kill them, he would not have shown them such things as these.
III.For comfort and joy in the returns of God's favour to them, Psa 90:14, Psa 90:15.
They pray for the mercy of God; for they pretend not to plead any merit of their own. Have mercy upon us, O God! is a prayer we are all concerned to say Amen to. Let us pray for early mercy, the seasonable communications of divine mercy, that God's tender mercies may speedily prevent us, early in the morning of our days, when we are young and flourishing, Psa 90:6. Let us pray for the true satisfaction and happiness which are to be had only in the favour and mercy of God, Psa 4:6, Psa 4:7. A gracious soul, if it may but be satisfied of God's lovingkindness, will be satisfied with it, abundantly satisfied, will take up with that, and will take up with nothing short of it. Two things are pleaded to enforce this petition for God's mercy: - 1. That it would be a full fountain of future joys: "O satisfy us with thy mercy, not only that we may be easy and at rest within ourselves, which we can never be while we lie under thy wrath, but that we may rejoice and be glad, not only for a time, upon the first indications of thy favour, but all our days, though we are to spend them in the wilderness." With respect to those that make God their chief joy, as their joy may be full (Jo1 1:4), so it may be constant, even in this vale of tears; it is their own fault if they are not glad all their days, for his mercy will furnish them with joy in tribulation and nothing can separate them from it. 2. That it would be a sufficient balance to their former griefs: "Make us glad according to the days wherein thou has afflicted us; let the days of our joy in thy favour be as many as the days of our pain for thy displeasure have been and as pleasant as those have been gloomy. Lord, thou usest to set the one over-against the other (Ecc 7:14); do so in our case. Let it suffice that we have drunk so long of the cup of trembling; now put into our hands the cup of salvation." God's people reckon the returns of God's lovingkindness a sufficient recompence for all their troubles.
IV.For the progress of the work of God among them notwithstanding, Psa 90:16, Psa 90:17.
1. That he would manifest himself in carrying it on: "Let thy work appear upon thy servants; let it appear that thou hast wrought upon us, to bring us home to thyself and to fit us for thyself." God's servants cannot work for him unless he work upon them, and work in them both to will and to do; and then we may hope the operations of God's providence will be apparent for us when the operations of his grace are apparent upon us. "Let thy work appear, and in it thy glory will appear to us and those that shall come after us." In praying for God's grace God's glory must be our end; and we must therein have an eye to our children as well as to ourselves, that they also may experience God's glory appearing upon them, so as to change them into the same image, from glory to glory. Perhaps, in this prayer, they distinguish between themselves and their children, for so God distinguished in his late message to them (Num 14:31, Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness, but your little ones I will bring into Canaan): "Lord," say they, "let thy work appear upon us, to reform us, and bring us to a better temper, and then let thy glory appear to our children, in performing the promise to them which we have forfeited the benefit of." 2. That he would countenance and strengthen them in carrying it on, in doing their part towards it. (1.) That he would smile upon them in it: Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us; let it appear that God favours us. Let us have God's ordinances kept up among us and the tokens of God's presence with his ordinances; so some. We may apply this petition both to our sanctification and to our consolation. Holiness is the beauty of the Lord our God; let that be upon us in all we say and do; let the grace of God in us, and the light of our good works, make our faces to shine (that is the comeliness God puts upon us, and those are comely indeed who are so beautified), and then let divine consolations put gladness into our hearts, and a lustre upon our countenances, and that also will be the beauty of the Lord upon us, as our God. (2.) That he would prosper them in it: Establish thou the work of our hands upon us. God's working upon us (Psa 90:16) does not discharge us from using our utmost endeavours in serving him and working out our salvation. But, when we have done all, we must wait upon God for the success, and beg of him to prosper our handy works, to give us to compass what we aim at for his glory. We are so unworthy of divine assistance, and yet so utterly insufficient to bring any thing to pass without it, that we have need to be earnest for it and to repeat the request: Yea, the work of our hands, establish thou it, and, in order to that, establish us in it.
Historical interpretation
Historical Reception
One surviving comment on this verse from the historical church.
And as when they became so well known, as to despise these things, and by setting their affections on things eternal, gave a testimony through their sufferings (whence they are called witnesses or martyrs in the Greek), they endured for a long while many bitter temporal afflictions. This man of God gives heed to this, and the prophetic spirit under the name of Moses continues thus, "Return, O Lord, how long? And be softened concerning Your servants" [Psalm 90:13]. These are the words of those, who, enduring many evils in that persecuting age, become known because their hearts are bound in the chain of wisdom so firmly, that not even such hardships can induce them to fly from their Lord to the good things of this world. "How long will You hide Your face from me, O Lord?" occurs in another Psalm, in unison with this sentence, "Return, O Lord, how long?" And that they who, in a most carnal spirit, ascribe to God the form of a human body, may know that the "turning away" and "turning again" of His countenance is not like those motions of our own frame, let them recollect these words from above in the same Psalm, "You have set our misdeeds before You, and our secret sins in the light of Your countenance." How then does he say in this passage, "Return," that God may be favourable, as if He had turned away His face in anger; when as in the former he speaks of God's anger in such a manner, as to insinuate that He had not turned away His countenance from the misdeeds and the course of life of those He was angry with, but rather had set them before Him, and in the light of His countenance? The word, "How long," belongs to righteousness beseeching, not indignant impatience. "Be softened," some have rendered by a verb, "soften." But "be softened" avoids an ambiguity; since to soften is a common verb: for he may be said to soften who pours out prayers, and he to whom they are poured out: for we say, I soften you, and I soften toward you.
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Summary
Psalms 90:13 presents a profound and urgent lament, a direct plea from humanity to the eternal God. It expresses a deep longing for His renewed presence and compassionate intervention, emerging from a sobering meditation on the brevity and frailty of human life, often experienced under the shadow of divine displeasure due to sin. This verse pivots from a recognition of human mortality and divine judgment to a heartfelt supplication for God to "return" and show mercy to His servants, signifying a desperate yearning for an end to suffering and a restoration of divine favor and intimate fellowship.
Context
Literary Context
This verse is deeply embedded within Psalm 90, a unique and ancient psalm traditionally attributed to Moses. The psalm opens with a majestic declaration of God's eternal nature as humanity's dwelling place, contrasting His everlastingness with the fleeting, transient nature of human life, which is likened to a dream or grass that withers (as seen in Psalm 90:1-6). The preceding verses, particularly Psalm 90:7-11, lament that human days are consumed by God's anger and wrath due to sin, culminating in a lifespan of seventy or eighty years, full of toil and trouble. Psalm 90:12 serves as a crucial bridge, a prayer for wisdom to "number our days" so that hearts may be applied to understanding. Against this backdrop of human fragility, divine judgment, and a plea for wisdom, verse 13 emerges as a desperate cry for God to turn from His perceived wrath and return to His people with compassion and restoration.
Historical & Cultural Context
Attributed to Moses, Psalm 90 is considered one of the oldest psalms, potentially reflecting the wilderness generation's experience of divine judgment and the brevity of life during their forty years of wandering. This period was marked by God's manifest presence (the tabernacle, the pillar of cloud and fire) but also by His severe discipline due to Israel's rebellion and lack of faith. The "how long?" cry resonates profoundly with the prolonged suffering and waiting experienced by a people under covenant, who understood God's justice but also yearned for His covenantal faithfulness and mercy. The concept of God "repenting" (Hebrew: nacham) is an anthropomorphism common in the Old Testament, not implying a change in God's character or eternal plan, but rather a change in His action or disposition towards humanity in response to their repentance or cry for mercy, often seen in the context of the covenant relationship where He relents from an announced judgment or a course of severity.
Key Themes
Psalm 90:13 encapsulates several profound themes central to the psalm and broader biblical theology. Firstly, it is a quintessential lament and supplication, a direct and bold cry to God from a position of perceived distance or suffering, echoing similar cries throughout the Psalms (e.g., Psalm 13:1). Secondly, it highlights the theme of divine compassion and relenting, appealing to God's merciful nature to turn from judgment and restore favor to His "servants" – His covenant people. This underscores the relational aspect of God, who responds dynamically to the heartfelt prayers of His people. Thirdly, it expresses a profound hope for restoration despite the preceding somber reflections on human mortality and divine wrath. Even in the face of human frailty and sin, the psalm holds out the possibility of God's renewed presence, joy, and blessing, demonstrating a resilient faith in God's ultimate goodness and faithfulness to His covenant.
Exposition and Analysis
Key Word Analysis
A primitive root meaning "to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively." In this context, it is an urgent plea for God to turn His attention, favor, and active presence back to His people. It implies a perceived absence or withdrawal of God's favorable disposition, and the desire for Him to reverse His course of action (e.g., judgment or distance) and return to a state of blessing and intimate fellowship. It is a deeply personal and relational appeal, acknowledging God's sovereignty over His actions.
Referring to "the self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God." This is the covenant name of God, emphasizing His eternal, unchanging, and self-existent nature. By addressing God as "LORD," the psalmist appeals to His covenant faithfulness and His inherent power as the sovereign Creator and Sustainer, reinforcing the hope that He will indeed respond to the plea of His people.
A primitive root meaning "to sigh, i.e. breathe strongly; by implication, to be sorry, i.e. (in a favorable sense) to pity, console or (reflexively) rue." When applied to God, this word does not imply regret over a mistake or a change in His immutable character, but rather a change in His disposition or action in response to human circumstances, prayer, or repentance. It often carries the nuance of compassion, comfort, or relenting from an announced judgment or a course of severity. Here, it is a desperate appeal for God to "change His mind" concerning the suffering of His servants, to move from a posture of discipline or distance to one of mercy and restoration, driven by His inherent compassion.
Verse Breakdown
"Return, O LORD, how long?"
This opening phrase is a classic expression of lament and urgent supplication. The imperative "Return" (שׁוּב, shûwb) is a direct and bold appeal to God, imploring Him to turn back to His people, to re-engage with them in a way that brings relief and blessing. The rhetorical question "how long?" expresses deep anguish, impatience, and a sense of prolonged suffering or perceived divine delay. It is a cry of desperation, questioning the duration of God's perceived absence or the continuation of hardship, yet simultaneously affirming faith that God can and will eventually act. It is a plea for God to resume His active, favorable presence among His people.
"and let it repent thee concerning thy servants."
This clause continues the plea for divine intervention, using anthropomorphic language. The phrase "let it repent thee" (וְהִנָּחֵם, v'hinnachem) implores God to change His disposition or actions towards His people. It is not an accusation that God has erred, but a humble and fervent request for Him to relent from any perceived judgment or distance and to show compassion. The term "thy servants" (עֲבָדֶיךָ, ʻebed) identifies the petitioners as those in covenant relationship with God, appealing to His faithfulness and mercy towards His chosen ones, who are experiencing hardship and longing for His restorative favor. It is a plea for God to turn His heart of compassion towards those who serve Him.
Literary Devices
Psalm 90:13 masterfully employs several literary devices to convey its poignant message. The most prominent is Anthropomorphism, seen in the phrase "let it repent thee." This attributes human emotions or actions (repenting, changing one's mind) to God, making His character and responsiveness more relatable and comprehensible to the human mind, without compromising His divine immutability. The verse also features a powerful Rhetorical Question in "how long?", which is not meant to elicit an answer but to express the depth of the psalmist's anguish, impatience, and fervent desire for God's immediate intervention. This question is a hallmark of Lament literature, a genre prevalent in the Psalms where the worshiper expresses suffering and appeals to God for deliverance. The entire verse functions as a direct Supplication, a humble and earnest prayer for divine mercy and restoration, underscoring the intimate yet desperate relationship between God and His suffering people. The use of the imperative "Return" further emphasizes the urgency and directness of the plea.
Theological and Thematic Connections
Psalm 90:13 stands as a powerful testament to the human experience of suffering and the persistent, hopeful cry for divine intervention. It underscores the biblical truth that while God is sovereign and just, He is also deeply compassionate and responsive to the cries of His people. The lament "how long?" reveals a tension between God's eternal nature and humanity's temporal suffering, yet it is rooted in the conviction that God hears and cares. The plea for God to "repent" (change His disposition or action) highlights His relational character, demonstrating that He is not a distant, unfeeling deity but one who interacts dynamically with His creation, capable of relenting from judgment in response to humility and prayer. This verse reminds us that even when we feel the weight of divine discipline or the brevity of life, our ultimate hope lies in God's unfailing mercy and His willingness to turn towards His "servants" with favor and restoration. It is a profound expression of dependent faith in the face of adversity.
Reflection and Application
Psalm 90:13 offers profound comfort and guidance for believers navigating periods of hardship, perceived divine silence, or the harsh realities of human mortality. It validates the authenticity of expressing deep lament and honest questions to God, even "how long?", recognizing that such prayers are not a sign of weakness but of profound faith in His ultimate willingness to hear and respond. This verse encourages us to persist in prayer, to bring our raw emotions and desperate needs before the Lord, confident that His compassion is greater than our suffering. It reminds us that even when we experience the consequences of sin or the brevity of life, we can appeal to God's inherent mercy, trusting that He is a God who "relents from sending calamity" when His people humble themselves and seek Him. Our hope for relief, restoration, and renewed joy ultimately rests in His sovereign and compassionate intervention, prompting us to continually seek His face and pray for His return to our circumstances, bringing His tangible presence and favor. This psalm calls us to a posture of humble dependence and persistent hope in God's character.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does God actually "repent" or change His mind in the way humans do?
No, the anthropomorphic language of "let it repent thee" (Hebrew: nacham) when applied to God does not mean He experiences regret or changes His essential character, which is immutable and perfect. Instead, it signifies a change in God's action or disposition towards humanity in response to their prayers, repentance, or the unfolding of circumstances. For example, God might announce a judgment, but if His people humble themselves and turn to Him, He may "relent" from that judgment, demonstrating His compassion and mercy (e.g., Jonah 3:10). It highlights God's relational nature, His responsiveness to His covenant people, and His freedom to act mercifully according to His perfect will, always consistent with His righteous character.
Why does the psalmist ask "how long?" if God is eternal and sovereign?
The question "how long?" (Hebrew: ad matai?) is a common and deeply human expression of lament found throughout the Psalms (e.g., Psalm 13:1). It reflects the psalmist's anguish, impatience, and sense of prolonged suffering or perceived divine absence. It's not a challenge to God's sovereignty but an honest, desperate cry from a place of pain, acknowledging God's power to intervene while pleading for the swiftness of that intervention. It demonstrates a profound trust that God will eventually act, even as the present moment feels unbearable. It's a prayer born of faith, not doubt, expressing the tension between human suffering and divine timing, and an appeal to God's compassionate nature.
Christ-Centered Fulfillment
Psalm 90:13, a lament for God to "return" and show compassion, finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in Jesus Christ. The cry "how long?" echoes humanity's deep yearning for God's tangible presence and deliverance from the curse of sin and death, a longing perfectly answered in the Incarnation. God did not merely "return" in disposition; He fully entered into human flesh, taking on our mortality and suffering (as lamented in the earlier verses of Psalm 90) to redeem us. Jesus, the perfect "servant" of the Lord (as prophesied in Isaiah 42:1), experienced the full weight of human frailty and the consequences of sin, even crying out in His own agony on the cross, embodying the ultimate lament. Through His atoning sacrifice, God's "repentance" – His turning from wrath towards mercy for His people – was definitively accomplished, as Christ bore the wrath we deserved (see Romans 5:8-9). The New Covenant, inaugurated by Christ's blood, ensures that God's Spirit now indwells believers, guaranteeing His perpetual presence and compassion, fulfilling the desire for God to "return" and remain with His servants (see John 14:18 and Matthew 28:20). Furthermore, Christ, our great High Priest, continually intercedes for us before the Father, understanding our laments and weaknesses (as seen in Hebrews 4:15), ensuring that God's compassion is always extended to His adopted children through Him. The ultimate "return" and restoration of joy and favor are found in the new life offered through Christ, anticipating the final consummation when God will dwell fully with His people, and there will be no more sorrow or crying (as depicted in Revelation 21:3-4).