TRV
Translation
King James Version
For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.
American Standard Version
For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: We bring our years to an end as a sigh.
World English Bible Messianic
For all our days have passed away in your wrath. We bring our years to an end as a sigh.
Geneva Bible (1599)
For all our dayes are past in thine anger: we haue spent our yeeres as a thought.
Young's Literal Translation
For all our days pined away in Thy wrath, We consumed our years as a meditation.
Study This Verse
Commentary on Psalms 90 verses 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.
Moses had, in the foregoing verses, lamented the frailty of human life in general; the children of men are as a sleep and as the grass. But here he teaches the people of Israel to confess before God that righteous sentence of death which they were under in a special manner, and which by their sins they had brought upon themselves. Their share in the common lot of mortality was not enough, but they are, and must live and die, under peculiar tokens of God's displeasure. Here they speak of themselves: We Israelites are consumed and troubled, and our days have passed away.
I. They are here taught to acknowledge the wrath of God to be the cause of all their miseries. We are consumed, we are troubled, and it is by thy anger, by thy wrath (Psa 90:7); our days have passed away in thy wrath, Psa 90:9. The afflictions of the saints often come purely from God's love, as Job's; but the rebukes of sinners, and of good men for their sins, must be seen coming from the anger of God, who takes notice of, and is much displeased with, the sins of Israel. We are too apt to look upon death as no more than a debt owing to nature; whereas it is not so; if the nature of man had continued in its primitive purity and rectitude, there would have been no such debt owing to it. It is a debt to the justice of God, a debt to the law. Sin entered into the world, and death by sin. Are we consumed by decays of nature, the infirmities of age, or any chronic disease? We must ascribe it to God's anger. Are we troubled by any sudden or surprising stroke? That also is the fruit of God's wrath, which is thus revealed from heaven against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.
II. They are taught to confess their sins, which had provoked the wrath of God against them (Psa 90:8): Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, even our secret sins. It was not without cause that God was angry with them. He had said, Provoke me not, and I will do you no hurt; but they had provoked him, and will own that, in passing this severe sentence upon them, he justly punished them, 1. For their open contempts of him and the daring affronts they had given him: Thou hast set our iniquities before thee. God had herein an eye to their unbelief and murmuring, their distrusting his power and their despising the pleasant land: these he set before them when he passed that sentence on them; these kindled the fire of God's wrath against them and kept good things from them. 2. For their more secret departures from him: "Thou hast set our secret sins (those which go no further than the heart, and which are at the bottom of all the overt acts) in the light of thy countenance; that is, thou hast discovered these, and brought these also to the account, and made us to see them, who before overlooked them." Secret sins are known to God and shall be reckoned for. Those who in heart return into Egypt, who set up idols in their heart, shall be dealt with as revolters or idolaters. See the folly of those who go about to cover their sins, for they cannot cover them.
III. They are taught to look upon themselves as dying and passing away, and not to think either of a long life or of a pleasant one; for the decree gone forth against them was irreversible (Psa 90:9): All our days are likely to be passed away in thy wrath, under the tokens of thy displeasure; and, though we are not quite deprived of the residue of our years, yet we are likely to spend them as a tale that is told. The thirty-eight years which, after this, they wore away in the wilderness, were not the subject of the sacred history; for little or nothing is recorded of that which happened to them from the second year to the fortieth. After they came out of Egypt their time was perfectly trifled away, and was not worthy to be the subject of a history, but only of a tale that is told; for it was only to pass away time, like telling stories, that they spent those years in the wilderness; all that while they were in the consuming, and another generation was in the raising. When they came out of Egypt there was not one feeble person among their tribes (Psa 105:37); but now they were feeble. Their joyful prospect of a prosperous glorious life in Canaan was turned into the melancholy prospect of a tedious inglorious death in the wilderness; so that their whole life was now as impertinent a thing as ever any winter-tale was. That is applicable to the state of every one of us in the wilderness of this world: We spend our years, we bring them to an end, each year, and all at last, as a tale that is told - as the breath of our mouth in winter (so some), which soon disappears - as a thought (so some), than which nothing more quick - as a word, which is soon spoken, and then vanishes into air - or as a tale that is told. The spending of our years is like the telling of a tale. A year, when it past, is like a tale when it is told. Some of our years are a pleasant story, others as a tragical one, most mixed, but all short and transient: that which was long in the doing may be told in a short time. Our years, when they are gone, can no more be recalled than the word that we have spoken can. The loss and waste of our time, which are our fault and folly, may be thus complained of: we should spend our years like the despatch of business, with care and industry; but, alas! we do spend them like the telling of a tale, idle, and to little purpose, carelessly, and without regard. Every year passed as a tale that is told; but what was the number of them? As they were vain, so they were few (Psa 90:10), seventy or eighty at most, which may be understood either, 1. Of the lives of the Israelites in the wilderness; all those that were numbered when they came out of Egypt, above twenty years old, were to die within thirty-eight years; they numbered those only that were able to go forth to war, most of whom, we may suppose, were between twenty and forty, who therefore must have all died before eighty years old, and many before sixty, and perhaps much sooner, which was far short of the years of the lives of their fathers. And those that lived to seventy or eighty, yet, being under a sentence of consumption and a melancholy despair of ever seeing through this wilderness-state, their strength, their life, was nothing but labour and sorrow, which otherwise would have been made a new life by the joys of Canaan. See what work sin made. Or, 2. Of the lives of men in general, ever since the days of Moses. Before the time of Moses it was usual for men to live about 100 years, or nearly 150; but, since, seventy or eighty is the common stint, which few exceed and multitudes never come near. We reckon those to have lived to the age of man, and to have had as large a share of life as they had reason to expect, who live to be seventy years old; and how short a time is that compared with eternity! Moses was the first that committed divine revelation to writing, which, before, had been transmitted by tradition; now also both the world and the church were pretty well peopled, and therefore there were not now the same reasons for men's living long that there had been. If, by reason of a strong constitution, some reach to eighty years, yet their strength then is what they have little joy of; it does but serve to prolong their misery, and make their death the more tedious; for even their strength then is labour and sorrow, much more their weakness; for the years have come which they have no pleasure in. Or it may be taken thus: Our years are seventy, and the years of some, by reason of strength, are eighty; but the breadth of our years (for so the latter word signifies, rather than strength), the whole extent of them, from infancy to old age, is but labour and sorrow. In the sweat of our face we must eat bread; our whole life is toilsome and troublesome; and perhaps, in the midst of the years we count upon, it is soon cut off, and we fly away, and do not live out half our days.
IV. They are taught by all this to stand in awe of the wrath of God (Psa 90:11): Who knows the power of thy anger? 1. None can perfectly comprehend it. The psalmist speaks as one afraid of God's anger, and amazed at the greatness of the power of it; who knows how far the power of God's anger can reach and how deeply it can wound? The angels that sinned knew experimentally the power of God's anger; damned sinners in hell know it; but which of us can fully comprehend or describe it? 2. Few do seriously consider it as they ought. Who knows it, so as to improve the knowledge of it? Those who make a mock at sin, and make light of Christ, surely do not know the power of God's anger. For, according to thy fear, so is thy wrath; God's wrath is equal to the apprehensions which the most thoughtful serious people have of it; let men have ever so great a dread upon them of the wrath of God, it is not greater than there is cause for and than the nature of the thing deserves. God has not in his word represented his wrath as more terrible than really it is; nay, what is felt in the other world is infinitely worse than what is feared in this world. Who among us can dwell with that devouring fire?
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 7–11. Public domain.
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Dionysius of AlexandriaAD 264
FRAGMENT 2
For in the most general sense it holds good that it is apparently not possible for any person to remain altogether without experience of ill. For, as one says, “the whole world lies in wickedness”; and again, “Most of the days of human life are labor and trouble.” But you will perhaps say, “What difference is there between being tempted, and falling or entering into temptation?” Well, if one is overcome by evil—and he will be overcome unless he struggles against it himself and unless God protects him with his shield—that person has entered into temptation, and is in it and is brought under it like one that is led captive. But if one withstands and endures, he is indeed tempted; but he has not entered into temptation or fallen into it. Thus Jesus was led up of the Spirit, not indeed to enter into temptation but to be tempted of the devil. And Abraham, again, did not enter into temptation, neither did God lead him into temptation, but he tried [tested] him; yet he did not drive him into temptation. The Lord, moreover, tested the disciples. Thus the wicked one, when he tempts us, draws us into the temptations, as dealing himself with the temptations of evil. But God, when he tests, presents the tests as one untempted by evil. For God, it is said, “cannot be tempted by evil.” The devil, therefore, drives us on by violence, drawing us to destruction; but God leads us by hand, training us for our salvation.
Athanasius of AlexandriaAD 373
Life of St. Anthony 16:3-8
Let everyone above all have this zeal in common so that having made a beginning they not hesitate or grow fainthearted in their labors or say, “We have spent a long time in ascetic discipline.” Instead, as though we were beginning anew each day, let each of us increase in fervor. For the entire lifetime of a human being is very brief when measured against the age to come; accordingly, all our time here is nothing compared with life eternal. Everything in the world is sold according to its value and things of equal value are exchanged, but the promise of eternal life is purchased for very little. For it is written, “The days of our life are seventy years or, if we are strong, perhaps eighty; more than this is pain and suffering.” When we persevere in ascetic discipline for all eighty or even one hundred years, we will not reign for the equivalent of those one hundred years. Instead of a hundred years, we will reign forever and ever. And although we are contested on earth, we will not receive our inheritance here; we have promises in heaven instead. Once more: when we lay aside this perishable body we receive it back imperishable. LIFE OF ST.
Palladius of GalatiaAD 420
LAUSIAC HISTORY 2:38
They say concerning Abba Apollo, who lived in Scete, that he was originally a rude and brutish herdsman, and that he [once] saw in the fields a woman who was with child and that, through the operation of the devil, he said, “I wish to know the condition of the child that is in the womb of this woman,” and that he ripped her open and saw the child in her belly; then straightway he repented, and he purged his heart, and having repented he went to Scete and revealed unto the fathers what he had done. And when he heard them singing the psalms and saying, “The days of our years are threescore years and ten, and with difficulty [we come] to fourscore years,” he said to the old men, “I am forty years old this day, and I have never prayed; and now, if I live for forty years more, I will never rest nor cease nor refrain from praying to God continually that he may forgive me my sins.” And from that time onwards he did even as he had said, for he never toiled with the work of his hands, but he was always supplicating God and saying, “I, O my Lord, like a man, have sinned, and do you, like God, forgive me”; and he prayed this prayer both by night and by day instead of reciting psalms. And a certain brother who used to dwell with him once heard him say in his prayer, now as he spoke he wept, and groaned from the bottom of his heart and sighed in grief of heart, “O my Lord, I have vexed you; have pity on me, and forgive me so that I may enjoy a little rest.” Then a voice came to him that said, “Your sins have been forgiven you, and also the murder of the woman; but the murder of the child is not yet forgiven you.” And one of the old men said, “The murder of the child also was forgiven to him, but God left him to work because this would prove beneficial to his soul.”
Augustine of HippoAD 430
Exposition on Psalm 90
"For all our days are failed, and in Your anger we have failed" [Psalm 90:9]. These words sufficiently prove that our subjection to death is a punishment. He speaks of our days failing, either because men fail in them from loving things that pass away, or because they are reduced to so small a number; which he asserts in the following lines: "our years are spent in thought like a spider."
Augustine of HippoAD 430
Enchiridion 10:33
And so the human race was held fast in a just condemnation, and all people were children of wrath—of that wrath of which it is written, "All our days are spent; and in your wrath we have fainted away. Our years shall be considered as a spider." Or as Job says of this same wrath, "Man, born of a woman, living for a short time, is full of wrath." And of this wrath the Lord Jesus also speaks: "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; he who does not believe in the Son does not have life, but the wrath of God rests on him." He does not say it "will come" but it "rests" upon him, for everyone is born with it. And that is why the apostle says, "We were by nature children of wrath even as the rest." Since people were lying under this wrath because of original sin—sin still more heavy and destructive in proportion as the sins added on it were great or numerous—there was the need for a mediator, that is, a reconciler, who would placate this wrath by the offering of one sacrifice, of which all the sacrifices under the law and the prophets were foreshadowings.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Psalm 90:9 profoundly articulates the solemn reality of human existence under divine judgment, portraying the brevity and fragility of life as days swiftly consumed by God's righteous wrath. Attributed to Moses, this verse encapsulates the somber experience of a generation whose time on earth was marked by divine displeasure, vanishing like a fleeting whisper or a story quickly told and instantly forgotten, thereby underscoring the severe consequences of rebellion and the transient nature of mortal life before an eternal God.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: Psalm 90 stands unique within the Psalter as the only psalm explicitly attributed to Moses, serving as a profound theological meditation that starkly contrasts God's eternal, unchangeable nature with the fleeting, fragile existence of humanity. Verse 9, "For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale [that is told]," is deeply embedded within a broader prayer that commences with an affirmation of God as an eternal dwelling place and refuge for His people across generations (Psalm 90:1-2). The psalm then transitions to the theme of human mortality, describing how God, in His sovereignty, turns humanity back to dust (Psalm 90:3) and how a thousand years are but a fleeting watch in the night to Him (Psalm 90:4). The immediate preceding verses, Psalm 90:7-8, directly link human suffering, fear, and death to God's burning anger and the exposure of hidden sins, powerfully setting the stage for verse 9's declaration that their days are consumed by this divine wrath. The psalm culminates in a fervent plea for God to teach His people to wisely number their days and to satisfy them with His steadfast love and favor (Psalm 90:12-17), illustrating a profound progression from lament and confession to a desperate hope for divine grace and lasting blessing.
Historical & Cultural Context: The explicit attribution of Psalm 90 to Moses strongly situates its historical backdrop within the forty-year period of Israel's wilderness wandering. This era was characterized by a cycle of rebellion, divine judgment, and subsequent intercession, culminating in the condemnation of an entire generation to die in the desert due to their unbelief and disobedience at Kadesh-Barnea (Numbers 14:29-35). Moses, as the leader and intercessor, bore witness to the continuous, pervasive reality of death as a direct manifestation of God's righteous judgment against a disobedient people. The "wrath" mentioned in the verse is not an arbitrary or capricious outburst but a just, holy, and covenantal response to repeated idolatry, murmuring, and outright rebellion against divine authority and the covenant stipulations. In ancient Israelite culture, the understanding of life and death was inextricably linked to covenant faithfulness: blessings, including long life, followed obedience, while curses, including premature death and suffering, followed disobedience. Thus, the experience of an entire generation's demise in the wilderness would have been profoundly understood as a clear, tangible demonstration of God's covenantal justice and holiness, making Moses' lament a deeply resonant reflection of his people's lived reality and the severe consequences of their sin.
Key Themes: This verse powerfully contributes to and encapsulates several overarching themes within Psalm 90 and the broader biblical narrative. Firstly, it vividly highlights the Brevity and Transience of Human Life, portraying human existence as fleeting, quickly passing, and easily forgotten, akin to a brief utterance or a story that is swiftly told and then vanishes. This theme resonates deeply with other biblical descriptions of life as a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes, or as a shadow that quickly passes away. Secondly, the stark phrase "passed away in thy wrath" underscores the profound theme of Divine Wrath and Judgment. This wrath is not an irrational human emotion but God's holy, just, and necessary response to human sin, rebellion, and unrighteousness, revealing His absolute righteousness and the severe consequences of disobedience. It serves as a potent reminder of humanity's accountability before a holy God, a concept woven throughout the Pentateuch, particularly in the narratives of the Exodus and wilderness wanderings. Lastly, the verse powerfully reinforces the profound Contrast between Human Frailty and God's Eternity. While human days are consumed by wrath and vanish like a whisper, God remains "from everlasting to everlasting" (Psalm 90:2), providing an essential theological backdrop against which the full weight of human mortality and the urgency of seeking divine favor are understood.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Psalm 90:9 employs several powerful literary devices to convey its somber and profound message regarding human mortality and divine judgment. The most prominent is Metaphor, where human life is powerfully compared to "a tale [that is told]." This vivid comparison illustrates the extreme brevity and insubstantiality of existence, suggesting that life is like a brief narrative, quickly recounted and then instantly forgotten, or a fleeting sound that quickly dissipates into silence. This metaphor profoundly emphasizes the ephemeral nature of humanity. Additionally, there is an element of Hyperbole in the phrase "all our days are passed away in thy wrath." While not every single moment of life is literally consumed by active divine wrath, the expression conveys the overwhelming, pervasive sense of divine judgment and its consequences that characterized the wilderness experience, making it feel as though their entire existence was overshadowed and defined by God's displeasure. Finally, the verse, in conjunction with the broader psalm, masterfully utilizes Contrast to highlight the vast, unbridgeable chasm between the eternal, unchanging nature of God and the transient, fragile, and finite existence of humanity. This stark juxtaposition amplifies the impact of human mortality and the weighty reality of divine judgment.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Psalm 90:9 serves as a stark theological declaration on the pervasive consequences of sin and the undeniable reality of divine judgment, powerfully illustrating the profound brevity of human life when it stands under the shadow of God's holy wrath. It underscores that human mortality is not merely a biological fact but is deeply intertwined with the fall of humanity and the just response of a righteous God to human rebellion. The verse compels a sobering recognition of humanity's inherent frailty, our accountability, and the solemn truth that our days are numbered, not just by the passage of time, but by the very holiness and justice of God. This understanding should not lead to despair but to a profound humility and an urgent call to seek wisdom, repentance, and reconciliation, prompting us to align our fleeting lives with the eternal purposes of our Creator, recognizing that a life lived apart from God's favor is ultimately a life consumed by the devastating consequences of sin.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Psalm 90:9 confronts us with the sobering truth of our mortality and the inescapable reality of divine judgment, challenging us to move beyond a superficial or complacent understanding of life. Recognizing that our days are profoundly fleeting and can be consumed by the consequences of sin should not paralyze us with fear, but rather awaken us to a profound sense of urgency, intentionality, and spiritual discernment. It compels us to critically evaluate how we are truly spending our precious, limited time on earth. Are we investing our days in eternal values, pursuing righteousness, cultivating deep relationships, and living in a manner that honors God and serves His kingdom, or are we squandering our brief existence on transient pursuits that will ultimately vanish like a forgotten tale? This verse serves as a powerful call to embrace the wisdom that Moses so fervently prays for later in the psalm: to "number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom" (Psalm 90:12). It is a profound call to repentance, to seek God's boundless mercy and transforming grace, and to live each moment with a deep awareness of His holiness and our accountability, ensuring that our brief existence leaves an eternal impact for His glory.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why is human life described as "a tale that is told" in this verse?
Answer: The phrase "as a tale [that is told]" translates the Hebrew word hegeh (H1899), which carries a range of meanings including a sigh, a whisper, a meditation, or a fleeting sound. In this context, it vividly portrays the extreme brevity and insubstantiality of human life from an eternal perspective. It suggests that our years pass so rapidly and are so quickly concluded that they are like a short story quickly recounted and then forgotten, or a mere breath that is uttered and then vanishes into thin air. This powerful metaphor emphasizes that, when viewed against the backdrop of God's everlasting nature, human existence is incredibly transient, easily overlooked, and swiftly concluded, underscoring the profound contrast between our fleeting lives and God's eternal being, a central theme throughout Psalm 90.
What does it mean for our days to be "passed away in thy wrath," and how does this apply to believers today?
Answer: For the generation Moses led, "passed away in thy wrath" directly referred to the forty years of wilderness wandering and the death of an entire generation as a direct result of God's righteous judgment against their persistent unbelief and rebellion (Numbers 14:29-35). It signifies that their lives were consumed, cut short, and overshadowed by the consequences of divine displeasure. For believers today, while we are no longer under the Old Covenant law or the specific judgment of the wilderness generation, the verse serves as a timeless and sobering reminder of the serious consequences of sin and God's unwavering holiness. It teaches us that apart from God's grace and redemptive intervention, human life is inherently subject to the just wrath of God due to our fallen nature and inherent sinfulness. It compels us to recognize our profound need for salvation and to live in repentance and faith, understanding that true life, peace, and lasting joy are found only when we are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, thereby escaping the wrath to come (Romans 5:9).
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Psalm 90:9, with its somber declaration of human days consumed by divine wrath and lives spent as a fleeting tale, finds its ultimate and glorious fulfillment in the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Humanity's inherent sinfulness and pervasive mortality, which naturally bring us under the just wrath of a holy God, are profoundly and perfectly addressed in Him. Christ, the eternal Son of God, willingly entered into our fleeting human existence, not to have His days passed away in wrath for His own sin, but to bear the full, crushing weight of God's righteous anger against our sin on our behalf. On the cross, Jesus became the ultimate atoning sacrifice, experiencing the divine wrath that we deserved, so that we might be reconciled to God, justified by His blood, and delivered from condemnation (Isaiah 53:5-6, Romans 5:8-9). Moreover, while our natural lives are but a "tale that is told," quickly fading into oblivion, Christ offers true and eternal life to all who believe in Him. His triumphant resurrection conquered death, transforming the fleeting tale of human mortality into a glorious promise of everlasting life and an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for us (John 11:25-26, 1 Peter 1:3-5). In Christ, our lives are no longer a fleeting sigh consumed by wrath, but an eternal story of grace, redemption, and unending communion with the God who is from everlasting to everlasting, and through whom we gain a lasting purpose and hope.