Chapter 90
Themes, discussion questions, Christ connections, and denomination lenses.
Just read this chapter →Scripture
KJV1Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
2Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
3Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.
4For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
5Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.
6In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.
7For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.
8Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
9For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.
10The 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.
11Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.
12So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
13Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.
14O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.
16Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.
17And 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.
“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
Overview
Psalm 90 is a prayer of Moses — the oldest psalm in the collection — contrasting God's eternity with the brevity of human life. Before the mountains were brought forth or the earth was formed, God existed from everlasting to everlasting. Human life, by contrast, is like grass that grows up in the morning and is cut down by evening. Our years are threescore and ten, or by reason of strength fourscore, yet they are soon cut off and we fly away. Moses asks God to teach us to number our days and to establish the work of our hands. He pleads for God's mercy in the morning and the beauty of the Lord upon His people.
Key Themes
God's Eternity and Human Frailty
The psalm places God's timeless existence alongside the brief, fragile span of human life, creating a profound sense of perspective and humility.
The Weight of God's Wrath Against Sin
Human suffering and mortality are linked to God's anger against sin — our secret sins are set in the light of His countenance.
Numbering Our Days in Wisdom
The prayer to 'number our days' is a plea for the wisdom to live with an awareness of life's brevity, investing each day in what truly matters.
Study Questions
What does it mean that God has been our 'dwelling place in all generations' (v. 1)?
How should the comparison of human life to grass (vv. 5-6) shape our priorities?
What does Moses mean by 'Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom' (v. 12)?
How does the prayer for God to 'establish the work of our hands' (v. 17) express hope in the midst of frailty?
Why does Moses connect human mortality specifically to God's anger against sin (vv. 7-11)?
Connection to Christ
Christ is the eternal God who entered human frailty — the one who existed before the mountains yet became a man whose days were numbered. He numbered His days perfectly, living each one in the Father's will. Through His death and resurrection, He has given believers eternal life, overcoming the curse of mortality that Moses mourned. He is the beauty of the Lord established upon His people.
Personal Reflection
Take time to journal or meditate on what God is teaching you through Psalms 90. How can these truths transform your thinking and actions today?