Psalm 90

The 150 psalms of the Book of Psalms are divided into five books, and Psalm 90 is the first psalm of Book IV (Psalms 90–106). Psalm 89, which closes Book III, ends with a lament over the apparent collapse of the Davidic dynasty. Psalm 90 follows with a celebration of God's eternity, attributed to Moses, a figure who lived long before the kings. It is the only psalm in the Psalter whose superscription bears the name of Moses.

Structure

• Verses 1–2 The Lord has been the dwelling place of his people in all generations. Before the mountains and the earth were formed, from everlasting to everlasting, he is God.
• Verses 3–6 The Lord turns human beings back to dust. In his sight a thousand years are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night. A watch was one of the several periods into which the night was divided. Human beings are carried away as with a flood; they are like a sleep, like grass that flourishes in the morning and in the evening is cut down and withers.
• Verses 7–11 People are consumed by the Lord's anger, and even their secret sins are set in the light of his countenance. The days of human life are seventy years, or eighty by reason of strength, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow, and they are soon gone.
• Verse 12 The psalmist asks God to teach his people to number their days so that they may gain a heart of wisdom.
• Verses 13–17 The psalmist pleads with the LORD to return and have compassion on his servants. He asks God to satisfy them each morning with his steadfast love (hesed) and to make them glad for as many days as they have been afflicted. Finally, he asks twice that God establish the work of their hands.

Key Verses

• Psalm 90:2 "even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God" — the psalm's starting point, declaring the eternity of God.
• Psalm 90:4 "For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past" — This verse is often cited together with 2 Peter 3:8, "one day is with the Lord as a thousand years."
• Psalm 90:12 "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom" — regarded as the central petition of the psalm.

People and Places

• Moses — introduced in the superscription as "the man of God." Deuteronomy 33:1 gives Moses the same title.
• No specific place is mentioned in the text.

Points for Reflection

• Superscription and authorship: Traditional Jewish and Christian interpretation, following the superscription, reads the psalm as a prayer of Moses. Accordingly, a widely known interpretation places it against the background of the generation that died in the wilderness, as recounted in Numbers 14. Some scholars, however, hold that the superscription was added later.
• Verse 4 and the New Testament: 2 Peter 3 uses a similar expression in addressing the perception that the Lord's return has been delayed. Some also cite verse 4 in discussions of the length of the days of creation. The text itself, however, is a poetic expression contrasting God's time with human time.
• Verse 10: This verse is not a rule fixing the length of human life. It is generally read as a poetic expression of the brevity and transience of life.
• Sin and death: Verses 7–11 connect the transience of life with God's wrath and with sin. For this reason, the passage is sometimes read alongside the New Testament understanding of sin and death.

In the Korean Church

Because it addresses both the brevity of life and the eternity of God, the psalm is frequently read at funeral services and memorial services. Verse 12 is a favorite text for the year-end Watch Night service and for New Year sermons. The hymn Isaac Watts based on this psalm, "O God, Our Help in Ages Past," is reportedly sung in Korean hymnals in translation under the title "Yebuteo Doum Doesigo."