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The Bible · 568 of 1189
Psalms 90
1.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.
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.
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.
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.
Asked of Guide
Why does the psalm keep returning to human mortality and asking God to 'teach us to number our days'?
The psalm states life’s brevity plainly: people are “carried away as with a flood” and their days are “threescore years and ten,” so the concern is practical urgency—recognize how short life is. That urgency drives the prayer in verse 12, “So teach us to number our days,” which asks for an awareness that turns temporal limits into wise living.
Because mortality exposes dependence on God, the psalm moves from lament to petition for mercy and purpose: “satisfy us early with thy mercy” and “let thy work appear unto thy servants.” The request for God’s beauty and to “establish the work of our hands” echoes Ecclesiastes’ reflections on meaning within limits and asks that fleeting days be consecrated to lasting goods.
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