Bible Glide

Psalms 90

Psalms 90 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

Psalms 90 is a prayer that contrasts God's eternity with human weakness. It brings honesty about sin, mortality, and grief, then turns to a hopeful plea for mercy, joy, and meaningful work. This chapter speaks to anyone seeking wisdom about life under God's care.

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What happens in Psalms 90?

This psalm, introduced as a prayer of Moses, begins by confessing that God has been Israel's dwelling place through every generation and that He exists from everlasting to everlasting. It then contrasts God's timelessness with human mortality, describing how life is brief and easily cut short. The psalm also faces the reality of sin and divine judgment, asking for understanding and humility. In the final section, the writer pleads for God's compassion, lasting joy, visible favor, and the establishment of human work.

Psalms 90 opens Book IV of the Psalms after the close of the Davidic-focused sections. It shifts the reader toward God's enduring rule over a fragile and changing world. As a prayer attributed to Moses, it reaches back before Israel's kings and frames the rest of the book with questions about God's presence, human limits, and hope for restoration.

Themes to notice

  • God's eternityGod is portrayed as unchanging and present before creation, unlike the brief span of human life.
  • Human mortalityThe psalm reflects on how quickly life passes and how deeply people depend on God.
  • Mercy and wisdomThe prayer asks God to teach, forgive, satisfy, and establish the work of His people.

Questions for Psalms 90

  • What does this psalm teach about the difference between God's eternal nature and human life span?
  • Why does the writer connect a wise heart with numbering our days?
  • How do the closing prayers shape the way you think about suffering, joy, and daily work?

Read the full text of Psalms 90 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

Psalms 90

BOOK IV

From Everlasting to Everlasting

A prayer of Moses the man of God.

1Lord, You have been our dwelling place

through all generations.

2Before the mountains were born

or You brought forth the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting

You are God.

3You return man to dust,

saying, “Return, O sons of mortals.”

4For in Your sight a thousand years

are but a day that passes,

or a watch of the night.

5You whisk them away in their sleep;

they are like the new grass of the morning—

6in the morning it springs up new,

but by evening it fades and withers.

7For we are consumed by Your anger

and terrified by Your wrath.

8You have set our iniquities before You,

our secret sins in the light of Your presence.

9For all our days decline in Your fury;

we finish our years with a sigh.

10The length of our days is seventy years—

or eighty if we are strong—

yet their pride is but labor and sorrow,

for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

11Who knows the power of Your anger?

Your wrath matches the fear You are due.

12So teach us to number our days,

that we may present a heart of wisdom.

13Return, O LORD! How long will it be?

Have compassion on Your servants.

14Satisfy us in the morning with Your loving devotion,

that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

15Make us glad for as many days as You have afflicted us,

for as many years as we have seen evil.

16May Your work be shown to Your servants,

and Your splendor to their children.

17May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;

establish for us the work of our hands—

yes, establish the work of our hands!

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