Psalm 90

Book Four (Psalms 90–106)

A prayer of Moses, the man of God.

¹Lord, through all the generations

you have been our home!

²Before the mountains were born,

before you gave birth to the earth and the world,

from beginning to end, you are God.

³You turn people back to dust, saying,

“Return to dust, you mortals!”

⁴For you, a thousand years are as a passing day,

as brief as a few night hours.

⁵You sweep people away like dreams that disappear.

They are like grass that springs up in the morning.

⁶In the morning it blooms and flourishes,

but by evening it is dry and withered.

⁷We wither beneath your anger;

we are overwhelmed by your fury.

⁸You spread out our sins before you—

our secret sins—and you see them all.

⁹We live our lives beneath your wrath,

ending our years with a groan.

¹⁰Seventy years are given to us!

Some even live to eighty.

But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble;

soon they disappear, and we fly away.

¹¹Who can comprehend the power of your anger?

Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve.

¹²Teach us to realize the brevity of life,

so that we may grow in wisdom.

¹³O Lord, come back to us!

How long will you delay?

Take pity on your servants!

¹⁴Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love,

so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.

¹⁵Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery!

Replace the evil years with good.

¹⁶Let us, your servants, see you work again;

let our children see your glory.

¹⁷And may the Lord our God show us his approval

and make our efforts successful.

Yes, make our efforts successful!