New English Translation

Psalms 90:1-7

1 1O Lord, you have been our protector through all generations!

2Even before the mountains came into existence, or you brought the world into being, you were the eternal God.

3You make mankind return to the dust, and say, “Return, O people!”

4Yes, in your eyes a thousand years are like yesterday that quickly passes, or like one of the divisions of the nighttime.

5You bring their lives to an end and they “fall asleep.” In the morning they are like the grass that sprouts up;

6in the morning it glistens and sprouts up; at evening time it withers and dries up.

7Yes, we are consumed by your anger; we are terrified by your wrath.

Notes

1. Psalms 90:1 Psalm 90. In this communal lament the worship leader affirms that the eternal God and creator of the world has always been Israel’s protector. But God also causes men, who are as transient as grass, to die, and in his fierce anger he decimates his covenant community, whose brief lives are filled with suffering and end in weakness. The community asks for wisdom, the restoration of God’s favor, a fresh revelation of his power, and his blessing upon their labors. ↩