ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Psalms 90

Psalm Ps. 90. This community lament relates to some unspecified disaster (vv. 13, 15). It asks God to have pity on his people and bless them. The title credits the psalm to Moses. The psalm pictures Israel around the time of Deuteronomy, as they were about to cross the Jordan River and enter the Promised Land. Their parents had followed Moses out of Egypt, through the parted Red Sea—and yet they rebelled, so God swore that they would not enter the land (Num. 14:20–36). For the Israelites to accomplish their mission and for God to establish the work of their hands (Ps. 90:17), the people need to embrace the covenant and live in faith toward God. Those who sing this should see themselves as the heirs of that generation, seeking God’s blessing so that they can carry out their mission.

Ps. 90:1–2 The Lord is the dwelling place, that is, the home and refuge, for his people in all generations because he himself is eternal.

Ps. 90:3–6 In contrast to God’s eternity, human life—even the longest imaginable (a thousand years)—is insignificantly brief (a watch in the night, a flood, a dream, grass). See v. 10; 103:15–18; James 1:11. The psalm recalls God’s sentence in Eden on Adam and Eve’s sin (Ps. 90:3); the short life spans of humans are due to sin’s entry into the world.

Ps. 90:7–11 God’s people reflect on the unfaithfulness of past generations. They harbored iniquities and secret sins, which resulted in God’s anger and wrath. The whole body of God’s people suffers from the presence and influence of its unfaithful members. God’s judgments that remove the unfaithful from his people are hard even for the faithful to endure. Hence the whole people experience toil and trouble during their brief lives.

Ps. 90:12 teach us to number our days. In view of the psalm’s theme, this refers especially to the ability to make the most of one’s days, since they are so few. The heart of wisdom would enable the faithful to live by the right priorities.

Ps. 90:13–15 Return, that is, come back to us, turn from your anger (as in Ex. 32:12). in the morning. Probably a metaphor for the time when God will make his steadfast love clear to his people.

Ps. 90:16–17 Let your work be shown, that is, display your love toward your people in great deeds of power that enable them to flourish. to their children. God made his covenant with Abraham and with his offspring (who must themselves embrace the covenant). The OT faithful seek the continuation of the people through their own faithful children (see 78:3–8; 103:17; 145:4).