Psalm 90

God Is Eternal, and We Are Not

A prayer of Moses, the man of God.

90Lord, you have been our home

since the beginning.

²Before the mountains were born

and before you created the earth and the world,

you are God.

You have always been, and you will always be.

³You turn people back into dust.

You say, “Go back into dust, human beings.”

⁴To you, a thousand years

is like the passing of a day,

or like a few hours in the night.

⁵While people sleep, you take their lives.

They are like grass that grows up in the morning.

⁶In the morning they are fresh and new,

but by evening they dry up and die.

⁷We are destroyed by your anger;

we are terrified by your hot anger.

⁸You have put the evil we have done right in front of you;

you clearly see our secret sins.

⁹All our days pass while you are angry.

Our years end with a moan.

¹⁰Our lifetime is seventy years

or, if we are strong, eighty years.

But the years are full of hard work and pain.

They pass quickly, and then we are gone.

¹¹Who knows the full power of your anger?

Your anger is as great as our fear of you should be.

¹²Teach us how short our lives really are

so that we may be wise.

¹³Lord, how long before you return

and show kindness to your servants?

¹⁴Fill us with your love every morning.

Then we will sing and rejoice all our lives.

¹⁵We have seen years of trouble.

Now give us as much joy as you gave us sorrow.

¹⁶Show your servants the wonderful things you do;

show your greatness to their children.

¹⁷Lord our God, treat us well.

Give us success in what we do;

yes, give us success in what we do.