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Moses on Mount Sinai. Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1895-1900. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

Psalm 90

17 verses · Wisdom psalm

Lord, You have been our dwelling place through all generations.

The line breaks below follow the poem's own punctuation.

Lord, You have been our dwelling place through all generations.

Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.

You return man to dust, saying, “Return, O sons of mortals.”

For in Your sight a thousand years are but a day that passes, or a watch of the night.

You whisk them away in their sleep; they are like the new grass of the morning—

in the morning it springs up new, but by evening it fades and withers.

For we are consumed by Your anger and terrified by Your wrath.

You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence.

For all our days decline in Your fury; we finish our years with a sigh.

The 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.

Who knows the power of Your anger?Your wrath matches the fear You are due.

So teach us to number our days, that we may present a heart of wisdom.

Return, O LORD!How long will it be?Have compassion on Your servants.

Satisfy us in the morning with Your loving devotion, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

Make us glad for as many days as You have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen evil.

May Your work be shown to Your servants, and Your splendor to their children.

May 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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