Psalm 90:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.

NIV: A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.

NASB: For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it passes by, Or like a watch in the night.

CSB: For in your sight a thousand years are like yesterday that passes by, like a few hours of the night.

NLT: For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours.

KJV: For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

NKJV: For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night.

In contrast to man's frailty and finiteness (Psalm 90:3), the Lord is not subject to time. He regards a thousand years the way a human being might think of a 24-hour period or a single watch during the night.

A "watch" refers to a guard's shift. There were three nighttime watches, each one lasting four hours. In the middle of the night most people would not notice the guard keeping watch because they were asleep. Similarly, a thousand years pass almost like they didn't happen when compared to eternity.

In answer to the scoffers who believed the coming of the Lord will never happen because everything has continued unchanged from creation (2 Peter 3:4), the apostle Peter declares, "But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Peter 3:8). God lives in eternity (Isaiah 57:15), whereas man lives in a span of days, weeks, months, and years.

Psalm 90:3–10 reflects on life's brevity and God's wrath. Psalm 8:4 raises the question of man's status, and James 4:14 describes life as finite and fleeting. Numbers 14:33–35 spells out God's judgment on the Israelites for refusing His call to enter Canaan.

Psalm 90, likely the oldest psalm, opens with Moses addressing God as eternal and Israel's dwelling place, but quickly shifts to an acknowledgement of man's brief life on earth. Our iniquity is the reason God directs His wrath at us. In most cases, a person can expect to live somewhere around 70 or 80 years, barring disease or misfortune. Short or long, life is full of toil and trouble. In view of life's brevity, Moses asks the Lord to fill His people with wisdom. He also asks the Lord to reveal His work, demonstrate His power, grant His favor, and make Israel's labor successful.

Psalm 90, written by Moses, is most likely the oldest psalm, presuming it was written during Israel's wandering in the desert. This begins the fourth division of Psalms (90—106) and likely was written after Israel refused to heed the Lord's command to enter and occupy Canaan (Numbers 13—14). The background for Psalm 90 is Israel's wanderings for forty years in the desert and the perishing of a generation as a result of its disobedience. The psalm focuses on God's eternal nature and man's finite nature. It stresses God's anger against sin and appeals to His compassion to restore and bless His people.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.

Accessed 5/2/2024 5:50:50 PM