Psalm 90 Catholic: Our Refuge From Age to Age, and Meaning

Psalm 90, “Lord, thou hast been our refuge from generation to generation,” is the only psalm attributed to Moses, “the man of God.” It sets the shortness of human life, “a thousand years in thy sight are as yesterday,” against the eternity of God, and asks him to fill our mornings with mercy and to direct the work of our hands. In the Douay-Rheims it is numbered Psalm 89. (The psalm of protection, “He that dwelleth in the aid of the most High,” is the next one: see Psalm 91.) Below is the full Catholic text, what the psalm means, how the Church uses it, and a prayer.

Psalm 90 in the Douay-Rheims Bible

A prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, thou hast been our refuge from generation to generation.
Before the mountains were made, or the earth and the world was formed; from eternity and to eternity thou art God.
Turn not man away to be brought low: and thou hast said: Be converted, O ye sons of men.
For a thousand years in thy sight are as yesterday, which is past. And as a watch in the night,
Things that are counted nothing, shall their years be.
In the morning man shall grow up like grass; in the morning he shall flourish and pass away: in the evening he shall fall, grow dry, and wither.
For in thy wrath we have fainted away: and are troubled in thy indignation.
Thou hast set our iniquities before thy eyes: our life in the light of thy countenance.
For all our days are spent; and in thy wrath we have fainted away. Our years shall be considered as a spider:
The days of our years in them are threescore and ten years. But if in the strong they be fourscore years: and what is more of them is labour and sorrow. For mildness is come upon us: and we shall be corrected.
Who knoweth the power of thy anger, and for thy fear
Can number thy wrath? So make thy right hand known: and men learned in heart, in wisdom.
Return, O Lord, how long? and be entreated in favour of thy servants.
We are filled in the morning with thy mercy: and we have rejoiced, and are delighted all our days.
We have rejoiced for the days in which thou hast humbled us: for the years in which we have seen evils.
Look upon thy servants and upon their works: and direct their children.
And let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us: and direct thou the works of our hands over us; yea, the work of our hands do thou direct.

Psalm 90 or Psalm 89?

The Douay-Rheims Bible follows the numbering of the Latin Vulgate and the Greek Septuagint, while most modern Bibles follow the Hebrew. So the Douay’s Psalm 89 is Psalm 90 in the New American Bible and other modern translations. In Latin the psalm begins Domine, refugium factus es nobis a generatione in generationem. See how many psalms are there?

What the psalm means

God is eternal: “Before the mountains were made… from eternity and to eternity thou art God.”
Life is short: we flourish like grass in the morning and wither by evening; “The days of our years… are threescore and ten years.”
A thousand years as yesterday: St. Peter echoes this to explain God’s patience (2 Peter 3:8).
Wisdom of heart: modern translations, following the Hebrew, ask God to “teach us to number our days” so that we may gain wisdom; the Douay, following the Latin, prays for “men learned in heart, in wisdom.”
“Direct thou the works of our hands”: a prayer that our short lives may bear lasting fruit.

How the Church uses Psalm 90

On Sundays in Ordinary Time, for example the Twenty-Third Sunday (Year C), “In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge,” and the Twenty-Eighth Sunday (Year B), “Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!”
At the end of the year and on birthdays, as a meditation on the passing of time. See the Catholic New Year prayer.
In hymns, Isaac Watts’s “O God, Our Help in Ages Past” (1719) is a paraphrase of this psalm.

A prayer with Psalm 90

Written for this page:

Lord, you have been our refuge from age to age;
from eternity to eternity you are God.
Teach me to count my days and to use them wisely.
Fill my mornings with your mercy, and prosper the work of my hands for your glory. Amen.

Frequently asked questions

Who wrote Psalm 90?

Its title calls it “a prayer of Moses the man of God,” the only psalm attributed to Moses.

Where is “teach us to number our days”?

Psalm 90:12 in modern Bibles, which follow the Hebrew. The Douay-Rheims, translated from the Latin, reads this verse differently (89:12).

Is Psalm 90 the psalm of protection?

No. The psalm of protection is Psalm 91 (90 in the Douay-Rheims).

More psalms and prayers

Texts and sources

Scripture: Psalm 89 (90); 2 Peter 3:8, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
The prayer was written for this page.