16 Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy majesty unto their sons.
{To the chief Musician. Of the sons of Korah. An instruction.} O God, with our ears have we heard, our fathers have told us, the work thou wroughtest in their days, in the days of old:
Jehovah, I heard the report of thee, [and] I feared. Jehovah, revive thy work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make [it] known: In wrath remember mercy!
if thou now slayest this people as one man, then the nations that have heard thy fame will speak, saying, Because Jehovah was not able to bring this people into the land that he had sworn unto them, he has therefore slain them in the wilderness. And now, I beseech thee, let the power of the Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, Jehovah is slow to anger, and abundant in goodness, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but by no means clearing [the guilty], visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and fourth [generation]. Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of thy loving-kindness, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now. And Jehovah said, I have pardoned according to thy word. But as surely as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of Jehovah! for all those men who have seen my glory, and my signs, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice, shall in no wise see the land which I did swear unto their fathers: none of them that despised me shall see it. But my servant Caleb, because he hath another spirit in him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he came; and his seed shall possess it.
shall in no wise come into the land, concerning which I have lifted up my hand to make you dwell in it; save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, of whom ye said they should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land that ye have despised.
And your little ones, of whom ye said, They shall be a prey, and your children, who this day know neither good nor evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.
then ye shall let your children know, saying, On dry land did Israel come over this Jordan; because Jehovah your God dried up the waters of the Jordan from before you, until ye had passed over, as Jehovah your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we had passed over; that all peoples of the earth might know the hand of Jehovah, that it is mighty; that ye might fear Jehovah your God continually.
And behold, I am going this day the way of all the earth; and ye know in all your heart, and in all your soul, that not one thing hath failed of all the good words that Jehovah your God hath spoken concerning you: all are come to pass unto you -- not one thing hath failed thereof.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 90
Commentary on Psalms 90 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 90
Ps 90:1-17. Contrasting man's frailty with God's eternity, the writer mourns over it as the punishment of sin, and prays for a return of the divine favor. A Prayer [mainly such] of Moses the man of God—(De 33:1; Jos 14:6); as such he wrote this (see on Ps 18:1, title, and Ps 36:1, title).
1. dwelling-place—home (compare Eze 11:16), as a refuge (De 33:27).
2. brought forth [and] formed—both express the idea of production by birth.
3. to destruction—literally, "even to dust" (Ge 3:19), which is partly quoted in the last clause.
4. Even were our days now a thousand years, as Adam's, our life would be but a moment in God's sight (2Pe 3:8).
a watch—or, third part of a night (compare Ex 14:24).
5, 6. Life is like grass, which, though changing under the influence of the night's dew, and flourishing in the morning, is soon cut down and withereth (Ps 103:15; 1Pe 1:24).
7, 8. For—A reason, this is the infliction of God's wrath.
troubled—literally, "confounded by terror" (Ps 2:5). Death is by sin (Ro 5:12). Though "secret," the light of God's countenance, as a candle, will bring sin to view (Pr 20:27; 1Co 4:5).
9. are passed—literally, "turn," as to depart (Jer 6:4).
spend—literally, "consume."
as a tale—literally, "a thought," or, "a sigh" (Eze 2:10).
10. Moses' life was an exception (De 34:7).
it is … cut off—or, "driven," as is said of the quails in using the same word (Nu 11:31). In view of this certain and speedy end, life is full of sorrow.
11. The whole verse may be read as a question implying the negative, "No one knows what Thy anger can do, and what Thy wrath is, estimated by a true piety."
12. This he prays we may know or understand, so as properly to number or appreciate the shortness of our days, that we may be wise.
13. (Compare Ps 13:2).
let it repent—a strong figure, as in Ex 32:12, imploring a change in His dealings.
14. early—promptly.
15. As have been our sorrows, so let our joys be great and long.
16. thy work—or, providential acts.
thy glory—(Ps 8:5; 45:3), the honor accruing from Thy work of mercy to us.
17. let the beauty—or sum of His gracious acts, in their harmony, be illustrated in us, and favor our enterprise.