Single lesson
Psalm 90: From Everlasting to Everlasting
Psalms 90:1–17
Psalm 90 is a prayer spoken to the Lord in we and our language. In this lesson, children notice who is speaking, the images the prayer uses, and how it moves from praise, to sorrow, to requests for help.
Before you teach
This psalm begins by calling the Lord the dwelling place of his people through all generations and saying he is God from everlasting to everlasting. It then speaks about people returning to destruction, the shortness of human life, sin before God, and prayers for wisdom, compassion, joy, glory and favour.
Students will identify the speaker, key images and movement of Psalm 90, and explain how it moves from praising God’s eternity to naming human frailty and sin, then asking for wisdom, compassion and help.
Welcome: From everlasting to everlasting
5 minWrite the title where everyone can see it. Ask children what sounds very long and what ends quickly. Read verses 1-2 aloud and explain that this prayer speaks to the Lord in we and our language. It says the Lord has been our dwelling place through all generations and that he is from everlasting to everlasting.
Psalms 90:1, Psalms 90:2
Read and explain: The Lord is eternal, people are not
7 minRead Psalm 90:1-17 aloud. Then explain verses 3-6 carefully. Verse 3 says people return to destruction and are told, “Return, you children of men”, which shows human life does not last. Verse 4 says a thousand years are like yesterday to God. Verses 5-6 compare people to grass that sprouts and then dries out.
Psalms 90:1, Psalms 90:2, Psalms 90:3, Psalms 90:4, Psalms 90:5, Psalms 90:6
Discuss: Why does the prayer sound so serious?
6 minGuide the class through verses 7-12. The prayer says people are consumed in God’s anger and troubled in his wrath. Their iniquities and secret sins are before him. Their days pass away and their years end quickly. Then focus on verse 12, where the prayer asks God to teach us to count our days so we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Psalms 90:7, Psalms 90:8, Psalms 90:9, Psalms 90:10, Psalms 90:11, Psalms 90:12
Make and respond: An illustrated prayer card
8 minChildren make a folded card with three panels labelled Praise, Need and Hope. In Praise, they draw or write from verses 1-2. In Need, they choose a phrase from verses 12-13. In Hope, they use verses 14, 16 or 17. Encourage them to copy exact words first, then add a simple drawing matching the line.
Psalms 90:1, Psalms 90:2, Psalms 90:12, Psalms 90:13, Psalms 90:14, Psalms 90:16, Psalms 90:17
Closing: Ending with favour and steady work
4 minRead verses 13-17 again slowly. Point out how the prayer turns to requests: compassion, satisfaction, gladness, God’s work appearing, God’s glory, and the favour of the Lord. Let volunteers share one line from their card that shows praise, need or hope. Finish with a short prayer using words from the psalm.
Psalms 90:13, Psalms 90:14, Psalms 90:15, Psalms 90:16, Psalms 90:17
Questions to explore
Who is being spoken to, and how do you know the prayer is spoken in we and our language?
Look at the opening and repeated requests. The prayer speaks to the Lord as “you” and speaks of “our dwelling place”, “our days” and “our hands”.
Psalms 90:1, Psalms 90:12, Psalms 90:17
How do verses 3-6 show that human life is short compared with God?
Notice the line about people returning to destruction, the saying that a thousand years are like yesterday to God, and the picture of grass that grows and then withers.
Psalms 90:3, Psalms 90:4, Psalms 90:5, Psalms 90:6
What does the prayer ask God to do in the final part of the psalm?
Listen for the request words near the end: relent, have compassion, satisfy us, make us glad, let your work appear, and establish the work of our hands.
Psalms 90:13, Psalms 90:14, Psalms 90:15, Psalms 90:16, Psalms 90:17
Make, think or respond
Praise, Need, Hope Prayer Card
What you’ll need
- paper or light card
- pencils
- coloured pencils or crayons
- Bibles
Try it together
- Fold one sheet into three panels.
- Label the panels Praise, Need and Hope.
- Copy one short line from Psalm 90 into each panel: one from verses 1-2, one from verses 12-13, and one from verses 14-17.
- Add a simple illustration that matches each line, such as a home for dwelling place, grass for short life, or hands for work.
- Share one panel with a partner and explain why it fits that part of the prayer.
This activity helps children see the movement of Psalm 90 from praise, to honest need, to hopeful requests addressed to the Lord.
Adapt for your group
- For younger children, offer three short phrases to copy and let them draw more than they write.
- For older or stronger readers, ask them to explain how verse 12 connects the serious middle of the psalm with the hopeful requests at the end.
An optional closing prayer
You might pray: “Lord our God, you are from everlasting to everlasting. Teach us to count our days, give us wisdom, have compassion on us, and establish the work of our hands.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Psalms 90
1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place for all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born, before you had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.
3 You turn man to destruction, saying, “Return, you children of men.”
4 For a thousand years in your sight are just like yesterday when it is past, like a watch in the night.
5 You sweep them away as they sleep. In the morning they sprout like new grass.
6 In the morning it sprouts and springs up. By evening, it is withered and dry.
7 For we are consumed in your anger. We are troubled in your wrath.
8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.
9 For all our days have passed away in your wrath. We bring our years to an end as a sigh.
10 The days of our years are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty years; yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for it passes quickly, and we fly away.
11 Who knows the power of your anger, your wrath according to the fear that is due to you?
12 So teach us to count our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13 Relent, Yahweh! How long? Have compassion on your servants!
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your loving kindness, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen evil.
16 Let your work appear to your servants, your glory to their children.
17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us. Establish the work of our hands for us. Yes, establish the work of our hands.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.