Psalms 90:11

11 Who knew the power of thine ire; and durst number thine ire for thy dread? (Who knoweth the power of thy anger? and who knoweth thy anger better than those who fear thee?)

Psalms 90:11 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 90:11

Who knoweth the power of thine anger?
&c.] Expressed in his judgments on men: as the drowning of the old world, the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah, the consumption of the Israelites in the wilderness; or in shortening the days of men, and bringing them to the dust of death; or by inflicting punishment on men after death; they are few that take notice of this, and consider it well, or look into the causes of it, the sins of men: such as are in hell experimentally know it; but men on earth, very few closely attend to it, or rarely think of it:

even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath;
or who knows thy wrath, so as to fear thee? who considers it so, as that it has such an influence upon him to fear the Lord, and stand in awe of him, and fear to offend him, and seek to please him? or rather the wrath of God is answerable to men's fear of him; and that, in some things and cases, men's fears exceed the things feared; as afflictions viewed beforehand, and death itself: the fears of them are oftentimes greater, and more distressing, than they themselves, when they come; but so it is not with the wrath of God; the greatest fears, and the most dreadful apprehensions of it, do not come up to it; it is full as great as they fear it is, and more so.

Psalms 90:11 In-Context

9 For all our days have failed; and we have failed in thine ire. Our years (we) shall bethink upon as a spider; (For all our days be brought to an end by thy anger. All our years we shall remember as but a whisper;)
10 the days of our years be those seventy years. Forsooth, if fourscore years/if eighty years be in mighty men; and (yet) the more time of them is travail and sorrow. For mildness came above; and we shall be chastised. (and the days of our years be those seventy years. For strong people, they be eighty years; yet most of that time is trouble, or labour, and sorrow. For life is short; and then we be gone.)
11 Who knew the power of thine ire; and durst number thine ire for thy dread? (Who knoweth the power of thy anger? and who knoweth thy anger better than those who fear thee?)
12 Make thy right hand so known; and make men learned in heart by wisdom. (Make thy right hand, or thy power, known to us/Teach us that our days be short; and so make people learned in their hearts with thy wisdom.)
13 Lord, be thou converted some-deal; and be thou able to be prayed of (by) thy servants. (Lord, how long until thou be turned somewhat; and then thou be able to be prayed to, or petitioned by, thy servants?)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.