Psalm 90 concentric structure

I've written briefly before about Book IV of the Psalter, which echoes some of the key points in the Exodus journey, beginning with Psalm 90 which has Israel calling out for redemption.

There are some fascinating little structural things going on here, but the journey of the psalm begins as a prayer of Moses to the God who has created all things (1-2). His enduring power in creation is in contrast to the fleetingness of people who come from and return to dust, much like the grass which is there in the morning but by evening is withered and is no more (3-6). At the centre of the psalm there is a triple pattern of God's anger contrasted with what that means for people (7/8, 9/10, 11/12). The cry to Yhwh is that he might relent and have compassion on his servants, that they might not be like grass which withers but be infused with his kindness to last through the days and years of life (13-16). Finally the prayer concludes with the hope that the goodness of God would similarly infuse the work of his people, that the work of their hands might last (17).

This psalm results in a pleasing concentric structure as follows:

A The Lord our God is creator and sustainer of all (1–2)

B He returns (שׁוב) people to dust—like grass in the morning (בבקר) (3–6)

C¹ Your anger (אף) and indignation (חמה) consumes (כלה) our days
in the context of our sin and iniquity (עון) (7–8)

C² Your wrath (עבר) consumes (כלה) our years
in our days of trouble and disaster (און) (9–10)

C³ Your anger (אף) and your wrath (עבר)
should teach us to count our days and be wise (11–12)

B` A plea that Yhwh might soon return (שׁוב) blessing to us—strengthen us in the morning (בבקר) (13–16)

A` May the Lord our God establish our work (17)

There are some clear indications in the text that the psalm should be read in this way, for example with the repeated vocabulary and alternating pattern in vv7-12, the words "Lord" and "God" only in vv1-2, 17, and the words "return" and "in the morning" in vv3-6, 13-16.

Read as the first Exodus psalm this tells a story of a people who are struggling in their conditions to see any purpose in what they do. They recognise that their suffering has something to do with their sin, but entrust themselves to the God who has been faithful for all generations to turn vanity into purpose.