Thou carriest them away as with a flood. This verse is to be connected with Psalms 90:3 , "Thou sweepest mankind away;" i.e. removest them from the earth, when it pleases thee. They are as a sleep. Fantastic, vague, forgotten as soon as it is over. In the morning they are like grass which groweth up (comp. Psalms 37:2 ; Psalms 72:16 ; Psalms 92:7 ; Psalms 103:15 ; Isaiah 40:7 ). read more
The lesson of the grass. "And fade away suddenly as the grass." The strength of this poetical figure can only be fully recognized, by those who, know the. peculiarities of grass in the hot Eastern countries. "In the East one night's rain works a change as if by magic. The field at evening was brown, parched, and as a desert; in the morning it is green with the blades of grass. The scorching hot wind blows upon it, and again before evening it is withered." I. A LESSON FROM THE ... read more
In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withered (comp. Psalms 102:4 , Psalms 102:11 , Psalms 103:15 ; Isaiah 40:7 ; James 1:10 , James 1:11 ). read more
For a thousand years in thy sight - Hebrew, “In thy eyes;” that is, It so appears to thee - or, a thousand years so seem to thee, however long they may appear to man. The utmost length to which the life of man has reached - in the case of Methuselah - was nearly a thousand years Genesis 5:27; and the idea here is, that the longest human life, even if it should be lengthened out to a thousand years, would be in the sight of God, or in comparison with his years, but as a single day.Are but as... read more
Thou carriest them away as with a flood - The original here is a single verb with the suffix - זרמתם zerametâm. The verb - זרם zâram - means, to flow, to pour; then, to pour upon, to overwhelm, to wash away. The idea is, that they were swept off as if a torrent bore them from the earth, carrying them away without regard to order, rank, age, or condition. So death makes no discrimination. Every day that passes, multitudes of every age, sex, condition, rank, are swept away and consigned to the... read more
In the morning it flourisheth - This does not mean that it grows with any special vigor or rapidity in the morning, as if that were illustrative of the rapid growth of the young; but merely that, in fact, in the morning it is green and vigorous, and is cut down in the short course of a day, or before evening. The reference here is to grass as an emblem of man.And groweth up - The same word in the Hebrew which is used in the close of the previous verse.In the evening it is cut down, and... read more
Psalms 90:4. For a thousand years If we should now live so long, (as some of our progenitors nearly did,) in thy sight In thy account, and therefore in truth; which is opposed to the partial and false judgment of men, who think time long because they do not understand eternity; or, in comparison of thy endless duration, are but as yesterday, when it is past Which is emphatically added, because time seems long when it is to come, but when it is passed, and men look back upon it, it seems... read more
Psalms 90:5-6. Thou carriest them away Namely, mankind, of whom he spake Psalms 90:3. As with a flood Unexpectedly, violently, and irresistibly. They are as a sleep Short and vain as sleep is, and not minded till it be past. Or, like a dream, when a man sleepeth, wherein there may be some real pleasure, but never any satisfaction; or some real trouble, but never considerable, and seldom pernicious. Even such an idle and insignificant thing is human life, considered in itself, and... read more
Psalms 90:0 Making the most of a short lifeGod alone is permanent and enduring, and therefore the only true security is found in him (1-2). Human life, by contrast, is short and uncertain, and is brought to an end as God decides and when he chooses. No matter how long a person lives, even to a thousand years, the number of years is insignificant compared with the timelessness of God (3-6).Sin has spoiled human life and brought God’s judgment upon people in the form of life’s troubles and... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 90:4
God's estimate of a thousand years. Note— I. THE GROUND OF THIS ESTIMATE . It is the eternity of God. He who is from everlasting to everlasting—God, the Eternal. There never was a period in which he was not. He is more permanent than the most changeless things. 1 . History teaches us this. Push back so far as we can into the remote past, there we find the sure proof of the Divine existence and work. 2 . Science teaches it yet more powerfully. Whether we... read more