Psalm 90:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning:

NIV: Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death— they are like the new grass of the morning:

NASB: You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep; In the morning they are like grass that sprouts anew.

CSB: You end their lives; they sleep. They are like grass that grows in the morning—

NLT: You sweep people away like dreams that disappear. They are like grass that springs up in the morning.

KJV: Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.

NKJV: You carry them away like a flood; They are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows up:

Human life is so brief that it resembles a dream and short-lived grass. God sweeps humans into eternity as suddenly as a flood overtakes everything in its path and washes it away. This imagery continues Moses' depiction of human frailty (Psalm 90:3–4).

Jesus described two kinds of lives, using the metaphor of buildings (Matthew 7:24–27). One is built on sand, the other on a rock. A flood knocks down the house—the life—built on sand and sweeps it away, but it does not demolish the life built on a rock (Jesus' Word). That life stands firm. When an individual's life ends, God sweeps him into eternity. The life built on sand—anything except Jesus, the Rock of Ages (Isaiah 26:4)—will not withstand God's judgment, but the life built on the Rock of Ages will stand throughout eternity. It is of the utmost importance, therefore, to trust in the Savior. There is no security in wealth, fame, popularity, or any relationship except a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus asked a significant question: "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:36).

Psalm 90:3–10 reflects on life's brevity and God's wrath. Psalm 8:4 raises the question of man's status, and James 4:14 describes life as finite and fleeting. Numbers 14:33–35 spells out God's judgment on the Israelites for refusing His call to enter Canaan.

Psalm 90, likely the oldest psalm, opens with Moses addressing God as eternal and Israel's dwelling place, but quickly shifts to an acknowledgement of man's brief life on earth. Our iniquity is the reason God directs His wrath at us. In most cases, a person can expect to live somewhere around 70 or 80 years, barring disease or misfortune. Short or long, life is full of toil and trouble. In view of life's brevity, Moses asks the Lord to fill His people with wisdom. He also asks the Lord to reveal His work, demonstrate His power, grant His favor, and make Israel's labor successful.

Psalm 90, written by Moses, is most likely the oldest psalm, presuming it was written during Israel's wandering in the desert. This begins the fourth division of Psalms (90—106) and likely was written after Israel refused to heed the Lord's command to enter and occupy Canaan (Numbers 13—14). The background for Psalm 90 is Israel's wanderings for forty years in the desert and the perishing of a generation as a result of its disobedience. The psalm focuses on God's eternal nature and man's finite nature. It stresses God's anger against sin and appeals to His compassion to restore and bless His people.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.