Psalms 90:5
You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning:
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The striking imagery here isn't just about life being short; it compares human existence to grass that flourishes in the morning and is then cut down by evening. This emphasizes not just the brevity of life, but its fleeting beauty and vigor, highlighting the suddenness of its end.
This psalm, attributed to Moses, begins with a reflection on God's eternal nature contrasted with humanity's fleeting existence. After establishing God's power and the brevity of human life, the psalm moves into vivid metaphors to illustrate how quickly people pass away, like a sudden flood, a brief dream, or grass that quickly sprouts and then withers. This sets the stage for a prayer for divine guidance and a plea for God's mercy in light of this human transience.
Ever feel like life is just rushing past you? Like you can't quite grasp hold of it before it's gone?
The psalm opens with a powerful image: "You sweep them away as with a flood." This isn't just about a gentle stream; it's a violent, overwhelming torrent. Think of flash floods that appear suddenly and carry everything in their path – trees, houses, entire landscapes.
This metaphor highlights several things about human life:
This isn't a gentle decline; it's a powerful, abrupt removal, emphasizing the fragility and transience of our existence.
What if your entire life, with all its busyness and dreams, is like a fleeting dream or morning dew?
The psalm continues, comparing humanity to "a dream" and "grass that is renewed in the morning." These images paint a picture of life that is both short and often lacks lasting substance.
The Dream of Life
Understand the original words
zerem · Hebrew Noun
A natural occurrence of overwhelming power; often used in the Bible as a symbol of divine judgment, destruction, or the sudden, irresistible sweeping away of humanity.
shenah · Hebrew Noun
A metaphor for the transient, unsubstantial, and quickly passing nature of human life, which appears real but vanishes rapidly from the consciousness of time.
chatsir · Hebrew Noun
Vegetation that grows rapidly but withers quickly in the heat; a common biblical metaphor for the fragility, brevity, and mortality of human life.
This passage echoes the imagery of Psalm 90:5, describing humanity as frail and short-lived, like a flower that quickly fades, emphasizing our transient existence before God.
1 Peter 1:24Peter directly quotes Isaiah, comparing human glory to the fading beauty of grass, reinforcing the theme in Psalm 90:5 that our earthly vitality is temporary and subject to decay.
James 4:14James likens human life to mist or vapor that appears briefly and then vanishes, a powerful parallel to the fleeting, dream-like quality of life depicted in Psalm 90:5.
Ecclesiastes 1:2The Preacher's declaration that 'all is vanity' sets a somber tone similar to Psalm 90:5, as both passages reflect on the ultimate futility and brevity of human endeavors and life itself.
bensonPsalms 90:5: "Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up."
Psalm 90:5-6 . Thou carriest them away — Namely, mankind, of whom he spake Psalm 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 neve…
ellicottPsalms 90:5: "Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up."
(5, 6) The following is suggested as the most satisfactory rendering of these verses: Time (literally, a year; but the root-idea is the repetition or change of the seasons ) carries them away with its flood; they are in the morning like grass sprouting; in the morning it flourishes and sprouts, in the evening it is cut down and withered. This is obtained by taking th…
The striking imagery here isn't just about life being short; it compares human existence to grass that flourishes in the morning and is then cut down by evening. This emphasizes not just the brevity of life, but its fleeting beauty and vigor, highlighting the suddenness of its end.
This psalm, attributed to Moses, begins with a reflection on God's eternal nature contrasted with humanity's fleeting existence. After establishing God's power and the brevity of human life, the psalm moves into vivid metaphors to illustrate how quickly people pass away, like a sudden flood, a brief dream, or grass that quickly sprouts and then withers. This sets the stage for a prayer for divine guidance and a plea for God's mercy in light of this human transience.
This psalm, attributed to Moses, begins with a reflection on God's eternal nature contrasted with humanity's fleeting existence. After establishing God's power and the brevity of human life, the psalm moves into vivid metaphors to illustrate how quickly people pass away, like a sudden flood, a brief dream, or grass that quickly sprouts and then withers. This sets the stage for a prayer for divine guidance and a plea for God's mercy in light of this human transience.
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The Morning Grass
Together, these images underscore that human existence, when viewed apart from eternity, is characterized by its brevity, its lack of ultimate satisfaction, and its swift decline.
"You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning:" — The striking imagery here isn't just about life being short; it compares human existence to grass that flourishes in the morning and is then cut down by evening. This emphasizes not just the brevit…
