Psalms 90:6

6 in the morning it springs up new, but by evening it fades and withers.

Psalms 90:6 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 90:6

In the morning it flourisheth and groweth up
That is, the grass, through the dew that lay all night on it, and by the clear shining of the sun after rain, when it appears in great beauty and verdure; so man in the morning of his youth looks gay and beautiful, grows in the stature and strength of his body, and in the endowments of his mind; and it may be also in riches and wealth; it is well if he grows in grace, and in the knowledge of Christ:

in the evening it is cut down, and withereth;
the Targum adds, "through heat"; but it cannot be by the heat of the sun, when it is cut down at evening; but it withers in course, being cut down. This respects the latter part of life, the evening of old age; and the whole expresses the shortness of life, which is compared to grass, that now is in all its beauty and glory, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, ( Matthew 6:30 ) . This metaphor of grass, to set forth the frailty of man, and his short continuance, is frequently used; see ( Psalms 37:2 ) ( 102:11 ) ( Isaiah 40:6-8 ) ( 1 Peter 1:24 ) . It may be observed, that man's life is represented but as one day, consisting of a morning and an evening, which signifies the bloom and decline of life.

Psalms 90:6 In-Context

4 For in Your sight a thousand years are but a day that passes, or a watch of the night.

5 You sweep them away in their sleep; they are like the new grass of the morning—

6 in the morning it springs up new, but by evening it fades and withers.

7 For we are consumed by Your anger and terrified by Your wrath.

8 You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence.