The grass withereth, the flower fadeth
And so does man, and all his glory and goodliness: because
the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it:
alluding to some impetuous and blasting wind blowing upon herbs
and flowers, to the withering and fading of them; see ( Psalms
103:15 Psalms
103:16 ) , legal ordinances ceased upon the pouring forth of
the Spirit. The external excellencies of men, or their outward
advantages, perish at the breath of God, at the blast of his
nostrils, when taken away by death; and at conversion the Spirit
of the Lord blows a blast upon all the goodliness of man; the
operations of the Spirit are compared to wind, ( John 3:8 ) , which, like
that, are free, and, as he pleases, are invisible and
imperceptible, land powerful and efficacious, and these cause a
withering in men's goodness; the Spirit of God shows that their
holiness is not true holiness; that their righteousness has only
the appearance of one before men; and their religion and
godliness a mere form; and their good works, "splendida peccata",
shining sins; that those are insufficient to justify and save,
and bring to heaven; upon which they fade away and die in their
esteem, who now reckon them but loss and dung, (
Philippians 3:6-8 ) : "surely the people is grass"; the
people of the Jews, with all their external advantages; yea, all
people, with all the excellencies of human nature, or considered
in their best estate, possessed of all that is reckoned good and
great, being but mere natural men. The Targum restrains this to
the ungodly, as it does the former verse, rendering it,
``as grass the wicked among the people are esteemed;''as it does the former, thus,
``the wicked are as grass, and their strength as the stubble of the field.''So Kimchi interprets them of the nations that come with Gog and Magog; and Jarchi of the princes of the kingdoms; but very wrongly, since it is true of all flesh, or of all mankind.