Psa 90:3 | KingComments | STEP | We see another particular construction of the psalm: “You”… “for”… “You”… “for”… “You”… “for”… That is, gives the reason for and so on. In great contrast to the everlasting, unchanging, unlimited God stands man with his limited life span. Because of man’s sin, death has entered the world. The judgment of God is that He causes “man” to “turn … into dust”. Man has no “authority over the day of death” ( ). That control only God has. Man who recognizes that and accepts God’s judgment, who acknowledges that he is dust, will live ( ; ). The word “dust” here is not the same as in Genesis 3 ( ). Here it means “grit”, something that is pulverized. It says something not only about the matter, that it is dust, but also about the way it is nullified, pulverized, and that as a result of sin. It underscores the temporality and volatility of the life of a perishable human being. God has pronounced the death sentence. He acts accordingly when He says: “Return, O children of men” ( ; ; ). This command is heard at every death since the statement in paradise after the Fall: “For you are dust, and to dust you shall return” ( ). It applies without exception to all children of men. A person may have reached the highest position in the world, may be so proud of his achievements, or may have looked so beautiful, but the day is fast approaching when he will return to his origin: the dust from which he was made. The command “return” means that man, created by God – not evolved – will one day have to return to his Maker to give account before Him. Hence this call. Adam left his dwelling with God ( ) and thus became a mortal man ( ). He sinned, and “the wages of sin is death” ( ). To restore this situation, God had to send His Son as the second Man. We see this in Psalm 91. No one escapes that return. There is no doubt about that ( ). That Enoch and Elijah escaped it is because God withdrew them from this judgment by taking them to Himself alive. In this we see an example of the taking up to heaven of the believers, that is, the taking up to heaven of the believers who are living on earth at that time. At the coming of the Lord for His church, they will be changed, while those who have fallen asleep in Christ will be raised ( ). At creation God instituted units of time like years and days for man ( ). Man is bound to time. He Himself does not have this bondage or limitation. He is above time, He is not bound to it, we are. With Him one day is a thousand years and vice versa ( ). To Him, “a thousand years … are like yesterday when it passes by”. One day passes quickly. It is like “a watch in the night” – a watch is only four hours (cf. ; ). Those four hours of sleep are passed by in no time. God’s doing is not determined by time, but He Himself determines the time of everything (cf. ). He Himself is the eternal Unchangeable One of Israel ( ). People’s lives are swept away by God like flood, like they fall asleep ( ). When a man sleeps, he has no sense of time. When he wakes up, several hours have passed, without him noticing and without him accomplishing anything. That is how fleeting, empty, void his life is. He can be so active outwardly, but his life is dragged along and swept away, leaving behind nothing substantial. It is all in vain, it dissolves into nothingness. Thus man’s life passes like a vapor without him realizing its brevity. Another picture is that of the grass sprouting anew. When people wake up in the morning, they are like the grass that sprouts anew. During the course of the day, the grass grows and blooms. When evening comes, “it fades and withers away” ( ). This picture is taken from the condition of the grass in the Middle East. When the chamsin , that is the hot wilderness wind, blows during the day, the grass dries up in no time. In this respect man is no different than grass: his life is short ( ; ; ).

‏ Psalms 90:3

Mortal Man Versus God

We see another particular construction of the psalm:

Psa 90:3 “You”… Psa 90:4 “for”…

Psa 90:5 “You”… Psa 90:7 “for”…

Psa 90:8 “You”… Psa 90:9 “for”…

That is, Psa 90:4 gives the reason for Psa 90:3 and so on.

In great contrast to the everlasting, unchanging, unlimited God stands man with his limited life span. Because of man’s sin, death has entered the world. The judgment of God is that He causes “man” to “turn … into dust”. Man has no “authority over the day of death” (Ecc 8:8). That control only God has. Man who recognizes that and accepts God’s judgment, who acknowledges that he is dust, will live (Gen 18:27; Job 42:6).

The word “dust” here is not the same as in Genesis 3 (Gen 3:19). Here it means “grit”, something that is pulverized. It says something not only about the matter, that it is dust, but also about the way it is nullified, pulverized, and that as a result of sin. It underscores the temporality and volatility of the life of a perishable human being.

God has pronounced the death sentence. He acts accordingly when He says: “Return, O children of men” (Gen 3:19; Ecc 3:20 ; Ecc 12:7; Psa 104:29). This command is heard at every death since the statement in paradise after the Fall: “For you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen 3:19). It applies without exception to all children of men. A person may have reached the highest position in the world, may be so proud of his achievements, or may have looked so beautiful, but the day is fast approaching when he will return to his origin: the dust from which he was made.

The command “return” means that man, created by God – not evolved – will one day have to return to his Maker to give account before Him. Hence this call. Adam left his dwelling with God (Psa 90:1) and thus became a mortal man (Psa 90:3). He sinned, and “the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23a). To restore this situation, God had to send His Son as the second Man. We see this in Psalm 91.

No one escapes that return. There is no doubt about that (Heb 9:27). That Enoch and Elijah escaped it is because God withdrew them from this judgment by taking them to Himself alive. In this we see an example of the taking up to heaven of the believers, that is, the taking up to heaven of the believers who are living on earth at that time. At the coming of the Lord for His church, they will be changed, while those who have fallen asleep in Christ will be raised (1Thes 4:14-18).

At creation God instituted units of time like years and days for man (Psa 90:4). Man is bound to time. He Himself does not have this bondage or limitation. He is above time, He is not bound to it, we are. With Him one day is a thousand years and vice versa (2Pet 3:8). To Him, “a thousand years … are like yesterday when it passes by”. One day passes quickly. It is like “a watch in the night” – a watch is only four hours (cf. Jdg 7:19; Lam 2:19a). Those four hours of sleep are passed by in no time. God’s doing is not determined by time, but He Himself determines the time of everything (cf. Ecc 3:1). He Himself is the eternal Unchangeable One of Israel (1Sam 15:29).

People’s lives are swept away by God like flood, like they fall asleep (Psa 90:5). When a man sleeps, he has no sense of time. When he wakes up, several hours have passed, without him noticing and without him accomplishing anything. That is how fleeting, empty, void his life is. He can be so active outwardly, but his life is dragged along and swept away, leaving behind nothing substantial. It is all in vain, it dissolves into nothingness. Thus man’s life passes like a vapor without him realizing its brevity.

Another picture is that of the grass sprouting anew. When people wake up in the morning, they are like the grass that sprouts anew. During the course of the day, the grass grows and blooms. When evening comes, “it fades and withers away” (Psa 90:6). This picture is taken from the condition of the grass in the Middle East. When the chamsin, that is the hot wilderness wind, blows during the day, the grass dries up in no time. In this respect man is no different than grass: his life is short (Psa 103:15-16; Isa 40:6-8; 1Pet 1:24).