Psalms 90:1-6

Psalms 90:1-6

[1] [[A Prayer  of Moses  the man  of God.]]  Lord,  thou hast been our dwelling place  in all  [2] Before the mountains  were brought forth,  or ever thou hadst formed  the earth  and the world,  even from everlasting  to  everlasting,  thou art God.  [3] Thou turnest  man  to destruction;  and sayest,  Return,  ye children  of men.  [4] For a thousand  years  in thy sight  are but as  yesterday  when it is past,  and as a watch  in the night.  [5] Thou carriest them away as with a flood;  they are as a sleep:  in the morning  they are like grass  which groweth up.  [6] In the morning  it flourisheth,  and groweth up;  in the evening  it is cut down,  and withereth. 

What does Psalms 90:1-6 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Moses began by attributing eternality to Yahweh. All generations of believers have found Him to be a protective shelter from the storms of life. God existed before He created anything, even the "world" (Heb. tebel, lit. the productive earth). This Hebrew word is a poetic synonym for "earth" (Heb. "eres, i.e, the planet).
God outlasts man. He creates him and then sees him return to "dust" (Heb. dakka, lit. pulverized material). From God"s eternal perspective1 ,000 years are as a day is to us ( 2 Peter 3:8). This does not mean that God is outside time. Time simply does not bind or limit Him as it does us. All events are equally vivid to Him. Time is the instrument we use to mark the progression and relationship of events. God"s personal timeline has no end, whereas ours stretches only about70 years before we die.
Human life is therefore quite brief compared to God"s eternality. A watch in the night was about four hours long. The years of our lives sweep past, as something a flood might carry off, before we can retrieve them. Our lifetime is similar to one day from God"s perspective or as a flower that only blooms for one day. Life is not only brief but frail.