Psalms 90:4

"You turn man to destruction, saying, “Return, you children of men.”"

Key Reflection

In Psalm 90:4, the psalmist speaks to a God who is both powerful and merciful, as expressed through the command “Return, you children of men.” This phrase reflects the covenantal relationship between Israel and Yahweh, where God calls his people to repentance. The original audience would have understood this context within their own history, recognizing that such commands were not merely rhetorical but part of a divine call to recommit to the covenant after periods of apostasy or wrongdoing. The backdrop of Israel’s often wandering and rebellious nature underscores the necessity of continual return and renewal in their relationship with God.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

For a thousand years in thy sight -Hebrew, “In thy eyes;” that is, It so appears to thee - or, a thousand years so seem to thee, however long they may appear to man. The utmost length to which the life of man has reached - in the case of Methuselah - was nearly a thousand yearsGenesis 5:27; and the idea here is, that the longest human life, even if it should be lengthened out to a thousand years, would be in the sight of God, or in comparison with his years, but as a single day. Are but as yesterday when it is past -Margin, “he hath passed them.” The translation in the text, however, best expresses the sense. The reference is to a single day, when we call it to remembrance.

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