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Book of Psalms


Psalm 102

A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the LORD.

King James Version

1 Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee.
2 Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily.
3 For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth.
4 My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread.
5 By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin.
6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert.
7 I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.
8 Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping.
10 Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down.
11 My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass.
12 But thou, O LORD, shall endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations.
13 Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.

14 For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof.
15 So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
16 When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.
17 He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.
18 This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.
19 For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;
20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death;
21 To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem;
22 When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
23 He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days.
24 I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations.
25 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
27 But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.
28 The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee.1

Bible Commentary
2. Speedily. The depth of the psalmist's dejection and the intensity of his appeal are emphasized by the cumulative pleas for divine aid in vs. 1, 2.2
3. For. Verse 3 marks the beginning of the psalmist's complaint.2
An hearth.  An hearth is heated or burnt by the coals which are laid upon it.6
4. So that I forget. Or, "have forgotten," that is, in my distress (Ps 107:18), and hence strength fails.5

5. Skin. My flesh being quite consumed.6
6. Pelican. Heb. qa'ath, translated "cormorant" in Isa. 34:11; Zeph. 2:14. The exact species of bird referred to is not known, although it has been observed that the pelican is an appropriate symbol of utter loneliness and melancholy.2
7. I watch. Or, "I am wakeful".
Sparrow. Heb. sippor, a general term for winged animals (see Gen. 7:14; Deut. 1:17). "Alone" is perhaps an allusion to a bird bereft of its mate.2
8. Sworn against me. Or literally, "by me," wishing others as miserable as I am (Nu 5:21).5
9. Ashes. A figure of grief, my bread; weeping or tears, my drink (Ps 80:5).5
Bread. The sense is, dust and ashes are as familiar to me as the eating of my bread; I cover my head with them; I sit, yea, lie down in them, as mourners often did.6
10. Lifted me. As a man lifts up a thing as high as he can, that he may cast it to the ground with greater force.6
Cast me down. Or, "cast me away" as stubble by a whirlwind (Isa 64:6).5
11. Shadow that declineth. A striking figure of the approach of death (see Job 14:2). Samuel Butler said, "My years slip through me as water through a sieve."2
12. But thou. Abruptly, the psalmist finds consolation in the contemplation of the eternal sovereignty of God, and rises above his complaint. Because God does not change, His promises are sure, despite His apparent disregard for the psalmist's suffering for the time being.2
Thy remembrance. That by which Thou art remembered, Thy promise.5
14. Stones. The exiles even enjoy contemplating the piled-up stones and dust of what was once their glorious city Jerusalem, so deeply in love with Zion are they (see Neh. 4:2,10; Ps. 79:1). There is a pathetic touch of nostalgia in the concept of this verse. Even the ruins of our childhood home are dear to us.2
15. Shall fear. According to God's plan, restored Zion would compose a people fulfilling the divine destiny in the choice of Israel. Missionary activities would convert many of the heathen and the prosperity of the new state would attract many nations. Unfortunately Israel failed. Had they been faithful the whole earth would have been prepared for the first advent of Christ.2
16. He shall appear. The Messiah would have come to the restored state (see on v. 15).
18. This.  This wonderful deliverance shall be carefully recorded by thy people.6
Written. This seems to be the only mention in the psalms where the record of God's providences is said to be written.2
People shall be created. (compare Ps. 22:31), an organized body, as a Church.5
19. Looked.From heaven.6
20. Those that are appointed to death. Literally, "children of death" (see Ps. 79:11 ).2
21. To declare.   That they might publish the name and praises of God in his church.6  Or, that God's name may be celebrated in the assemblies of His Church, gathered from all nations (Zec 8:20-23), and devoted to His service.5
22. When. When the Gentiles shall gather themselves to the Jews, and join with them in the worship of the true God.6
23. Weakened. Literally, "afflicted," and made fearful of a premature end, a figure of the apprehensions of the Church, lest God might not perform His promise, drawn from those of a person in view of the dangers of early death (compare Ps 89:47).5
My strength. From the consolation of God's eternal sovereignty the psalmist falls back again for an instant on his own, weakness and the shortness of his life- but it is only for an instant. Almost immediately he is swallowed up again in the contemplation of the unchangeableness of God.2
In the way. Of providence.5
24. I said.  Do not wholly destroy thy people Israel.6
In the midst. The psalmist's prayer is evidently prompted in part by his desire to see the restoration of Jerusalem. He cannot bear the thought of dying before seeing the fulfilment of his hopes. In the face of God's eternal existence he feels how fleeting and transient are his own days (see vs. 11, 12; Ps. 90:2; Hab. 1:12).2
Thy years.  Though we die, yet thou art the everlasting God.6
25. Hast thou laid. See Gen. 1:1. Verses 25-27 are quoted in Heb. 1:10-12 as an address to Christ. The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews is proving that Christ, as the Son of God, also has a place of pre-eminence above the angels. Here is proof also of the position of Christ as Creator. 2
26. Garment. Ugaritic literature also compares the heavens to a garment that "will wear away."2

References and notes
1. King James Authorized Version
2. Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary Vol. 3 pg 859
3. Matthew Henry Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible - http://bible .crosswalk .com /Commentaries
4. Clarke's Commentary - http://www. godrules.net /library/ clarke/ clarkepsa 102.htm
5. Jamieson, Faussett, and Brown - http://eword .gospelcom .net/ comments /psalm/jfb /psalm102 .htm
6. John Wesley's Notes on the Bible - http://eword .gospelcom. net/comment s/psalm/ wesley/ psalm102 .htm

SONG PREVIEW

Click on image for song preview of Psalm 102. The music was composed in 2005. Psalm 102 features on the CD Variety Album Vol. 1.

 

TITLE

The superscription, "A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the Lord," is unique among the superscriptions to the psalms. It characterizes the psalm and designates the purpose for which it was composed.2



BIBLE AUTHOR

Some think that David penned this psalm at the time of Absalom's rebellion; others that Daniel, Nehemiah, or some other prophet, penned it for the use of the church, when it was in captivity in Babylon, because it seems to speak of the ruin of Zion and of a time set for the rebuilding of it, which Daniel understood by books, Daniel 9:2. Or perhaps the psalmist was himself in great affliction, which he complains of in the beginning of the psalm, but he comforts himself under it with the consideration of God's eternity, and the church's prosperity and perpetuity, how much soever it was now distressed and threatened. But it is clear, from the application of Psalms 102:25,26, to Christ (Hebrews 1:10-12), that the psalm has reference to the days of the Messiah, and speaks either of his affliction or of the afflictions of his church for his sake.3



DIVISION

The psalm has several divisions:
vs. 1-11 The complaint and miserable state of the poor captives;
vs. 12-14 the expectation of deliverance;
vs. 15-18 the conversion of the heathen;
vs. 19-22 the termination of the captivity;
vs. 23,24 the great frailty of man;
vs. 25-27, the unchangeableness of God; and
vs. 28 the permanence of the Church.4



MESSIANIC PSALM

Paul (Heb 1:10) quotes Ps 102:26-28 as addressed to Christ in His divine nature. The scope of the Psalm, as already seen, so far from opposing, favours this view, especially by the sentiments of Ps 102:12-15 (compare Isa 60:1). The association of the Messiah with a day of future glory to the Church was very intimate in the minds of Old Testament writers; and with correct views of His nature it is very consistent that He should be addressed as the Lord and Head of His Church, who would bring about that glorious future on which they ever dwelt with fond delightful anticipations.5

SAD PENITENTIAL PSALM

Ps. 102 is one of the saddest of the seven penitential psalms. It appears to be the prayer of the exile composed in the land of his captivity. In elegiac strains it tells of pain and sorrow, of persecution and faintheartedness. But it does more than that; it recognizes hope in return from captivity and restoration of spirit. The poem swings between the two ideas, but closes on a sublime note of confidence in God's eternal constancy in His dealings with the children of men.2

 
 

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