Psalms102
New International Version
1 Hear my prayer, Lord; let my cry for help come to you.
2 Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly.
3 For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers.
4 My heart is blighted and withered like grass; I forget to eat my food.
5 In my distress I groan aloud and am reduced to skin and bones.
6 I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins.
7 I lie awake; I have become like a bird alone on a roof.
8 All day long my enemies taunt me; those who rail against me use my name as a curse.
9 For I eat ashes as my food and mingle my drink with tears
10 because of your great wrath, for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.
11 My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
12 But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations.
13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her; the appointed time has come.
14 For her stones are dear to your servants; her very dust moves them to pity.
15 The nations will fear the name of the Lord, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.
16 For the Lord will rebuild Zion and appear in his glory.
17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.
18 Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord:
19 “The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.”
21 So the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem
22 when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship the Lord.
23 In the course of my life he broke my strength; he cut short my days.
24 So I said: “Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days; your years go on through all generations.
25 In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded.
27 But you remain the same, and your years will never end.
28 The children of your servants will live in your presence; their descendants will be established before you.”
Study
Psalms 102Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Psalms 102. The full AI study guide (summary, themes, context) has its own page.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: A sorrowful complaint of great afflictions. (1–11). Encouragement by expecting the performances of God's promises to his church. (12–22). The unchangeableness of God. (23–28).
vv1-11
The whole word of God is of use to direct us in prayer; but here, is often elsewhere, the Holy Ghost has put words into our mouths. Here is a prayer put into the hands of the afflicted; let them present it to God. Even good men may be almost overwhelmed with afflictions. It is our duty and interest to pray; and it is comfort to an afflicted spirit to unburden itself, by a humble representation of its griefs. We must say, Blessed be the name of the Lord, who both gives and takes away. The psalmist looked upon himself as a dying man; My days are like a shadow.
vv12-22
We are dying creatures, but God is an everlasting God, the protector of his church; we may be confident that it will not be neglected. When we consider our own vileness, our darkness and deadness, and the manifold defects in our prayers, we have cause to fear that they will not be received in heaven; but we are here assured of the contrary, for we have an Advocate with the Father, and are under grace, not under the law. Redemption is the subject of praise in the Christian church; and that great work is described by the temporal deliverance and restoration of Israel. Look down upon us, Lord Jesus; and bring us into the glorious liberty of thy children, that we may bless and praise thy name.
vv23-28
Bodily distempers soon weaken our strength, then what can we expect but that our months should be cut off in the midst; and what should we do but provide accordingly? We must own God's hand in it; and must reconcile this to his love, for often those that have used their strength well, have it weakened; and those who, as we think, can very ill be spared, have their days shortened. It is very comfortable, in reference to all the changes and dangers of the church, to remember that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. And in reference to the death of our bodies, and the removal of friends, to remember that God is an everlasting God. Do not let us overlook the assurance this psalm contains of a happy end to all the believer's trials. Though all things are changing, dying, perishing, like a vesture folding up and hastening to decay, yet Jesus lives, and thus all is secure, for he hath said, Because I live ye shall live also.
Key Words
תְּפִלָּה: intercession, supplication; by implication, a hymn
עָנִי: depressed, in mind or circumstances
כִּי: (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed
עָטַף: to shroud, i.e. clothe (whether transitive or reflex.); hence (from the idea of darkness) to languish
שָׁפַךְ: to spill forth (blood, a libation, liquid metal; or even a solid, i.e. to mound up); also (figuratively) to expend (life, soul, complaint, money, etc.); intensively, to sprawl out
שִׂיחַ: a contemplation; by implication, an utterance
פָּנִים: the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.)
שָׁמַע: to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.)
שַׁוְעָה: a hallooing
בּוֹא: to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)
Cross References
Psalms 102Explicitly quoted in Hebrews 1 as addressed to Christ in His immutable divine nature.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Matches the exact petition to let the sighing/groaning of those appointed to death come before God.
Supported by JFB
Parallel imagery of eating the bread of tears and having tears to drink in great measure.
Supported by JFB
Daniel's prayer for Jerusalem recognizing the set seventy years of captivity was coming to an end.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Prophetic call for Zion to arise and shine, tied to the set time of her favor.
Supported by JFB
Thematic parallel of declaring God's righteousness to a generation/people yet to be born.
Supported by JFB
Graphic physiological description of extreme suffering where bone cleaves to skin/flesh.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Identifies the same solitary desert birds (pelican, owl) as symbols of desolation.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Contrasts man's transient shadow-like days with God's dwelling place throughout all generations.
Supported by JFB
Parallel imagery of the earth waxing old like a garment while God's salvation remains.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Parallel comparison of a withered, afflicted state to a bottle in the smoke.
Expresses being full of heaviness and heart-smitten, looking for comforters but finding none.
Lamentations parallel where bones cleave to skin and become withered like a stick.
Hezekiah's lament on his life being cut off and removed like a shepherd's tent.
The Messiah's mission to bind up the brokenhearted and proclaim liberty to captives.
Prophetic fulfillment of nations and kingdoms gathering together in Jerusalem to serve the Lord.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Man's beauty consuming away like a moth under God's rebukes and indignation.
A seed serving Him, accounted to the Lord for a generation.
Internal connection: God's eternal years directly answer the psalmist's prayer over short days.
Supported by JFB
The ultimate declaration of God's unchangeable nature: 'I am the Lord, I change not.'