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Lyrics
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
1. 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/clarkepsa102.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/comments/psalm/wesley/psalm102.htm
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About Psalm 102 |
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Easyfind |
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Superscription |
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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 |
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Music
Composed |
The
music was composed in
2005
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Music for
Psalm 102 |
 An
audio clip for Psalm 102 is currently unavailable however we
do provide a
record for you service. This song
may be recorded in a future
Psalms album. Click on image to listen to other
songs from the
Bible in Song collection. |
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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
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Song Structure |
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Messianic Psalm |
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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
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A Sad
Penitential Psalm |
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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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