1Hear my prayer, O Lord,
And let my cry come to You.
2Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble;
Incline Your ear to me;
In the day that I call, answer
me speedily.
3For my days are consumed like smoke,
And my bones are burned like a
hearth.
4My heart is stricken and withered like grass,
So that I forget to eat my
bread.
5Because of the sound of my groaning
My bones cling to my skin.
6I am like a pelican of the wilderness;
I am like an owl of the
desert.
7I lie awake,
And am like a sparrow alone on
the housetop.
8My enemies reproach me all day long;
Those who deride me swear an
oath against me.
9For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And mingled my drink with
weeping,
10Because of Your indignation and Your wrath;
For You have lifted me up and
cast me away.
11My days are like a shadow that lengthens,
And I wither away like grass.
12But You, O Lord, shall
endure forever,
And the remembrance of Your
name to all generations.
13You will arise and have mercy on Zion;
For the time to favor her,
Yes, the set time, has come.
14For Your servants take pleasure in her stones,
And show favor to her dust.
15So the nations shall fear the name of the Lord,
And all the kings of the earth
Your glory.
16For the Lord shall build up
Zion;
He shall appear in His glory.
17He shall regard the prayer of the destitute,
And shall not despise their
prayer.
18This will be written for the generation to come,
That a people yet to be
created may praise the Lord.
19For He looked down from the height of His sanctuary;
From heaven the Lord viewed the earth,
20To hear the groaning of the prisoner,
To release those appointed to
death,
21To declare the name of the Lord
in Zion,
And His praise in Jerusalem,
22When the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve the
Lord.
23He weakened my strength in the way;
He shortened my days.
24I said, “O my God,
Do not take me away in the
midst of my days;
Your years are throughout all
generations.
25Of old You laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work
of Your hands.
26They will perish, but You will endure;
Yes, they will all grow old
like a garment;
Like a cloak You will change
them,
And they will be changed.
27But You are the same,
And Your years will have no
end.
28The children of Your servants will continue,
And their descendants will be established before You.”
Preamble: Psalm 102 is a Messianic Psalm, for it describes or refers to the Lord Jesus Christ is many ways, which you may also discover for yourselves. Now in this Psalm there lots of personal pronouns, describing a discourse between David and the Lord, and or the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father. What proves this is the citing of verses 25-27 in Hebrews 1:10-12.
Commentary
Vs.
1 “Hear my prayer, O Lord,
And let my cry come to You.”
The Psalms opening is clearly begun as a prayer of David, for the Lord Jesus Christ never had any doubts as to God the Father hearing Him (consider John 11:41-42). David then in his dire and distress turns himself to the Lord; which is just what the Lord Jesus Christ always does; asking Him to let his cry come before Him; which again is not something the Son of God would ever have to ask of the Father; but is something that we ourselves should do in our humble supplications to Him.
Vs. 2 “Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble;
Incline Your ear to me;
In the day that I call, answer
me speedily.”
David's fear then (as a man of God who knew his own faults and failings), was that God would hide His face from him (consider Ps. 13:1; 27:9; 69:17 etc.), as He did with Saul who came before him. David then never presumed upon his position and favor with Him, even when he reigned as king. For being under the Old Covenant meant that there was always a certain separation between God and His people, whether they were leaders or not; unlike for us today who freely enjoy the grace and fellowship of God our Father because of what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us all who believe in Him (consider Hebrews 4:14-16; 12:18-24). Therefore, David having no Intercessor on His behalf as we now have with Christ implores Him to hear him and answer him speedily in the day of his trouble.
Vs. 3-5 3For my days are consumed like smoke,
And my bones are burned like a
hearth.
4My heart is stricken and withered like grass,
So that I forget to eat my bread.
5Because of the sound of my groaning
My bones cling to my skin.
David now describes his affliction as coming from the hand of God. Physical weakness, emotional sadness, are just some of the burdens that he now bears as the nations leader, and are sufferings that can also be attributed to Jesus Christ’s sufferings for us all on the Cross. In many ways in David we see God’s leaders also suffer His chastening, just as the nation of Israel did. The ultimate fulfillment of this is first foretold then seen in the Lord Jesus Christ's Sufferings in Isaiah 52:14, first for the nation of Israel, then in Isaiah 53 for the sins of us all. Think also of the Apostle Paul’s suffering for/with the church as well, see 2 Cor. 12:20-21). God's leadership then will often have to bear His chastisement along with the congregation, for it brings both to repentance (2 Chr. 7:13-14).
Vs. 6-11 6I am like a pelican of the wilderness;
I am like an owl of the
desert.
7I lie awake,
And am like a sparrow alone on
the housetop.
8My enemies reproach me all day long;
Those who deride me swear an
oath against me.
9For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And mingled my drink with
weeping,
10Because of Your indignation and Your wrath;
For You have lifted me up and
cast me away.
11My days are like a shadow that lengthens,
And I wither away like grass.
David's colorful metaphors now describe his plight to God. And maybe by doing so he alleviates some of his own sorrow and sadness by giving vent to it. David then draws on the pelican who lives isolated and alone in the wilderness, and the owl who dwells high up in the trees to describe his own feelings of isolation in the day time (vs. 6). While in the night, he lies awake unable to sleep because of the burdens he now bears, and so he looks out from his housetop all alone like a little sparrow which one gives any regard to (vs. 7). And his thoughts while there are not healthy and contemplative, but only recall his enemies who reproach him all day long, while those who deride also him swear an oath against him (vs. 8). For they are only seeking to orchestrate all kinds of troubles for him, and so he thinks to himself, who and what will be next? As for his food which should nourish his body refresh his soul it has only become like ashes to him, even his drink which should bring joy to his heart is now only mixed with his tears (vs. 9). David in verse ten then declares that this is a burden that God has laid upon him, that he is suffering His indignation, so much so that he feels as if God has lifted him up and cast him away. That the breadth of his days is now narrowing like a shadow, and like the grass, his beauty and vitality only wither away.
Vs. 12-14 12But You, O Lord, shall endure forever,
And the remembrance of Your
name to all generations.
13You will arise and have mercy on Zion;
For the time to favor her,
Yes, the set time, has come.
14For Your servants take pleasure in her stones,
And show favor to her dust.
And as it seems like David is approaching hopelessness, he has his breakthrough moment where his faith conquers his
current circumstances. For in turning from himself to the Lord he now sees that
no matter what happens to him the Lord who shall endure forever, His Name shall remain to all
generations. Thus, whether David lived or died or anything else did not matter,
the Lord’s people and His nation would endure, because the Lord Himself endures
forever!
Therefore,
David now knows in his heart that the Lord will arise and have mercy on Zion,
(for God’s chastisement of His people individually or His nation collectively never means His abandonment of us). Therefore yes, the set time to
favor her has come (vs. 13). For the Lord’s servants love his chosen dwelling
place, Jerusalem, for even its dust and stones are precious to us, because this
is where He will dwell in His Millennial Reign, this is where He rules the
nations! Thus, David is now seeing far beyond himself and his own
circumstances to a future that he now greatly anticipates with the Lord Himself.
Vs. 15-16 15So the nations shall fear the name of the Lord,
And all the kings of the earth
Your glory.
16For the Lord shall build up
Zion;
He shall appear in His glory.
David now sees that the Lord's Reign will be established by Him. For it will be a reign in which the nations shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth His glory. For He shall have subdued and vanquished them all before His Reign, therefore the Lord Himself shall build up Zion, it shall not fall to men's shoulders like David anymore, For the Lord Himself shall appear in glory in the New Jerusalem, and in the Zion that He Himself has built, He shall Regin and Rule over all!
Vs. 17 “He shall regard the prayer of the destitute,
And shall not despise their
prayer.”
Incredibly, David now sees the Lord Jesus Christ as King of the Nations; but not ruling like the kings of the earth always do; looking out for their own and their rich and influential friends interests, for He will hear the prayer of the destitute, and the one who has no helper, (who are of no regard to the power brokers of this world) these then the Lord will hear for He will never despise their prayer. There will be a just world (without partiality) and He Himself will be the cause and maker and ruler of it!
Vs. 18 “This will be written for the generation to come,
That a people yet to be
created may praise the Lord.”
David now realizes that this Psalm given through his own trials was not for himself (for his own comfort), but for the generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord! How incredibly insightful, Holy Spirit insightful. Therefore when we read the Holy Scriptures as those people, as born-again children of God, we should always read them in this light, that they are given for us all who believe in Him to find our comfort and our hope (Rom. 15:4).
Vs. 19-22 19For He looked down from the height of His sanctuary;
From heaven the Lord viewed the earth,
20To hear the groaning of the prisoner,
To release those appointed to
death,
21To declare the name of the Lord
in Zion,
And His praise in Jerusalem,
22When the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve the
Lord.
David now celebrates the Lord's Righteous Reign. For he sees the Lord hearing the cries of all of His afflicted people, His hearing the groaning of the prisoner, and His releasing those appointed to death. So that they too may declare the Name of the Lord in Zion, and His praise in Jerusalem. This then will be done when the peoples are gathered, And all the Kingdoms to serve the Lord (vs. 22). For when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to earth it will be the ultimate Jubilee! For one and for all! Free at last!
Vs. 23-28 23He weakened my strength in the way;
He shortened my days.
24I said, “O my God,
Do not take me away in the
midst of my days;
Your years are throughout all
generations.
25Of old You laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work
of Your hands.
26They will perish, but You will endure;
Yes, they will all grow old
like a garment;
Like a cloak You will change
them,
And they will be changed.
27But You are the same,
And Your years will have no
end.
28The children of Your servants will continue,
And their descendants will be
established before You.”
David now gives a testimony of the Lord's dealings with him, declaring how the Lord had weakened his strength in the way, and how He had shortened His days. Quite a contrast to the lying "prosperity" preachers who always speak of their ease and comfort of their increasing in wealth. Therefore David now cries out to Him, asking Him not to take him away in the midst of his days, for the Lord’s years are throughout all generations, (vs. 23-24), but David knows his years are not. And in appealing to the Lord, David goes on to declare to the Lord that of old He laid the foundation of the earth, that the heavens are all the work of His hands (vs. 25); thus, David is confessing God’s Sovereignty over all of creation, including his own life. For it is God alone who sustains us or not, who keeps us alive or not. And in seeing the Lord's creation, David now wisely considers its temporary nature, for it will all perish, all of it, but the Lord Himself shall endure forever, long after it is all gone, even beyond forever. For it will all grow old like a garment, and like a cloak the Lord will change it all (vs. 26). For On His Day He will create a new heavens and new earth in which we all the redeemed of the Lord will dwell with Him. For the Lord never changes, and His years shall have no end (vs. 27). Therefore, the children of His servants will continue, for He Himself will see to it, see that the righteous will be in everlasting remembrance, therefore even our decedents will be established before Him (vs. 28). Our end in this life then is just our beginning!
Scripture Quotations
New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.
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