1 A prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed and before Jehovah poureth out his complaint.
2 Jehovah, hear my prayer, and let my cry come unto thee.
3 Hide not thy face from me; in the day of my distress incline unto me thine ear; in the day I can, answer me speedily.
4 For my days are consumed like (or in) smoke, and my bones are burned as a firebrand.
5 My heart is smitten as grass and dried up; for I forget to eat my bread.
6 From the voice of my groaning my bone cleaveth to my flesh.
7 I am like a pelican of the wilderness, I am become as an owl of desolate places;
8 I watch and become as a sparrow upon the housetop.
9 All the day mine enemies reproach me, and they that are mad against me swear by me.
10 For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping,
11 Because of thine indignation and thy wrath; for thou hast lifted me up and cast me down.
12 My days [are] as a shadow stretched out, and for me, I am withered as grass.
13 But thou, Jehovah, for ever abidest, and thy memorial from generation to generation.
14 Thou wilt arise, thou wilt compassionate Zion, for [it is] time to be gracious to her, for the set time is come.
15 For thy servants take pleasure in her stones and are gracious to her dust.
16 And nations shall fear Jehovah’s name, and all kings of the earth thy glory.
17 For Jehovah hath built Zion, he is seen in his glory,
18 He turned unto the prayer of the destitute one, and despised not their prayer.
19 This shall be written for an after generation, and a people to be created shall praise Jah.
20 For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from the heavens hath Jehovah beheld the earth;
21 To hear the groaning of the prisoner, to loose the sons of death,
22 To declare in Zion Jehovah’s name and his praise in Jerusalem,
23 When peoples are gathered together, and kingdoms, to serve Jehovah.
24 He weakened my strength in the way, he shortened my days.
25 I said, O my God (El), take me not away in the midst (or half) of my days: in generation of generations [are] thy years.
26 Of old hast thou founded the earth, and the heavens [are] the work of thy hands.
27 They shall perish, and thou shalt endure; and all of them as the garment shall wax old; as the vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed.
28 But thou [art] the same (He), and thy years shall have no end.
29 The sons of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee.
Notes on Psalm 102
This psalm is “A prayer of the afflicted one when he is overwhelmed, and before Jehovah poureth out his complaint.” It is as full of interest, as of moment incalculable. The Epistle to the Hebrews (Heb. 1:10-1210And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: 11They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; 12And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. (Hebrews 1:10‑12)) quotes it to prove that the O. T. regards Christ the Son of God as Jehovah, Psalm 45 having just been alleged in proof of His Godhead, and in both psalms by the God of Israel Himself. Yet it is Messiah’s depth of humiliation which gives occasion to this expression of His divine glory. Out of that depth the Son contrasts His own wasting away in trouble with the permanence of Jehovah, with the certainty of Zion’s rise from ruin, and the fulfilment of hope in the glorious morrow, when the peoples shall be no longer rebellious but gathered together to serve Jehovah. But when Messiah renews His cry of sorrow, the Father declares that the holy Sufferer is, no less than Himself, Jehovah the Creator, Who will change the creature as of old He made it, and is destined yet to have the sons of His servants abiding, and their seed established before Him. The comment of inspiration is as wondrous as the Psalm: none but the Holy Spirit could have given either; and both are worthy of Him to whom they testify.