Psa 102:1-11 | Clarke | STEP | The complaint and miserable state of the poor captives, ; the expectation of deliverance, ; the conversion of the heathen, ; the termination of the captivity, ; the great frailty of man, , ; the unchangeableness of God, ; the permanence of the Church, . The Hebrew, and nearly all the Versions, give the following title to this Psalm: A prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and pours out his sighing before the Lord. There seems to be little doubt that this is the prayer of the captives in Babylon, when, towards the end of the captivity, they were almost worn out with oppression, cruelty, and distress. The Psalm has been attributed to Daniel, to Jeremiah, to Nehemiah, or to some of the other prophets who flourished during the time of the captivity. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews has applied the twenty-fifth, twenty sixth, and twenty seventh verses to our Lord, and the perpetuity of his kingdom. Verse 1 Hear my prayer - The chief parts of the Psalm answer well to the title: it is the language of the deepest distress, and well directed to Him from whom alone help can come.

‏ Psalms 102:1-11

Introduction

The complaint and miserable state of the poor captives, Psa 102:1-11; the expectation of deliverance, Psa 102:12-14; the conversion of the heathen, Psa 102:15-18; the termination of the captivity, Psa 102:19-22; the great frailty of man, Psa 102:23, Psa 102:24; the unchangeableness of God, Psa 102:25-27; the permanence of the Church, Psa 102:28.

The Hebrew, and nearly all the Versions, give the following title to this Psalm: A prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and pours out his sighing before the Lord. There seems to be little doubt that this is the prayer of the captives in Babylon, when, towards the end of the captivity, they were almost worn out with oppression, cruelty, and distress. The Psalm has been attributed to Daniel, to Jeremiah, to Nehemiah, or to some of the other prophets who flourished during the time of the captivity. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews has applied the twenty-fifth, twenty sixth, and twenty seventh verses to our Lord, and the perpetuity of his kingdom.

Verse 1

Hear my prayer - The chief parts of the Psalm answer well to the title: it is the language of the deepest distress, and well directed to Him from whom alone help can come. Verse 3

My days are consumed like smoke - He represents himself (for the psalmist speaks in the name of the people) under the notion of a pile of combustible matter, placed upon a fire, which soon consumes it; part flying away in smoke, and the residue lying on the hearth in the form of charred coal and ashes. The Chaldeans were the fire, and the captive Jews the fuel, thus converted into smoke and ashes. Verse 4

My heart is smitten, and withered like grass - The metaphor here is taken from grass cut down in the meadow. It is first smitten with the scythe, and then withered by the sun. Thus the Jews were smitten with the judgments of God; and they are now withered under the fire of the Chaldeans. Verse 6

I am like a pelican of the wilderness - It may be the pelican or the bittern. The original, קאת kaath, is mentioned Lev 11:18 (note), and is there described. See the note.

Owl of the desert - כוש cos, some species of owl; probably the night raven. See the notes referred to above. Verse 7

As a sparrow alone - צפור tsippor, seems to be often used for any small bird, such as the swallow, sparrow, or the like. Bochart supposes the screech owl is intended. Verse 8

They that are mad against me are sworn against me - The Chaldeans are determined to destroy us; and they have bound themselves by oath to do it. See a similar case related Act 23:12-14, where a number of Jews had bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had slain Paul. Verse 9

I have eaten ashes like bread - Fearful of what they might do, we all humbled ourselves before thee, and sought thy protection; well knowing that, unless we were supernaturally assisted, we must all have perished; our enemies having sworn our destruction. Verse 10

For thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down - Thou hast lifted me on high, that thou mightest dash me down with the greater force.

We were exalted in thy favor beyond any people, and now thou hast made us the lowest and most abject of the children of men. Verse 11

My days are like a shadow that declineth - Or rather, My days decline like the shadow. I have passed my meridian, and the sun of my prosperity is about to set for ever. There may be here an allusion to the declination of the sun towards the south, which, by shortening their days, would greatly lengthen their nights. Similar to the exclamation of a contemporary prophet, Jer 8:20 : "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." There is now scarcely any human hope of our deliverance.