Bible Commentaries

This psalm purports, in the title, to be a "Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the Lord." It is a prayer, made up of earnest supplications, as of one who was in great affliction, whether he refers to his own individual sorrows, or whether he speaks as one of the people. The word "afflicted," means here a suffering one; one who is in trouble. The word is in the singular number, and is one which is often applied to a person who is in trouble - whatever may be the nature of that trouble. The word rendered "overwhelmed" means properly to cover as with a garment; to clothe; and then, to be covered with darkness, affliction, grief, Psalm 61:2. This is the meaning here. It denotes a state where the soul was enshrouded in gloom and sorrow. The word rendered "complaint," means properly meditation; then, moaning; then, the expression of sorrow. It does not necessarily mean, as the word does with us, "finding fault," or expressing dissatisfaction, but it rather denotes that deep sorrow which finds utterance in low and plaintive sounds; not in boisterous and loud outcry, but in subdued notes - in sounds uttered not because one wishes to complain, but because the sorrow is such that it will find vent. Compare 1 Samuel 1:16; 1 Kings 18:27; Job 7:13; Job 9:27; Job 10:1; Job 21:4; Psalm 55:2; Psalm 64:1 (Hebrew).

On what occasion, or by whom, this psalm was composed, it is not possible now to ascertain. Hengstenberg and Prof. Alexander suppose that it was by David. It seems more probable, however, from Psalm 102:13-21, that it was in the time of the captivity, and was in view of the troubles of that long and weary exile, and that the psalmist speaks not of individual and personal troubles, but speaks as one of the people - as one in exile with others who had been long held in captivity, and who sighed for deliverance, and for a restoration to their native land. In the midst of these troubles, which are so tenderly described in the first eleven verses, he saw encouraging evidences that the Lord was about to manifest his mercy, and to restore the people to their native land; and he pleads most earnestly with God, on the ground that he was faithful and unchanging, that he would thus interpose and accomplish the earnest desire of his afflicted people. The "language," indeed, in the psalm, is that of an individual, and the author of the psalm speaks of his own personal sorrows, but it may be as one among many who were equally crushed and overwhelmed, so that the language used to represent his sorrow may describe the sorrows experienced by others in the same circumstances. Beyond all question, the language used in the psalm would express the feelings of many a pious Hebrew in the time of the exile, the sorrow - the sadness - the cherished hopes - the prayers - of many a one in that prolonged and painful captivity.

The psalm may be divided into three parts:

I. A description of the sorrows of the author of the psalm, as representative of the condition and feelings of the exiles, Psalm 102:1-11. In this, the language of lamentation and complaint predominates.

II. The grounds of hope - the indications of deliverance - the evidences that God was about to show favor to his people, and to restore them to their own country - that the time, the set time, to favor Zion was about to come, Psalm 102:12-22.

III. The confidence of the psalmist in God, on the ground of his unchangeableness: on the fact that God is always the same; that his promises must be sure; that his purposes must be accomplished; that the very heavens and the earth would change - that the skies would grow old like a garment and pass away - but that God did not, would not change. All that he had spoken must be true; all that he had purposed must be accomplished; all that he had promised must come to pass, Psalm 102:23-28.

Hear my prayer, O Lord - The prayer which I offer in view of my personal trials; the prayer which I offer as one of an afflicted people. Compare Psalm 4:1; Psalm 17:1; Psalm 18:6.

And let my cry come unto thee - My prayer, accompanied with an outward expression of my earnestness. It was not a silent, or a mental prayer; it was a loud and earnest cry. Psalm 5:2; Psalm 18:6, Psalm 18:41; Psalm 30:2; Psalm 72:12; Job 35:9; Job 36:13.

Hide not thy face from me - The Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate render this, "Do not turn away thy face from me." The sense is essentially the same. The prayer is, that God would not refuse to look graciously upon him; that he would turn his attention to him; that he would regard his supplications. See the notes at Psalm 10:1; compare Psalm 13:1; Psalm 27:9; Job 13:24; Job 34:29; Deuteronomy 31:17.

In the day when I am in trouble - When sorrows come upon me; when I need thy gracious help. Literally, "When there is distress to me."

Incline thine ear unto me - See Psalm 5:1, note; Psalm 17:6, note; compare Psalm 17:1; Psalm 55:1; Psalm 86:6; Psalm 39:12.

In the day when I call, answer me speedily - Grant at once my requests; give me immediate evidence that my prayer is heard. The psalmist believed in an immediate answer to prayer. He often had evidence that his prayer was answered at once; his mind became calm; he had comfort and peace; he obtained the blessing which he earnestly sought. No one can doubt that prayer may be answered at once; no one who prays can fail to find such answers in his own case, in his peace, his calmness, his joy. In multitudes of cases blessings are granted in such a way that there can be no doubt that they have come in answer to prayer. Compare the notes at Daniel 9:20-23.

For my days are consumed like smoke - Margin, "into smoke." Literally, "in smoke." That is, They vanish as smoke; they pass away and become nothing; they are spent in affliction, and seem to accomplish nothing. The idea is, that in his affliction he seemed to accomplish none of the ends of life. His life seemed to be wasted. This is often the feeling in trial: and yet in trial a man may be more useful, he may do more to accomplish the real ends of life, he may do more to illustrate the power and excellence of religion, than he ever did in the days of prosperity.

And my bones are burned as an hearth - Or rather, as faggots or fuel. Literally, "They are burned as a burning." The idea is, that in his troubles, his very bones, the most solid and substantial part of himself, seemed to be consumed and to waste away. See the notes at Psalm 31:10.

My heart is smitten - Broken; crushed with grief. We now speak of "a broken heart." Even death is often caused by such excessive sorrow as to crush and break the heart.

And withered like grass - It is dried up as grass is by drought, or as when it is cut down. It loses its support; and having no strength of its own, it dies.

So that I forget to eat my bread - I am so absorbed in my trials; they so entirely engross my attention, that I think of nothing else, not even of those things which are necessary to the support of life. Grief has the effect of taking away the appetite, but this does not seem to be the idea here. It is that of such a complete absorption in trouble that everything else is forgotten.

By reason of the voice of my groaning - By suffering and trouble, so great as to produce groaning, my flesh is wasted away.

My bones cleave to my skin - Margin, "flesh." The Hebrew word means "flesh." The effect described is that of a wasting away or an emaciation of flesh from deep distress, so that the bones became prominent, and had nothing to hide them from view; so that they seemed to adhere fast to the flesh itself. See the notes at Job 19:20.

I am like a pelican of the wilderness - A bird in the midst of desolation becomes a striking image of loneliness and distress. The word rendered "pelican" - קאת qâ'ath - is supposed to have been a name given to the pelican from the idea of vomiting, as it "vomits the shells and other substances which it has too voraciously swallowed." The word occurs in the following places, where it is rendered as here "pelican:" Leviticus 11:18; Deuteronomy 14:17; and in Isaiah 34:11; Zephaniah 2:14, where it is rendered "cormorant." The following description, taken from the "Land and the Book," vol. i. p. 403, by Dr. Thomson, will illustrate this passage. Speaking of the outlet of the Huleh, and the region of the exit of the Jordan from that lake in its course toward the sea of Tiberias, he says, "Here only have I seen the pelican of the wilderness, as David calls it. I once had one of them shot just below this place, and, as it was merely wounded in the wing, I had a good opportunity to study its character. It was certainly the most sombre, austere bird I ever saw. It gave one the blues merely to look at it. David could find no more expressive type of solitude and melancholy by which to illustrate his own sad state. It seemed as large as a half-grown donkey, and when fairly settled on its stout legs, it looked like one. The pelican is never seen but in these unfrequented solitudes, and to this agree all the references to it in the Bible."

I am like an owl of the desert - The owl is a well-known bird which dwells in solitudes and old ruins, and which becomes, alike by its seeking such places of abode, by its appearance, and by its doleful cry, the very emblem of desolation.

I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house-top - That is, I am "sleepless;" trouble drives sleep from my eyes, and I am kept awake at night - a common effect of grief. The following remarks, copied from the "Land and the Book" (i. 54, 55), will furnish all the illustration needful of this verse. "They are a tame, troublesome, and impertinent generation, and nestle just where you don't want them. They stop up your stove and waterpipes with their rubbish, build in the windows and under the beams of the roof, and would stuff your hat full of stubble in half a day if they found it hanging in a place to suit them ... . When one of them has lost its mate - a matter of everyday occurrence - he will sit on the house-top alone, and lament by the hour his sad bereavement."