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 [[A Prayer H8605 of the afflicted, H6041 when he is overwhelmed, H5848 and poureth out H8210 his complaint H7879 before H6440 the LORD.]] H3068 Hear H8085 my prayer, H8605 O LORD, H3068 and let my cry H7775 come H935 unto thee.
2 Hide H5641 not thy face H6440 from me in the day H3117 when I am in trouble; H6862 incline H5186 thine ear H241 unto me: in the day H3117 when I call H7121 answer H6030 me speedily. H4118
3 For my days H3117 are consumed H3615 like smoke, H6227 and my bones H6106 are burned H2787 as an hearth. H4168
4 My heart H3820 is smitten, H5221 and withered H3001 like grass; H6212 so that I forget H7911 to eat H398 my bread. H3899
5 By reason of the voice H6963 of my groaning H585 my bones H6106 cleave H1692 to my skin. H1320
6 I am like H1819 a pelican H6893 of the wilderness: H4057 I am like an owl H3563 of the desert. H2723
7 I watch, H8245 and am as a sparrow H6833 alone H909 upon the house top. H1406
8 Mine enemies H341 reproach H2778 me all the day; H3117 and they that are mad H1984 against me are sworn H7650 against me.
9 For I have eaten H398 ashes H665 like bread, H3899 and mingled H4537 my drink H8249 with weeping, H1065
10 Because H6440 of thine indignation H2195 and thy wrath: H7110 for thou hast lifted me up, H5375 and cast me down. H7993
11 My days H3117 are like a shadow H6738 that declineth; H5186 and I am withered H3001 like grass. H6212
12 But thou, O LORD, H3068 shalt endure H3427 for ever; H5769 and thy remembrance H2143 unto all H1755 generations. H1755
13 Thou shalt arise, H6965 and have mercy H7355 upon Zion: H6726 for the time H6256 to favour H2603 her, yea, the set time, H4150 is come. H935
14 For thy servants H5650 take pleasure H7521 in her stones, H68 and favour H2603 the dust H6083 thereof.
15 So the heathen H1471 shall fear H3372 the name H8034 of the LORD, H3068 and all the kings H4428 of the earth H776 thy glory. H3519
16 When the LORD H3068 shall build up H1129 Zion, H6726 he shall appear H7200 in his glory. H3519
17 He will regard H6437 the prayer H8605 of the destitute, H6199 and not despise H959 their prayer. H8605
18 This shall be written H3789 for the generation H1755 to come: H314 and the people H5971 which shall be created H1254 shall praise H1984 the LORD. H3050
19 For he hath looked down H8259 from the height H4791 of his sanctuary; H6944 from heaven H8064 did the LORD H3068 behold H5027 the earth; H776
20 To hear H8085 the groaning H603 of the prisoner; H615 to loose H6605 those that are appointed H1121 to death; H8546
21 To declare H5608 the name H8034 of the LORD H3068 in Zion, H6726 and his praise H8416 in Jerusalem; H3389
22 When the people H5971 are gathered H6908 together, H3162 and the kingdoms, H4467 to serve H5647 the LORD. H3068
23 He weakened H6031 my strength H3581 in the way; H1870 he shortened H7114 my days. H3117
24 I said, H559 O my God, H410 take me not away H5927 in the midst H2677 of my days: H3117 thy years H8141 are throughout all H1755 generations. H1755
25 Of old H6440 hast thou laid the foundation H3245 of the earth: H776 and the heavens H8064 are the work H4639 of thy hands. H3027
26 They shall perish, H6 but thou shalt endure: H5975 yea, all of them shall wax old H1086 like a garment; H899 as a vesture H3830 shalt thou change H2498 them, and they shall be changed: H2498
27 But thou art the same, and thy years H8141 shall have no end. H8552
28 The children H1121 of thy servants H5650 shall continue, H7931 and their seed H2233 shall be established H3559 before H6440 thee.
1 Hear my prayer, O Jehovah, And let my cry come unto thee.
2 Hide not thy face from me in the day of my distress: Incline thine ear unto me; In the day when I call answer me speedily.
3 For my days consume away like smoke, And my bones are burned as a firebrand.
4 My heart is smitten like grass, and withered; For I forget to eat my bread.
5 By reason of the voice of my groaning My bones cleave to my flesh.
6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am become as an owl of the waste places.
7 I watch, and am become like a sparrow That is alone upon the house-top.
8 Mine enemies reproach me all the day; They that are mad against me do curse by 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 taken me up, and cast me away.
11 My days are like a shadow that declineth; And I am withered like grass.
12 But thou, O Jehovah, wilt abide for ever; And thy memorial `name' unto all generations.
13 Thou wilt arise, and have mercy upon Zion; For it is time to have pity upon her, Yea, the set time is come.
14 For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, And have pity upon her dust.
15 So the nations shall fear the name of Jehovah, And all the kings of the earth thy glory.
16 For Jehovah hath built up Zion; He hath appeared in his glory.
17 He hath regarded the prayer of the destitute, And hath not despised their prayer.
18 This shall be written for the generation to come; And a people which shall be created shall praise Jehovah.
19 For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; From heaven did Jehovah behold the earth;
20 To hear the sighing of the prisoner; To loose those that are appointed to death;
21 That men may declare the name of Jehovah in Zion, And his praise in Jerusalem;
22 When the peoples are gathered together, And the kingdoms, to serve Jehovah.
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 didst thou lay 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. Psalm 103 `A Psalm' of David.
1 A Prayer of the afflicted when he is feeble, and before Jehovah poureth out his plaint. O Jehovah, hear my prayer, yea, my cry to Thee cometh.
2 Hide not Thou Thy face from me, In a day of mine adversity, Incline unto me Thine ear, In the day I call, haste, answer me.
3 For consumed in smoke have been my days, And my bones as a fire-brand have burned.
4 Smitten as the herb, and withered, is my heart, For I have forgotten to eat my bread.
5 From the voice of my sighing Hath my bone cleaved to my flesh.
6 I have been like to a pelican of the wilderness, I have been as an owl of the dry places.
7 I have watched, and I am As a bird alone on the roof.
8 All the day mine enemies reproached me, Those mad at me have sworn against me.
9 Because ashes as bread I have eaten, And my drink with weeping have mingled,
10 From Thine indignation and Thy wrath, For Thou hast lifted me up, And dost cast me down.
11 My days as a shadow `are' stretched out, And I -- as the herb I am withered.
12 And Thou, O Jehovah, to the age abidest, And Thy memorial to all generations.
13 Thou -- Thou risest -- Thou pitiest Zion, For the time to favour her, For the appointed time hath come.
14 For Thy servants have been pleased with her stones, And her dust they favour.
15 And nations fear the name of Jehovah, And all kings of the earth Thine honour,
16 For Jehovah hath builded Zion, He hath been seen in His honour,
17 He turned unto the prayer of the destitute, And He hath not despised their prayer.
18 This is written for a later generation, And the people created do praise Jah.
19 For He hath looked From the high place of His sanctuary. Jehovah from heaven unto earth looked attentively,
20 To hear the groan of the prisoner, To loose sons of death,
21 To declare in Zion the name of Jehovah, And His praise in Jerusalem,
22 In the peoples being gathered together, And the kingdoms -- to serve Jehovah.
23 He hath humbled in the way my power, He hath shortened my days.
24 I say, `My God, take me not up in the midst of my days,' Through all generations `are' Thine years.
25 Beforetime the earth Thou didst found, And the work of Thy hands `are' the heavens.
26 They -- They perish, and Thou remainest, And all of them as a garment become old, As clothing Thou changest them, And they are changed.
27 And Thou `art' the same, and Thine years are not finished.
28 The sons of Thy servants do continue, And their seed before Thee is established!
1 {A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before Jehovah.} Jehovah, hear my prayer, and let my cry come unto thee.
2 Hide not thy face from me: in the day of my trouble, incline thine ear unto me; in the day I call, answer me speedily.
3 For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as a firebrand.
4 My heart is smitten and withered like grass; yea, I have forgotten to eat my bread.
5 By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones cleave to my flesh.
6 I am become like the pelican of the wilderness, I am as an owl in desolate places;
7 I watch, and am like a sparrow alone upon the housetop.
8 Mine enemies reproach me all the day; they that are mad against me swear by 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 lengthened-out shadow, and I, I am withered like grass.
12 But thou, Jehovah, abidest for ever, and thy memorial from generation to generation.
13 *Thou* wilt rise up, thou wilt have mercy upon Zion: for it is the time to be gracious to her, for the set time is come.
14 For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour her dust.
15 And the nations shall fear the name of Jehovah, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
16 When Jehovah shall build up Zion, he will appear in his glory.
17 He will regard the prayer of the destitute one, and not despise their prayer.
18 This shall be written for the generation to come; and a people that shall be created shall praise Jah:
19 For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from the heavens hath Jehovah beheld the earth,
20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner, to loose those that are appointed to die;
21 That the name of Jehovah may be declared in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem,
22 When the peoples shall be gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve Jehovah.
23 He weakened my strength in the way, he shortened my days.
24 I said, My ùGod, take me not away in the midst of my days! ... Thy years are from generation to generation.
25 Of old hast thou founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands:
26 *They* shall perish, but *thou* continuest; and all of them shall grow old as 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 abide, and their seed shall be established before thee.
1 > Hear my prayer, Yahweh! Let my cry come to you.
2 Don't hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Turn your ear to me. Answer me quickly in the day when I call.
3 For my days consume away like smoke. My bones are burned as a firebrand.
4 My heart is blighted like grass, and withered, For I forget to eat my bread.
5 By reason of the voice of my groaning, My bones stick to my skin.
6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness. I have become as an owl of the waste places.
7 I watch, and have become like a sparrow that is alone on the housetop.
8 My enemies reproach me all day. Those who are mad at me use my name as a curse.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread, And mixed my drink with tears,
10 Because of your indignation and your wrath, For you have taken me up, and thrown me away.
11 My days are like a long shadow. I have withered like grass.
12 But you, Yahweh, will abide forever; Your renown endures to all generations.
13 You will arise and have mercy on Zion; For it is time to have pity on her. Yes, the set time has come.
14 For your servants take pleasure in her stones, And have pity on her dust.
15 So the nations will fear the name of Yahweh; All the kings of the earth your glory.
16 For Yahweh has built up Zion. He has appeared in his glory.
17 He has responded to the prayer of the destitute, And has not despised their prayer.
18 This will be written for the generation to come. A people which will be created will praise Yah.
19 For he has looked down from the height of his sanctuary. From heaven, Yahweh saw the earth;
20 To hear the groans of the prisoner; To free those who are condemned to death;
21 That men may declare the name of Yahweh in Zion, And his praise in Jerusalem;
22 When the peoples are gathered together, The kingdoms, to serve Yahweh.
23 He weakened my strength along the course. He shortened my days.
24 I said, "My God, don't take me away in the midst of my days. Your years are throughout all generations.
25 Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you will endure. Yes, all of them will wear out like a garment. You will change them like a cloak, and they will be changed.
27 But you are the same. Your years will have no end.
28 The children of your servants will continue. Their seed will be established before you."
1 <A Prayer of the man who is in trouble, when he is overcome, and puts his grief before the Lord.> Give ear to my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come to you.
2 Let not your face be veiled from me in the day of my trouble; give ear to me, and let my cry be answered quickly.
3 My days are wasted like smoke, and my bones are burned up as in a fire.
4 My heart is broken; it has become dry and dead like grass, so that I give no thought to food.
5 Because of the voice of my sorrow, my flesh is wasted to the bone.
6 I am like a bird living by itself in the waste places; like the night-bird in a waste of sand.
7 I keep watch like a bird by itself on the house-top.
8 My haters say evil of me all day; those who are violent against me make use of my name as a curse.
9 I have had dust for bread and my drink has been mixed with weeping:
10 Because of your passion and your wrath, for I have been lifted up and then made low by you.
11 My days are like a shade which is stretched out; I am dry like the grass.
12 But you, O Lord, are eternal; and your name will never come to an end.
13 You will again get up and have mercy on Zion: for the time has come for her to be comforted.
14 For your servants take pleasure in her stones, looking with love on her dust.
15 So the nations will give honour to the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth will be in fear of his glory:
16 When the Lord has put up the walls of Zion, and has been been in his glory;
17 When he has given ear to the prayer of the poor, and has not put his request on one side.
18 This will be put in writing for the coming generation, and the people of the future will give praise to the Lord.
19 For from his holy place the Lord has seen, looking down on the earth from heaven;
20 Hearing the cry of the prisoner, making free those for whom death is ordered;
21 So that they may give out the name of the Lord in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem;
22 When the peoples are come together, and the kingdoms, to give worship to the Lord.
23 He has taken my strength from me in the way; he has made short my days.
24 I will say, O my God, take me not away before my time; your years go on through all generations:
25 In the past you put the earth on its base, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will come to an end, but you will still go on; they all will become old like a coat, and like a robe they will be changed:
27 But you are the unchanging One, and your years will have no end.
28 The children of your servants will have a safe resting-place, and their seed will be ever before you.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 102
Commentary on Psalms 102 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Prayer of a Patient Sufferer for Himself and for the Jerusalem That Lies in Ruins
Psalms 101:1-8 utters the sigh: When wilt Thou come to me? and Ps 102 with the inscription: Prayer for an afflicted one when he pineth away and poureth forth his complaint before Jahve , prays, Let my prayer come unto Thee . It is to be taken, too, just as personally as it sounds, and the person is not to be construed into a nation. The song of the עני is, however, certainly a national song; the poet is a servant of Jahve, who shares the calamity that has befallen Jerusalem and its homeless people, both in outward circumstances and in the very depth of his soul. עטף signifies to pine away, languish, as in Psalms 61:3, Isaiah 57:16; and שׁפך שׂיחו to pour out one's thoughts and complaints, one's anxious care, as in Psalms 142:3, cf. 1 Samuel 1:15.
As in the case already with many of the preceding Psalms, the deutero-Isaianic impression accompanies us in connection with this Psalm also, even to the end; and the further we get in it the more marked does the echo of its prophetical prototype become. The poet also allies himself with earlier Psalms, such as Ps 22, Ps 69, and Psalms 79:1-13, although himself capable of lofty poetic flight, in return for which he makes us feel the absence of any safely progressive unfolding of the thoughts.
The Psalm opens with familiar expressions of prayer, such as rise in the heart and mouth of the praying one without his feeling that they are of foreign origin; cf. more especially Psalms 39:13; Psalms 18:7; Psalms 88:3; and on Psalms 102:3 : Psalms 27:9 ( Hide not Thy face from me ); Psalms 59:17 ( ביום צר לי ); Psalms 31:3 and frequently ( Incline Thine ear unto me ); Psalms 56:10 ( ביום אקוא ); Psalms 69:8; Psalms 143:7 ( מהר ענני ).
From this point onward the Psalm becomes original. Concerning the Beth in בעשׁן , vid., on Psalms 37:20. The reading כּמו קד (in the Karaite Ben-Jerucham) enriches the lexicon in the same sense with a word which has scarcely had any existence. מוקד (Arabic mauḳid ) signifies here, as in other instances, a hearth. נחרוּ is, as in Psalms 69:4, Niphal : my bones are heated through with a fever-heat, as a hearth with the smouldering fire that is on it. הוּכּה (cf. יגודּוּ , Psalms 94:21) is used exactly as in Hosea 9:16, cf. Psalms 121:5. The heart is said to dry up when the life's blood, of which it is the reservoir, fails. The verb שׁכח is followed by מן of dislike. On the cleaving of the bones to the flesh from being baked, i.e., to the skin (Arabic bašar , in accordance with the radical signification, the surface of the body = the skin, from בשׂר , to brush along, rub, scrape, scratch on the surface), cf. Job 19:20; Lamentations 4:8. ל ( אל ) with דּבק is used just like בּ . It is unnecessary, with Böttcher, to draw מקּול אנחתי to Psalms 102:5. Continuous straining of the voice, especially in connection with persevering prayer arising from inward conflict, does really make the body waste away.
קאת (construct of קאת or קאת from קאה , vid., Isaiah , at Isaiah 34:11-12), according to the lxx, is the pelican, and כּוס is the night-raven or the little horned-owl.
(Note: The lxx renders it: I am like a pelican of the desert, I am become as a night-raven upon a ruined place ( οἰκοπέδῳ ). In harmony with the lxx, Saadia (as also the Arabic version edited by Erpenius, the Samaritan Arabic, and Abulwalîd) renders קאת by Arab. qûq (here and in Leviticus 11:18; Deuteronomy 14:17; Isaiah 34:17), and כוס by Arab. bûm ; the latter ( bum ) is an onomatopoetic name of the owl, and the former ( k[uk[ ) does not even signify the owl or horned-owl (although the small horned-owl is called um kuéik in Egypt, and in Africa abu kuéik ; vid., the dictionaries of Bocthor and Marcel s.v. chouette ), but the pelican, the “long-necked water-bird” (Damiri after the lexicon el - ‛Obâb of Hasan ben-Mohammed el-Saghani). The Graeco-Veneta also renders קאת with πελεκάν , - the Peshito, however, with Syr. qāqā' . What Ephrem on Deuteronomy 14:17 and the Physiologus Syrus (ed. Tychsen , p. 13, cf. pp. 110 f). say of Syr. qāqā' , viz., that it is a marsh-bird, is very fond of its young ones, dwells in desolate places, and is incessantly noisy, likewise points to the pelican, although the Syrian lexicographers vary. Cf. also Oedmann, Vermischte Sammlungen , Heft 3, Cap. 6. (Fleischer after a communication from Rodiger.))
דּמה obtains the signification to be like, equal ( aequalem esse ), from the radical signification to be flat, even, and to spread out flat (as the Dutch have already recognised). They are both unclean creatures, which are fond of the loneliness of the desert and ruined places. To such a wilderness, that of the exile, is the poet unwillingly transported. He passes the nights without sleep ( שׁקד , to watch during the time for sleep), and is therefore like a bird sitting lonesome ( בּודד , Syriac erroneously נודד ) upon the roof whilst all in the house beneath are sleeping. The Athnach in Psalms 102:8 separates that which is come to be from the ground of the “becoming” and the “becoming” itself. His grief is that his enemies reproach him as one forsaken of God. מהולל , part. Poal , is one made or become mad, Ecclesiastes 2:2 : my mad ones = those who are mad against me. These swear by him, inasmuch as they say when they want to curse: “God do unto thee as unto this man,” which is to be explained according to Isaiah 65:15; Jeremiah 29:22.
Ashes are his bread (cf. Lamentations 3:16), inasmuch as he, a mourner, sits in ashes, and has thrown ashes all over himself, Job 2:8; Ezekiel 27:30. The infected שׁקּוי has שׁקּוּ = שׁקּוּו for its principal form, instead of which it is שׁקּוּי in Hosea 2:7. “That Thou hast lifted me up and cast me down” is to be understood according to Job 30:22. First of all God has taken away the firm ground from under his feet, then from aloft He has cast him to the ground - an emblem of the lot of Israel, which is removed from its fatherland and cast into exile, i.e., into a strange land. In that passage the days of his life are כּצל נטוּי , like a lengthened shadow, which grows longer and longer until it is entirely lost in darkness, Psalms 109:23. Another figure follows: he there becomes like an (uprooted) plant which dries up.
When the church in its individual members dies off on a foreign soil, still its God, the unchangeable One, remains, and therein the promise has the guarantee of its fulfilment. Faith lays hold upon this guarantee as in Ps 90. It becomes clear from Psalms 9:8 and Lamentations 5:19 how תּשׁב is to be understood. The Name which Jahve makes Himself by self-attestation never falls a prey to the dead past, it is His ever-living memorial ( זכר , Exodus 3:15). Thus, too, will He restore Jerusalem; the limit, or appointed time, to which the promise points is, as his longing tells the poet, now come. מועד , according to Psalms 75:3; Habakkuk 2:3, is the juncture, when the redemption by means of the judgment on the enemies of Israel shall dawn. לחננהּ , from the infinitive חנן , has ĕ , flattened from ă , in an entirely closed syllable. רצה seq. acc. signifies to have pleasure in anything, to cling to it with delight; and חנן , according to Proverbs 14:21, affirms a compassionate, tender love of the object. The servants of God do not feel at home in Babylon, but their loving yearning lingers over the ruins, the stones and the heaps of the rubbish (Nehemiah 4:2), of Jerusalem.
With וייראוּ we are told what will take place when that which is expected in Psalms 102:14 comes to pass, and at the same time the fulfilment of that which is longed for is thereby urged home upon God: Jahve's own honour depends upon it, since the restoration of Jerusalem will become the means of the conversion of the world - a fundamental thought of Isaiah 40:1 (cf. more particularly Isaiah 59:19; Isaiah 60:2), which is also called to mind in the expression of this strophe. This prophetic prospect (Isaiah 40:1-5) that the restoration of Jerusalem will take place simultaneously with the glorious parusia of Jahve re-echoes here in a lyric form. כּי , Psalms 102:17, states the ground of the reverence, just as Psalms 102:20 the ground of the praise. The people of the Exile are called in Psalms 102:18 הערער , from ערר , to be naked: homeless, powerless, honourless, and in the eyes of men, prospectless. The lxx renders this word in Jeremiah 17:6 ἀγριομυρίκη , and its plural, formed by an internal change of vowel, ערוער , in Jeremiah 48:6 ὄνος ἄγριος , which are only particularizations of the primary notion of that which is stark naked, neglected, wild. Psalms 102:18 is an echo off Psalms 22:25. In the mirror of this and of other Psalms written in times of affliction the Israel of the Exile saw itself reflected.
The poet goes on advancing motives to Jahve for the fulfilment of his desire, by holding up to Him what will take place when He shall have restored Zion. The evangel of God's redemptive deed will be written down for succeeding generations, and a new, created people, i.e., a people coming into existence, the church of the future, shall praise God the Redeemer for it. דּור אחרון as in Psalms 48:14; Psalms 78:4. עם נברא like עם נולד Ps 22:32, perhaps with reference to deutero-Isaianic passages like Isaiah 43:17. On Psalms 102:20, cf. Isaiah 63:15; in Psalms 102:21 (cf. Isaiah 42:7; Isaiah 61:1) the deutero-Isaianic colouring is very evident. And Psalms 102:21 rests still more verbally upon Psalms 79:11. The people of the Exile are as it were in prison and chains ( אסיר ), and are advancing towards their destruction ( בּני תמוּתה ), if God does not interpose. Those who have returned home are the subject to לספּר . בּ in Psalms 102:23 introduces that which takes place simultaneously: with the release of Israel from servitude is united the conversion of the world. נקבּץ occurs in the same connection as in Isaiah 60:4. After having thus revelled in the glory of the time of redemption the poet comes back to himself and gives form to his prayer on his own behalf.
On the way ( ב as in Psalms 110:7) - not “by means of the way” ( ב as in Psalms 105:18), in connection with which one would expect of find some attributive minuter definition of the way - God hath bowed down his strength (cf. Deuteronomy 8:2); it was therefore a troublous, toilsome way which he has been led, together with his people. He has shortened his days, so that he only drags on wearily, and has only a short distance still before him before he is entirely overcome. The Chethîb כחו (lxx ἰσχύος αὐτοῦ ) may be understood of God's irresistible might, as in Job 23:6; Job 30:18, but in connection with it the designation of the object is felt to be wanting. The introductory אמר (cf. Job 10:2), which announces a definite moulding of the utterance, serves to give prominence to the petition that follows. In the expression אל־תּעלני life is conceived of as a line the length of which accords with nature; to die before one's time is a being taken up out of this course, so that the second half of the line is not lived through (Ps 55:24, Isaiah 38:10). The prayer not to sweep him away before his time, the poet supports not by the eternity of God in itself, but by the work of the rejuvenation of the world and of the restoration of Israel that is to be looked for, which He can and will bring to an accomplishment, because He is the ever-living One. The longing to see this new time is the final ground of the poet's prayer for the prolonging of his life. The confession of God the Creator in Psalms 102:26 reminds one in its form of Isaiah 48:13, cf. Psalms 44:24. המּה in Psalms 102:27 refers to the two great divisions of the universe. The fact that God will create heaven and earth anew is a revelation that is indicated even in Isaiah 34:4, but is first of all expressed more fully and in many ways in the second part of the Book of Isaiah, viz., Isaiah 51:6, Isaiah 51:16; Isaiah 65:17; Isaiah 66:22. It is clear from the agreement in the figure of the garment (Isaiah 51:6, cf. Psalms 50:9) and in the expression ( עמד , perstare , as in Isaiah 66:22) that the poet has gained this knowledge from the prophet. The expressive אתּה הוּא , Thou art He, i.e., unalterably the same One, is also taken from the mouth of the prophet, Isaiah 41:4; Isaiah 43:10; Isaiah 46:4; Isaiah 48:12; הוּא is a predicate, and denotes the identity (sameness) of Jahve (Hofmann, Schriftbeweis , i. 63). In v. 29 also, in which the prayer for a lengthening of life tapers off to a point, we hear Isaiah 65:2; Isaiah 66:22 re-echoed. And from the fact that in the mind of the poet as of the prophet the post-exilic Jerusalem and the final new Jerusalem upon the new earth under a new heaven blend together, it is evident that not merely in the time of Hezekiah or of Manasseh (assuming that Isaiah 40:1 are by the old Isaiah), but also even in the second half of the Exile, such a perspectively foreshortened view was possible. When, moreover, the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews at once refers Psalms 102:26-28 to Christ, this is justified by the fact that the God whom the poet confesses as the unchangeable One is Jahve who is to come.