Click here to read PSALM 102 in poetic form.
Background
Psalm 102 is the thirteenth in the Numbers Book of the Psalms, which goes to Psalm 106. God’s rest is a major theme of these 17 Psalms, and in this specific Psalm, we see the Messiah as the suffering savior who will redeem the people.
Structure
(Verses 1-11) Messiah’s prayer in his hardship, suffering, and need
(Verse 12) Messiah trusts in the Lord Who is everlasting
(Verses 13-22) Messiah will bring redemption and salvation to God’s people
(Verses 23,24) Messiah’s prayer in his hardship, suffering, and need
(Verses 24-27) Messiah trusts in the Lord Who is everlasting
(Verse 28) Messiah will bring redemption and salvation to God’s people
Key Scriptures
Verses 3-9—”For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth. My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread…my bones cleave to my skin…I am like a pelican of the wilderness…an owl of the desert…as a sparrow alone upon the house top…Mine enemies reproach me all the day…I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping.” These verses show the extreme sorrow and anguish that the Messiah would go through to redeem mankind.
These examples are significant in the Eastern Biblical culture. Some texts say, “my days are consumed in the smoke.” This is similar to what Psalm 119:83 calls “a bottle in the smoke.” Skin bags for water or other liquids were hung in the tent and the rising smoke from the hearth or fire would darken and crack the bag. It was helpless and could not “get away” from the smoke. This was a simile for helplessness and distress.
When the Psalmist speaks of his heart being “withered like grass,” (verses 4,11) this refers to grass on the rooftops that wilts in the sun’s heat. It is a simile for destruction and the temporary life of man (see Psalm 37:2; 129:6; Isaiah 15:6; 40:7,8; James 1:11; I Peter 1:24).
There are three birds mentioned in verses 6 and 7. The pelican and owl are unclean birds under Mosaic standards, so these are similes for degradation and loss. The sparrow is “alone,” which in some texts say, “flies and flutters back and forth.” This is a simile that shows great uncertainty and lack of a clear path.
Ashes show utter pain and sorrow. In his great distress, Job “…took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes” (Job 2:8). Eat ashes as bread and to mingle tears with one’s drink shows the utmost in sadness and woe. Although Jesus Christ endured such inner and outer pain, he always looked to his Father for deliverance. After some 40 hours of torture and death, God raised His Son from the dead in glory.
Verses 25-27—“Of old…Thy years shall have no end.” This is quoted in Hebrews 1:10-12 in reference to Jesus Christ, the Messiah. See the expanded notes on Psalm 45 for more details regarding this quotation from the book of Hebrews.
FOR FURTHER STUDY
All 150 of The Psalms in Poetic Form are available from Amazon in a book, either Large Print or a smaller Bedside Reader. Also available for free with a Kindle Unlimited membership. Enjoy!
The entire blog series is now available in the publication The Psalms: Background & Structure with Key Scriptures Explained.
