(3) Like smoke.—Or, in smoke. (See margin. Comp. Psalms 37:20.)Hearth.—Better, a brand or fuel; so LXX. and Vulgate, Aquila, and this meaning suits Isaiah 33:14. (For the image see Psalms 22:15; Psalms 31:10; Psalms 32:3.) read more
(4) Smitten.—As by the sun. Exactly as in Hosea 9:16.So that I forget.—Better, for I have forgotten, &c. For this mark of deep sorrow comp. 1 Samuel 1:7; 1 Samuel 20:34, &c. (Comp. Homer, Iliad, xxiv. 129.) read more
(5) Skin.—See margin. In Lamentations 4:8, more correctly, “my skin cleaveth to my bones;” a picture of emaciation, the result of fasting. read more
(6) Pelican.—See Leviticus 11:18. “It has been objected that the pelican is a water-bird, and cannot, therefore, be the kâath of the Scriptures—“the pelican of the wilderness”—as it must of necessity starve in the desert; but a midbar (wilderness) is often used to denote a wide open space, cultivated or uncultivated, and is not to be restricted to barren spots destitute of water; moreover, as a matter of fact, the pelican after filling its capacious pouch with fish, molluscs, &c, often... read more
(7) I watch—i.e., am sleepless,Sparrow.—See Note, Psalms 84:3. Here render, like a lonely bird. Some MSS. read, “a wandering bird.” read more
(8) Sworn against me.—Rather, swear by me, i.e., make his name a byeword of execration, to be explained by Isaiah 65:15; Jeremiah 29:22. LXX. and Vulg., “were swearing against me.” read more
(9) Ashes like bread.—Lamentations 3:16. A figurative expression, like “dust shall be the serpent’s meat” (Isaiah 65:25; comp. Genesis 3:14). With the last clause comp. Psalms 42:3, “tears have been my meat day and night.” So too, as an emblem of disappointment, a modern poet:—“But even while I drank the brook, and ateThe goodly apples, all these things at onceFell into dust, and I was left alone.”TENNYSON: Holy Grail. read more
An Unfinished Life Psalms 102:24 I. The inscription of this Psalm is unique. It describes the inner subject of the Psalm and makes a very beautiful heading. A prayer of the afflicted when he is overwhelmed and poureth out his complaint before the Lord. The afflictions are those of the nation and of the Psalmist himself, who added to his own sorrows the sorrow of his people. The elegy moves with mournful strain as he describes the bitterness of his pain. He has eaten ashes like bread, and... read more
Psalms 102:1-28Psalms 102:13-14 show that the psalm was written when Zion was in ruins and the time of her restoration at hand. Sadness shot with hope, as a cloud with sunlight, is the singer’s mood. The pressure of present sorrows points to the time of the Exile; the lightening of these, by the expectation that the hour for their cessation has all but struck, points to the close of that period. There is a general consensus of opinion on this, though Baethgen is hesitatingly inclined to adopt... read more
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Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Psalms 102:2
(2) This verse may be better arranged, Hide not . . . in the day of my trouble. Incline . . . in the day when I call. Answer me speedily. read more