Psalm 102:3-5

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 102:1-11

The title of this psalm is very observable; it is a prayer of the afflicted. It was composed by one that was himself afflicted, afflicted with the church and for it; and on those that are of a public spirit afflictions of that kind lie heavier than any other. It is calculated for an afflicted state, and is intended for the use of others that may be in the like distress; for whatsoever things were written aforetime were written designedly for our use. The whole word of God is of use to direct... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 102:3

For my days are consumed like smoke ,.... Which suddenly rises up, is easily dissipated, and quickly disappears; so sudden, short, and transient, are the days of man's life; see James 4:14 or "in smoke" F3 בעשן "in fumo", Montanus. , as the Syriac version; his days were spent in great obscurity, in the darkness of affliction, temptation, and desertion; and in so much vexation, trouble, and uneasiness, as if he had lived in smoke all his time: and my bones are burnt as an hearth ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 102:4

My heart is smitten, and withered like grass ,.... Like grass in the summer solstice F4 "Quasi solstitialis herba paulisper fui", Plauti Pseudolus, Acts 1 . Sc. 1. v. 36. , which being smitten with the heat of the sun, or by some blast of thunder and lightning, is dried up, and withers away; so his heart was smitten with a sense of sin, and of God's wrath and displeasure at him, and with the heat of affliction and trouble, that it failed him, and he could not look up with joy and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 102:5

By reason of the voice of my groaning ,.... Under the burden of sin, and pressure of afflictions: my bones cleave to my skin ; was quite emaciated, reduced to a skeleton, became nothing but skin and bone F5 "Ossa atque pellis sum", Plauti Capteivei, Act. 1. Sc. 2. v. 26. Asinaria 3. 6. v. 28. ; which sometimes is occasioned, as by outward afflictions, so by soul troubles: or "to my flesh" F6 לבשרי "carni meae", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, &c.; ; flesh is put for skin; see... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 102:3

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. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 102:4

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. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 102:3

Verse 3 3For my days are consumed like smoke These expressions are hyperbolical, but still they show how deeply the desolation of the Church ought to wound the hearts of the people of God. Let every man, therefore, carefully examine himself on this head. If we do not prefer the Church to all the other objects of our solicitude, we are unworthy of being accounted among her members. Whenever we meet with such forms of expression as these, let us remember that they reproach our slothfulness in not... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 102:4

Verse 4 4My heart is smitten, and dried up like grass Here he employs a third similitude, declaring that his heart is withered, and wholly dried up like mown grass. But he intends to express something more than that his heart was withered, and his bones reduced to a state of dryness. His language implies, that as the grass, when it is cut down, can no longer receive juice from the earth, nor retain the life and rigor which it derived from the root, so his heart being, as it were, torn and cut... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 102:1-11

Affliction. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous"— even of the righteous, and sometimes these are almost, if not altogether, overwhelming. We expect to find suffering and sorrow among the guilty, but experience teaches us that it is— I. THE OCCASIONAL PORTION OF THE GODLY . Seldom, indeed, is the good man reduced to such distress as that described in the text; yet it does occur; troubles do sometimes accumulate where they seem least deserved or least necessary. But... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 102:1-28

The psalm consists of three main portions: first, a complaint, prefaced by an appeal to God for aid (verses 1-11); secondly, a confident expression of an assured hope and trust in a speedy deliverance (verses 12-22); and thirdly, a contrast between human weakness and God's strength and unchangeableness, resulting in a conviction that, whatever becomes of the writer, the seed of Israel will be preserved and established before God forever (verses 23-28). read more

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