In this psalm, we find the psalmist mourning over his current situation, that is, they appear to be far away from home. The psalmist longs to go back to the land of their fathers but is confident that God hasn’t forsaken His people. We don’t know who the author of this psalm is, but the historical background appears to be the time when the Jews were in exile.
Although the headings aren’t inspired by God, they are important because they give us some understanding of the Psalm, and they help us to see why it was written. The headings usually tell us four things.
1. Who wrote them, probably wrote them, or possibly wrote them.
2. Information about the historical background to the Psalm. Why was it written?
3. They tell us of the tune the Psalm was written to.
4. How it was used.
The heading tells us this is a prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the LORD.
The psalmist begins by asking God to hear their prayers, and their cries for help because of their current distress, Psalm 102:1. They ask God ‘not to hide His face’ from them, Psalm 102:2, that is, they felt that God wasn’t present, they felt that God didn’t care, Job 13:24 / Job 34:29 / Deuteronomy 31:17.
The intensity of their prayer was measured by the depth of their distress, Psalm 102:2 / Daniel 9:20-23. Their distress was so great that they asked God to give a quick answer to his deliverance from the situation in which he lived, Psalm 102:2 / Job 35:9 / Job 36:13.
The psalmist compares their life to smoke which quickly vanishes, Psalm 102:3, that is, they feel their life is short and meaningless, James 4:14. Their bones burn like glowing embers, Psalm 102:3 / Psalm 31:10.
His heart is blighted and withering like grass, Psalm 102:4. In other words, they’re struggling, and it’s clear the psalmist, in their distress, is feeling mental and emotional stress. Their distress is really affecting them; they have lost their appetite, Psalm 102:4 / 1 Kings 21:4 / 2 Samuel 12:16 / Daniel 10:3.
Their bodies had given up food, and so, it was withering away, Psalm 102:5. Hunger pains had already passed, and he was in a state of starvation. The lack of food means that they are now more or less just ‘a bag of bones’, Psalm 102:5 / Job 19:20.
The psalmist feels like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins, Psalm 102:6 / Isaiah 34:11 / Zephaniah 2:14. When they lie awake, they feel like lonely birds on a roof, Psalm 102:7 / Leviticus 14:4 / Deuteronomy 14:11 / Daniel 4:12 / Daniel 4:14 / Daniel 4:21. In other words, they were feeling extremely lonely as they looked out on the world around them.
Their enemies didn’t help their case either; they taunted them all day long and used their name as a curse word, Psalm 102:8. In other words, they were constantly taunting and cursing him, Acts 23:12.
The psalmist’s mourning continues, as he eats ashes for food, Psalm 102:9, possibly because of fasting, and their tears fall into their drink, Psalm 102:9 / Job 2:8 / Job 42:6 / Isaiah 58:5 / Isaiah 61:3 / Jonah 3:6 / Daniel 9:3 / Matthew 11:21.
The psalmist is so low that they believe that all their mourning and all the distress they were experiencing was because of God’s wrath, Psalm 102:10. In other words, they thought their world was turned upside down because God was punishing them; they felt that God wasn’t in favour with them, Isaiah 22:18.
To the psalmist, they felt that their days were like an evening shadow, like grass that withers away, Psalm 102:11, that is, they felt their life was short and had no real meaning, 2 Kings 20:10 / Isaiah 38:8.
After pouring out their deep emotions to God and after feeling that God has forsaken them, the psalmist now focuses on the bright side of their relationship with God.
The psalmist’s life may feel short and meaningless, but God sits on His throne forever, His renown, Psalm 102:12, that is, His fame endures through all generations, Psalm 102:12.
In other words, God is a God who can be relied upon, He won’t fail, and His greatness will be known to all generations to come. God endures with His people; He doesn’t forget His people.
The psalmist, despite feeling in distress, has full confidence in God to arise, Psalm 102:13, that is, act and have compassion on Zion, Psalm 102:13, that is, Jerusalem.
But this was only going to happen at God’s appointed time, Psalm 102:13. If the historical background to this psalm is the time when the psalmist was in exile, the set time points to the seventy years set by God for Israel’s captivity, Jeremiah 25:11-13 / Jeremiah 29:10 / Daniel 9:2.
As Jerusalem lay in ruins, the Israelites held the ruined stones dear to them, Psalm 102:14 / 1 Peter 2:5, and showed favour to the dust, Psalm 102:14. When God shows compassion on Jerusalem, the nations will fear God’s Name and the kings of the earth will revere God’s glory, Psalm 102:15.
Because Jerusalem was rebuilt by the returned Jews, the nations realised again that God was working with His people, Psalm 102:16. God will respond to their prayers and pleas, Psalm 102:17.
When God fulfilled His promises concerning Jerusalem, it was to be written for future generations in order that God may be praised, Psalm 102:18. When the Jews returned from Babylonian captivity, it was the fulfilment of prophecy that they would return to rebuild, Isaiah 20:20-27.
God looks down from His sanctuary, Psalm 102:19, that is, heaven, He views the earth, hears the groans of His people in prison, and realises those condemned to death, Psalm 102:20. The psalmist groaned in Babylonian captivity, Psalm 102:20, as Nehemiah wept over the devastation of the city, Nehemiah 1:4.
God listened to the groaning prayers and responded by allowing the Jews to return to the promised land, Psalm 102:21. As a result, His people were again gathered out of the nations in order to serve God, Psalm 102:22. Notice, though, that other kingdoms would assemble to worship God, Psalm 102:22 / Isaiah 2:1-4 / Micah 4:1-2 / Matthew 28:18-20 / Mark 16:15-16.
The psalmist now focuses on the shortness of their life, compared to the longevity of God’s creation. The psalmist acknowledges their own human weakness; they feel that God broke their strength and shortened the days they will live, Psalm 102:23 / 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.
They ask God not to allow them to die, Psalm 102:24. It’s possible they wanted to see God’s fulfilment concerning Jerusalem, Job 21:21 / Psalm 89:45. They cry out in prayer, pleading for God’s merciful help, Psalm 30:9 / Isaiah 38:1-3 / Isaiah 38:9-18.
The psalmist’s words written in Psalm 102:25-27 are quoted by the Hebrew writer in Hebrews 1:10-12. In Hebrews, they are the words of God spoken to His unchangeable Son.
The psalmist is confident that God wouldn’t change from His promises that He had made concerning the restoration of His people, and so, God’s servants would continue throughout many generations to come.
The psalmist is confident that some of the things God creates will perish like garments and clothing, Psalm 102:26, but God Himself will remain the same forever, Psalm 102:27. Only God has the power to change His creation, but He Himself is unchanging and eternal.
The psalmist ends by declaring that the children of God’s servants will live in God’s presence, and their descendants will be established before Him, Psalm 102:28 / Matthew 5:18 / Matthew 24:35.
The psalmist openly expressed how they were feeling to God; however, despite feeling in deep distress, they received some kind of comfort in knowing that God doesn’t change. The psalmist’s words written in Psalm 102:25-27 are quoted by the Hebrew writer in Hebrews 1:10-12.
The writer of Hebrews says that these quotations are talking about the Son. He emphasises the role of the Son in creation, the Son laid the foundations of the earth and the heavens. Further, the Son is eternal; all of creation will perish, but He remains, Hebrews 1:10-12.
When we read this psalm, which is clearly written to God and relates the psalmist’s words to the Hebrew writer, we soon discover that Jesus is Deity, John 1:1-3 / John 1:14. He remains the same, Hebrews 13:8, and His years will never end, Hebrews 7:3.