Psalms 102:7

I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top. I WATCH - (.) AND AM A SPARROW ALONE UPON THE HOUSE-TOP - like the little bird sitting all alone, having lost its mate and its young, and uttering its plaintive note on the house-top ()....

1-11 The whole word of God is of use to direct us in prayer; but here, is often elsewhere, the Holy Ghost has put words into our mouths. Here is a prayer put into the hands of the afflicted; let them present it to God. Even good men may be almost overwhelmed with afflictions. It is our duty and interest to pray; and it is comfort to an afflicted spirit to unburden itself, by a humble representation of its griefs. We must say, Blessed be the name of the Lord, who both gives and takes away. The psalmist looked upon himself as a dying man; My days are like a shadow....

Verse Psalms 102:7. _AS A SPARROW ALONE_] צפור _tsippor_, seems to be often used for any small bird, such as the _swallow, sparrow_, or the like. _Bochart_ supposes the _screech owl_ is intended....

I WATCH, AND AM AS A SPARROW ALONE UPON THE HOUSE-TOP - That is, I am “sleepless;” trouble drives sleep from my eyes, and I am kept awake at night - a common effect of grief. The following remarks, copied from the “Land and the Book” (i. 54, 55), will furnish all the illustration needful of this verse. “They are a tame, troublesome, and impertinent generation, and nestle just where you don’t want them. They stop up your stove and waterpipes with their rubbish, build in the windows and under the beams of the roof, and would stuff your hat full of stubble in half a day if they found it hanging in a place to suit them ... . When one of them has lost its mate - a matter of everyday occurrence - he will sit on the house-top alone, and lament by the hour his sad bereavement.”...

EXPOSITION THE "title" of this psalm is altogether peculiar, being "a Prayer for the afflicted, when he faints, and pours out his complaint before Jehovah." This is clearly a general direction for the use of the psalm by afflicted persons, either universally, or, at any rate, when in circumstances resembling those of the writer. The writer appears to have belonged to the period of the Captivity, and probably to the later portion of it (Psalms 102:13). It has been conjectured that he is Daniel; but there are no sufficient grounds for assigning the composition to any special individual. It is the voice of a representative sufferer in Babylon, mourning over his own afflictions and those of his nation. 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

I WATCH,.... Night after night, and take no sleep; cannot get any by reason of thoughtfulness, care, and trouble: AND AM AS A SPARROW ALONE UPON THE HOUSETOP; or, "as a bird" o; for there is no necessity of limiting it to a sparrow, to which the account does not seem so well to agree; for sparrows will not only perch on housetops and solitary places, but will make their nests in dwelling houses, and in places of public resort, as temples; hence David speaks of the sparrow finding an house near the altars of God, Psalms 84:3 and Herodotus p makes mention of sparrows and other birds making their nests in the temple at Branchides; which may serve to illustrate the text last mentioned: wherefore this may be understood of any solitary bird, and especially of the owl q; the Jews had flat roofs upon their houses, and here birds of solitude would come and sit alone in t

Kindly notice the title of this Psalm: «Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the LORD.» I call your attention to it in order to remind you what charges there are in the life of a believer. Here, in the 102 nd Psalm, the afflicted saint is pouring out his complaint; and then, in the 103 rd, the rejoicing believer is blessing the Lord in a jubilant song of grateful praise. Such are a true Christian's ups and downs, nights and days, and I can see how the 103 rd Psalm blossoms out of the 102 nd. When the afflicted believer can pour out his complaint before the Lord, it will not be long before he will be able to cry, «Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name.» If you carry your complaint in your own bosom, or tell it to some earthly friend, you will probably continue to have cause to complain; but if you pour ou...

Psalms 102 Christ the King in His Humiliation _ 1. In the place of humiliation and dependence (Psalms 102:1)_ 2. His enemies (Psalms 102:8) 3. The set time for Zion (Psalms 102:12) 4. The blessings which follow (Psalms 102:17) 5. The God-man in His work (Psalms 102:23) That this Psalm is a prophecy concerning the sufferings of Christ, His humiliation and death, and the gracious results which flow from

CII. The title, which is unique in the Psalter, describes the contents of Psalms 102:1 very well. So far the Ps. is the prayer of a man in extreme affliction. The same may be said of Psalms 102:23 and Psalms 102:24 a. But the theme which occupies the rest of the Ps. is quite different and indeed contrary. The poet turns to the eternal life of Yahweh. He has already built up Zion: His glory has appeared: not only the Jews but other peoples and kingdoms are to serve Yahweh. We may try to evade this difficulty by treating the perfect verbs as futures of prophetic certainty. Thus in Psalms 102:16 the translation would be Yahweh sh

PSALMS 102 DESCRIPTIVE TITLE The Prayer of a Humbled One brings a Threefold Answer of Peace. ANALYSIS Stanza I., Psalms 102:1-11, A Humbled One's Complaint. Stanza II., Psalms 102:12-17, The FIRST CONCLUSION, Adapting the psalm to the Close of the Captivity in Babylon. Stanza III., Psalms 102:18-22, The SECOND CONCLUSION, Adapting the psalm to a Future Generation. Stanza IV., Psalms 102:23-28, The Original Conclusion now placed at the Close of the Composite Psalm. (Lm.) PrayerBy