TRV
Translation
King James Version
For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;
Complete Jewish Bible
For he has looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven ADONAI surveys the earth
Berean Standard Bible
For He looked down from the heights of His sanctuary; the LORD gazed out from heaven to earth
American Standard Version
For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; From heaven did Jehovah behold the earth;
World English Bible Messianic
For he has looked down from the height of his sanctuary. From heaven, the LORD saw the earth;
Geneva Bible (1599)
For he hath looked downe from the height of his Sanctuarie: out of the heauen did the Lord beholde the earth,
Young's Literal Translation
For He hath looked From the high place of His sanctuary. Jehovah from heaven unto earth looked attentively,
See also
In the KJVVerse 15,541 of 31,102
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Commentary on Psalms 102 verses 12–22
12 ¶ But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations.
13 Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.
14 For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof.
15 So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
16 When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.
17 He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.
18 This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.
19 For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;
20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death;
21 To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem;
22 When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
Many exceedingly great and precious comforts are here thought of, and mustered up, to balance the foregoing complaints; for unto the upright there arises light in the darkness, so that, though they are cast down, they are not in despair. It is bad with the psalmist himself, bad with the people of God; but he has many considerations to revive himself with.
I. We are dying creatures, and our interests and comforts are dying, but God is an everliving everlasting God (Psa 102:12): "My days are like a shadow; there is no remedy; night is coming upon me; but, thou, O Lord! shalt endure for ever. Our life is transient, but thine is permanent; our friends die, but thou our God diest not; what threatened us cannot touch thee; our names will be written in the dust and buried in oblivion, but thy remembrance shall be unto all generations; to the end of time, nay, to eternity, thou shalt be known and honoured." A good man loves God better than himself, and therefore can balance his own sorrow and death with the pleasing thought of the unchangeable blessedness of the Eternal Mind. God endures for ever, his church's faithful patron and protector; and, his honour and perpetual remembrance being very much bound up in her interests, we may be confident that they shall not be neglected.
II. Poor Zion is now in distress, but there will come a time for her relief and succour (Psa 102:13): Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion. The hope of deliverance is built upon the goodness of God - "Thou wilt have mercy upon Zion, for she has become an object of thy pity;" and upon the power of God - "Thou shalt arise and have mercy, shalt stir up thyself to do it, shalt do it in contempt of all the opposition made by the church's enemies." The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this. That which is very encouraging is that there is a time set for the deliverance of the church, which not only will come some time, but will come at the time appointed, the time which Infinite Wisdom has appointed (and therefore it is the best time) and which Eternal Truth has fixed it to, and therefore it is a certain time, and shall not be forgotten nor further adjourned. At the end of seventy years, the time to favour Zion, by delivering her from the daughter of Babylon, was to come, and at length it did come. Zion was now in ruins, that is, the temple that was built in the city of David: the favouring of Zion is the building of the temple up again, as it is explained, Psa 102:16. This is expected from the favour of God; that will set all to rights, and nothing but that, and therefore Daniel prays (Dan 9:17), Cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary, which is desolate. The building up of Zion is as great a favour to any people as they can desire. No blessing more desirable to a ruined state than the restoring and re-establishing of their church-privileges. Now this is here wished for and longed for, 1. Because it would be a great rejoicing to Zion's friends (Psa 102:14): Thy servants take pleasure even in the stones of the temple, though they were thrown down and scattered, and favour the dust, the very rubbish and ruins of it. Observe here, When the temple was ruined, yet the stones of it were to be had for a new building, and there were those who encouraged themselves with that, for they had a favour even for the dust of it. Those who truly love the church of God love it when it is in affliction as well as when it is in prosperity; and it is a good ground to hope that God will favour the ruins of Zion when he puts it into the heart of his people to favour them, and to show that they do so by their prayers and by their endeavours; as it is also a good plea with God for mercy for Zion that there are those who are so affectionately concerned for her, and are waiting for the salvation of the Lord. 2. Because it would have a good influence upon Zion's neighbours, Psa 102:15. It will be a happy means perhaps of their conversion, at least of their conviction; for so the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, shall have high thoughts of him and his people, and even the kings of the earth shall be affected with his glory. They shall have better thoughts of the church of God than they have had, when God by his providence thus puts an honour upon it; they shall be afraid of doing any thing against it when they see God taking its part; nay, they shall say, We will go with you, for we have seen that God is with you, Zac 8:23. Thus it is said (Est 8:17) that many of the people of the land became Jews, for the fear of the Jews fell upon them. 3. Because it would redound to the honour of Zion's God (Psa 102:16): When the Lord shall build up Zion. They take it for granted it will be done, for God himself has undertaken it, and he shall then appear in his glory; and for that reason all that have made his glory their highest end desire it and pray for it. Note, The edifying of the church will be the glorifying of God, and therefore we may be assured it will be done in the set time. Those that pray in faith, Father, glorify thy name, may receive the same answer to that prayer which was given to Christ himself by a voice from heaven, I have both glorified it and I will glorify it yet again, though now for a time it may be eclipsed.
III. The prayers of God's people now seem to be slighted and no notice taken of them, but they will be reviewed and greatly encouraged (Psa 102:17): He will regard the prayer of the destitute. It was said (Psa 102:16) that God will appear in his glory, such a glory as kings themselves shall stand in awe of, Psa 102:15. When great men appear in their glory they are apt to look with disdain upon the poor that apply to them; but the great God will not do so. Observe, 1. The meanness of the petitioners; they are the destitute. It is an elegant word that is here used, which signifies the heath in the wilderness, a low shrub, or bush, like the hyssop of the wall. They are supposed to be in a low and broken state, enriched with spiritual blessings, but destitute of temporal good things - the poor, the weak, the desolate, the stripped; thus variously is the word rendered; or it may signify that low and broken spirit which God looks for in all that draw nigh to him and which he will graciously look upon. This will bring them to their knees. Destitute people should be praying people, Ti1 5:5. 2. The favour of God to them, notwithstanding their meanness: He will regard their prayer, and will look at it, will peruse their petition (Ch2 6:40), and he will not despise their prayer. More is implied than is expressed: he will value it and be well pleased with it, and will return an answer of peace to it, which is the greatest honour that can be put upon it. But it is thus expressed because others despise their praying, they themselves fear God will despise it, and he was thought to despise it while their affliction was prolonged and their prayers lay unanswered. When we consider our own meanness and vileness, our darkness and deadness, and the manifold defects in our prayers, we have cause to suspect that our prayers will be received with disdain in heaven; but we are here assured of the contrary, for we have an advocate with the Father, and are under grace, not under the law. This instance of God's favour to his praying people, though they are destitute, will be a lasting encouragement to prayer (Psa 102:18): This shall be written for the generation to come, that none may despair, though they be destitute, nor think their prayers forgotten because they have not an answer to them immediately. The experiences of others should be our encouragements to seek unto God and trust in him. And, if we have the comfort of the experiences of others, it is fit that we should give God the glory of them: The people who shall be created shall praise the Lord for what he has done both for them and for their predecessors. Many that are now unborn shall, by reading the history of the church, be wrought upon to turn proselytes. The people that shall be created anew by divine grace, that are a kind of first-fruits of his creatures, shall praise the Lord for his answers to their prayers when they were more destitute.
IV. The prisoners under condemnation unjustly seem as sheep appointed for the slaughter, but care shall be taken for their discharge (Psa 102:19, Psa 102:20): God has looked down from the height of his sanctuary, from heaven, where he has prepared his throne, that high place, that holy place; thence did the Lord behold the earth, for it is a place of prospect, and nothing on this earth is or can be hidden from his all-seeing eye; he looks down, not to take a view of the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, but to do acts of grace, to hear the groaning of the prisoners (which we desire to be out of the hearing of), and not only to hear them, but to help them, to loose those that are appointed to death, then when there is but a step between them and it. Some understand it of the release of the Jews out of their captivity in Babylon. God heard their groaning there as he did when they were in Egypt (Exo 3:7, Exo 3:9) and came down to deliver them. God takes notice not only of the prayers of his afflicted people, which are the language of grace, but even of their groans, which are the language of nature. See the divine pity in hearing the prisoner's groans, and the divine power in loosing the prisoner's bonds, even when they are appointed to death and are pinioned and double-shackled. We have an instance in Peter, Act 12:6. Such instances as these of the divine condescension and compassion will help, 1. To declare the name of the Lord in Zion, and to make it appear that he answers to his name, which he himself proclaimed, The Lord God, gracious and merciful; and this declaration of his name in Zion shall be the matter of his praise in Jerusalem, Psa 102:21. If God by his providences declare his name, we must by our acknowledgments of them declare his praise, which ought to be the echo of his name. God will discharge his people that were prisoners and captives in Babylon, that they may declare his name in Zion, the place he has chosen to put his name there, and his praise in Jerusalem, at their return thither; in the land of their captivity they could not sing the songs of Zion (Psa 137:3, Psa 137:4), and God brought them again to Jerusalem in order that they might sing them there. For this end God gives liberty from bondage (Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name, Psa 142:7), and life from the dead. Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee, Psa 119:175. 2. They will help to draw in others to the worship of God (Psa 102:22): When the people of God are gathered together at Jerusalem (as they were after their return out of Babylon) many out of the kingdoms joined with them to serve the Lord. This was fulfilled Ezr 6:21, where we find that not only the children of Israel that had come out of captivity, but many that had separated themselves from them among the heathen, did keep the feast of unleavened bread with joy. But it may look further, at the conversion of the Gentiles to the faith of Christ in the latter days. Christ has proclaimed liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those that were bound, that they may declare the name of the Lord in the gospel-church, in which Jews and Gentiles shall unite.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 12–22. Public domain.
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Augustine of HippoAD 430
Exposition on Psalm 102
"Out of the heaven did the Lord look down upon the earth" [Psalm 102:19]: "that He might hear the mournings of such as are in fetters, and deliver the children of such as are put to death" [Psalm 102:20]. We have found it said in another Psalm, "O let the sorrowful sighs of the fettered come before You;" and in a passage where the voice of the martyrs was meant. Whence are the martyrs in fetters?...But God had bound them with these fetters, hard indeed and painful for a season, but endurable on account of His promises, unto whom it is said, "On account of the words of Your lips, I have kept hard ways." We must indeed groan in these fetters in order to gain the mercy of God. These fetters must not be shunned, in order to gain a destructive freedom and the temporal and brief pleasure of this life, to be followed by perpetual bitterness. Accordingly Scripture, [Ecclesiastes 6:24-32] that we may not refuse the fetters of wisdom, thus addresses us: "...Then shall her fetters be a strong defence for you, and her chains a robe of glory." Let the fettered therefore cry out, as long as they are in the chains of the discipline of God, in which the martyrs have been tried: the fetters shall be loosed, and they shall fly away, and these very fetters shall afterwards be turned into an ornament. This has happened with the martyrs. For what have the persecutors effected by killing them, except that their fetters were thereby loosed, and turned into crowns?...The remission of sins, is the loosing. For what would it have profited Lazarus, that he came forth from the tomb, unless it were said to him, "loose him, and let him go"? [John 11:44] Himself indeed with His voice aroused him from the tomb, Himself restored his life by crying unto him, Himself overcame the mass of earth that was heaped upon the tomb, and he came forth bound hand and foot: not therefore with his own feet, but by the power of Him who drew him forth. This takes place in the heart of the penitent: when you hear a man is sorry for his sins, he has already come again to life; when you hear him by confessing lay bare his conscience, he is already drawn forth from the tomb, but he is not as yet loosed. When is he loosed, and by whom is he loosed? "Whatsoever you shall loose on earth," He says, "shall be loosed in Heaven." [Matthew 15:19] Forgiveness of sins may justly be granted by the Church: but the dead man himself cannot be aroused except by the Lord crying within him; for God does this within him. We speak to your ears: how do we know what may be going on in your hearts? But what is going on within, is not our doing, but His.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Psalms 102:19 serves as a pivotal point within a psalm of deep lament, shifting the psalmist's focus from profound personal and communal affliction to the transcendent yet intimately attentive presence of God. This verse powerfully declares that from His exalted celestial dwelling, the LORD actively observes the earthly realm, thereby establishing the divine oversight that undergirds His compassionate intervention and eventual restoration of His people, offering profound reassurance that no suffering goes unnoticed by the Almighty.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Psalms 102:19 employs several powerful literary devices. Parallelism is prominently featured, specifically synonymous parallelism, where the second clause ("from heaven did the LORD behold the earth") reiterates and amplifies the meaning of the first clause ("For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary"). This repetition emphasizes the certainty and intentionality of God's observation. Anthropomorphism is also evident, attributing human-like actions ("looked down," "behold") to God. This device makes the transcendent God relatable and His actions comprehensible to human understanding, conveying His personal involvement rather than abstract detachment. Finally, the verse uses vivid Imagery of God's heavenly dwelling ("height of his sanctuary," "heaven") and His gaze ("looked down," "behold") to create a powerful mental picture of a sovereign, all-seeing God who actively surveys His creation.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
This verse is a profound theological statement on God's active sovereignty and compassionate involvement in the world, particularly in the midst of human suffering. It asserts that God, from His unapproachable holiness and transcendent majesty, is not distant or indifferent but intimately aware of every detail on earth. His "looking down" and "beholding" are not passive acts but purposeful observations that precede divine intervention. This truth serves as the bedrock for the psalmist's hope, transforming a lament of despair into an affirmation of God's enduring faithfulness and His ultimate plan for restoration. It assures believers that their cries are heard, their pain is seen, and their circumstances are known by a God who rules from heaven with both power and profound empathy.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Psalms 102:19 offers immense comfort and a powerful anchor for faith in times of deep distress. It reminds us that even when our world feels chaotic, our prayers seem unheard, and our suffering appears invisible, God is actively watching from His throne. His "looking down" is not a casual glance but a purposeful, empathetic gaze that precedes His compassionate action. This truth should transform our understanding of lament and prayer, encouraging us to pour out our hearts to Him with confidence, knowing that our pain, our struggles, and our deepest longings are fully known to the One who sees from heaven. It invites us to trust in His perfect timing and His ultimate justice, recognizing that His sovereign oversight is the prelude to His merciful intervention, bringing hope and eventual restoration to those who wait upon Him.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does God truly see every individual's suffering, even in a world full of pain?
Answer: Yes, Psalms 102:19 profoundly affirms that God's gaze is comprehensive and personal. The psalmist, enduring intense individual suffering, finds solace in the truth that God "looked down from the height of his sanctuary" and "did the LORD behold the earth." This is not a generalized, abstract observation, but an attentive, purposeful gaze that encompasses every individual's plight. The subsequent verse, Psalms 102:20, clarifies the purpose of this gaze: "To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death." This demonstrates God's intimate awareness of specific, individual suffering and His intent to act. The Bible consistently portrays God as one who sees the oppressed (Exodus 3:7), hears their cries (Psalms 34:17), and knows their sorrows (Isaiah 53:3). Therefore, this verse assures us that no pain, no tear, and no injustice goes unnoticed by the Almighty.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Psalms 102:19, with its depiction of God "looking down from the height of his sanctuary" and "beholding the earth," finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. While the Old Testament anticipates God's compassionate intervention from heaven, the New Testament reveals that God's most decisive "looking down" was in the incarnation of His Son. God did not merely gaze from a distance; He entered humanity's suffering. The eternal Word, who was "with God, and the Word was God," became flesh and "dwelt among us" (John 1:1-14). Jesus, the Son, is the perfect embodiment of God's attentive gaze and compassionate heart, experiencing human suffering firsthand. He is our empathetic High Priest, who "in all points was tempted as we are, yet without sin," and therefore "can have compassion on our infirmities" (Hebrews 4:15). The "groaning of the prisoner" and "those appointed to death" mentioned in the following verse (Psalms 102:20) are fully addressed by Christ's redemptive work on the cross, where He conquered sin and death, offering true freedom. His ascension back to "the height of his sanctuary" (Acts 1:9-11) means He continues to "behold the earth" from heaven, interceding for His people (Romans 8:34) and preparing for His glorious return to bring ultimate restoration and wipe away every tear (Revelation 21:4). Thus, Christ is the living proof that God not only sees our suffering but has personally entered it to deliver us.