TRV
Study This Verse
Public-domain commentary
Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry comments on passages, not single verses — this entry covers Psalms 102:1–11. His two-level outline is real structure in the source text, so it is rendered as structure.
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 us in prayer; but here, as often elsewhere, the Holy Ghost has drawn up our petition for us, has put words into our mouths. Hos 14:2, Take with you words. Here is a prayer put into the hands of the afflicted: let them set, not their hands, but their hearts to it, and present it to God. Note, 1. It is often the lot of the best saints in this world to be sorely affected. 2. Even good men may be almost overwhelmed with their afflictions, and may be ready to faint under them. 3. When our state is afflicted, and our spirits are overwhelmed, it is our duty and interest to pray, and by prayer to pour out our complaints before the Lord, which intimates the leave God gives us to be free with him and the liberty of speech we have before him, as well as liberty of access to him; it intimates also what an ease it is to an afflicted spirit to unburden itself by a humble representation of its grievances and griefs. Such a representation we have here, in which,
I.The psalmist humbly begs of God to take notice of his affliction, and of his prayer in his affliction, Psa 102:1, Psa 102:2. When we pray in our affliction,
1.It should be our care that God would graciously hear us; for, if our prayers be not pleasing to God, they will be to no purpose to ourselves. Let this therefore be in our eye that our prayer may come unto God, even to his ears (Psa 18:6); and, in order to that, let us lift up the prayer, and our souls with it.
2.It may be our hope that God will graciously hear us, because he has appointed us to seek him and has promised we shall not seek him in vain. If we put up a prayer in faith, we may in faith say, Hear my prayer, O Lord! "Hear me," that is, (1.) "Manifest thyself to me, hide not thy face from me in displeasure, when I am in trouble. If thou dost not quickly free me, yet let me know that thou favourest me; if I see not the operations of thy hand for me, yet let me see the smiles of thy face upon me." God's hiding his face is trouble enough to a good man even in his prosperity (Psa 30:7, Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled); but if, when we are in trouble, God hides his face, the case is sad indeed. (2.) "Manifest thyself for me; not only hear me, but answer me; grant me the deliverance I am in want of and in pursuit of; answer me speedily, even in the day when I call." When troubles press hard upon us, God gives us leave to be thus pressing in prayer, yet with humility and patience.
II.He makes a lamentable complaint of the low condition to which he was reduced by his afflictions.
1.His body was macerated and emaciated, and he had become a perfect skeleton, nothing but skin and bones. As prosperity and joy are represented by making fat the bones, and the bones flourishing like a herb, so great trouble and grief are here represented by the contrary: My bones are burnt as a hearth (Psa 102:3); they cleave to my skin (Psa 102:5); nay, my heart is smitten, and withered like grass (Psa 102:4); it touches the vitals, and there is a sensible decay there. I am withered like grass (Psa 102:11), scorched with the burning heat of my troubles. If we be thus brought low by bodily distempers, let us not think it strange; the body is like grass, weak and of the earth, no wonder then that it withers.
2.He was very melancholy and of a sorrowful spirit. He was so taken up with the thoughts of his troubles that he forgot to eat his bread (Psa 102:4); he had no appetite to his necessary food nor could he relish it. When God hides his face from a soul the delights of sense will be sapless things. He was always sighing and groaning, as one pressed above measure (Psa 102:5), and this wasted him and exhausted his spirits. He affected solitude, as melancholy people do. His friends deserted him and were shy of him, and he cared as little for their company (Psa 102:6, Psa 102:7): "I am like a pelican of the wilderness, or a bittern (so some) that make a doleful noise; I am like an owl, that affects to lodge in deserted ruined buildings; I watch, and am as a sparrow upon the house-top. I live in a garret, and there spend my hours in poring on my troubles and bemoaning myself." Those who do thus, when they are in sorrow, humour themselves indeed; but they prejudice themselves, and know not what they do, nor what advantage they hereby give to the tempter. In affliction we should sit alone to consider our ways (Lam 3:28), but not sit alone to indulge an inordinate grief.
3.He was evil-spoken of by his enemies, and all manner of evil was said against him. When his friends went off from him his foes set themselves against him (Psa 102:8): My enemies reproach me all the day, designing thereby both to create vexation to him (for an ingenuous mind regrets reproach) and to bring an odium upon him before men. When they could not otherwise reach him they shot these arrows at him, even bitter words. In this they were unwearied; they did it all the day; it was a continual dropping. His enemies were very outrageous: They are mad against me, and very obstinate and implacable. They are sworn against me; as the Jews that bound themselves with an oath that they would kill Paul; or, They have sworn against me as accusers, to take away my life.
4.He fasted and wept under the tokens of God's displeasure (Psa 102:9, Psa 102:10): "I have eaten ashes like bread; instead of eating my bread, I have lain down in dust and ashes, and I have mingled my drink with weeping; when I should have refreshed myself with drinking I have only eased myself with weeping." And what is the matter? He tells us (Psa 102:10): Because of thy wrath. It was not so much the trouble itself that troubled him as the wrath of God which he was under the apprehensions of as the cause of the trouble. This, this was the wormwood and the gall in the affliction and the misery: Thou hast lifted me up and cast me down, as that which we cast to the ground with a design to dash it to pieces; we lift up first, that we may throw it down with the more violence; or, "Thou hast formerly lifted me up in honour, and joy, and uncommon prosperity; but the remembrance of that aggravates the present grief and makes it the more grievous." We must eye the hand of God both in lifting us up and casting us down, and say, "Blessed be the name of the Lord, who both gives and takes away." 5. He looked upon himself as a dying man: My days are consumed like smoke (Psa 102:3), which vanishes away quickly. Or, They are consumed in smoke, of which nothing remains; they are like a shadow that declines (Psa 102:11), like the evening-shadow, or a forerunner of approaching night. Now all this, though it seems to speak the psalmist's personal calamities, and therefore is properly a prayer for a particular person afflicted, yet is supposed to be a description of the afflictions of the church of God, with which the psalmist sympathizes, making public grievances his own. The mystical body of Christ is sometimes, like the psalmist's body here, withered and parched, nay, like dead and dry bones. The church sometimes is forced into the wilderness, seems lost, and gives up herself for gone, under the tokens of God's displeasure.
Historical interpretation
Historical Reception
5 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.
Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.
So then the prophet comforted David as we have seen, but that blessed man, though he received most gladly the assurance, “The Lord has put away your sin,” did not, king as he was, draw back from penitence. Indeed he put on sackcloth in place of his purple robe, and the king sat in ashes on the bare earth instead of on his gilded throne. And in ashes he did not merely sit but took them for eating, as he himself says, “I have eaten ashes as if bread and mingled my drink with weeping.” His lustful eye he wasted away with tears; as he says, “Every night I wash my bed and water my couch with my tears.” And when his courtiers exhorted him to take bread, he would not, but he prolonged his fast for seven whole days. Now if a king was apt to make confession after this manner, should not you, as a private person, make your confession? Again, after Absalom’s rebellion, when David was in flight, with many roads to choose from before him, he chose to make his escape by the Mount of Olives, as good as invoking in his own mind the Deliverer who should from there ascend into the heavens. And when Shimei cursed him bitterly, he said, “Let him be.” For he knew that forgiveness is for those who forgive.
And after humility of mind, there is need of intense prayers, of many tears, tears by day and tears by night, for, he says, “every night will I wash my bed, I will water my couch with my tears. I am weary with my groaning.” And again, “For I have eaten ashes as if bread and mingled my drink with weeping.”
Indeed, to the penitent confession alone does not suffice, unless correction of the deed follows, with the result that the penitent does not continue to do deeds that demand repentance. He should even humble his soul just as holy David, who, when he heard from the prophet, “Your sin is pardoned,” became more humble in the correction of his sin, so that “he did eat ashes like bread and mingled his drink with weeping.” THE LIFE OF ST.
Look back to Adam, whence the human race sprung. For how but from him was misery propagated? Whence but from him is this hereditary poverty? Let him then, who in his own body was at one time in despair, now that he is set in Christ's body, say with hope, "My heart is smitten down, and withered like grass" [Psalm 102:4]. Deservedly, since all flesh is grass. [Isaiah 40:6] But how did this happen unto you? "Since I have forgotten to eat my bread." For God had given His commandment for bread. For what is the bread of the soul? The serpent suggesting, and the woman transgressing, he touched the forbidden fruit, [Genesis 3:6] he forgot the commandment: his heart was smitten as it deserved, and withered like grass, since he forgot to eat his bread. Having forgotten to eat bread, he drinks poison: his heart is smitten, and withered like grass....Now eat that bread which you had forgotten. But this very Bread has come, in whose body you may remember the voice of your forgetfulness, and cry out in your poverty, so that you may receive riches. Now eat: for you are in His body, who says, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven." [John 6:41] You had forgotten to eat your bread; but after His crucifixion, "all the ends of the earth shall be reminded, and be converted unto the Lord." After forgetfulness, let remembrance come, let bread be eaten from heaven, that we may live; not manna, as they did eat, and died; [John 6:49] that bread, of which it is said, "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness." [Matthew 5:6]
“For I forgot to eat my bread. At the sound of my groaning, my bones stuck to my flesh.” I lost appetite for any food, and was completely bereft of my former good condition, my body being consumed by the wasting of discouragement; I am but skin and bones. The word of God, then, is our soul’s bread: just as ordinary bread nourishes the body, so the word from heaven [nourishes] the soul’s substance. In passing on the prayer, Christ said as much to the apostles, “Give us this day our daily bread.” So whoever forgets to eat it, that is, to be active (action, after all, constituting the eating of the spiritual bread, as is clear from the saying of the Lord to the apostles, “Be active, not for the eating, which perishes, but for that which endures to life eternal”), this one’s heart is stricken and dried up like hay. How does hay get stricken and dry up? When rain stops falling on it. As the heart, too, when suffering from a dearth of the word, is then stricken and dries up, the flower of virtue no longer has the strength to bloom.
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Summary
Psalms 102:4 powerfully articulates the psalmist's profound and debilitating suffering, depicting a state of such overwhelming emotional and spiritual distress that it has physically withered his very being and extinguished even the most basic instinct for self-sustenance. This verse is a visceral cry from one consumed by affliction, illustrating how deep anguish can manifest in a complete loss of vitality and a neglect of fundamental human needs, underscoring the interconnectedness of body and soul in times of intense sorrow and despair.
Context
Literary Context
Psalms 102 stands as a profound individual lament, specifically identified in its superscription (in some traditions) as a "prayer of the afflicted when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the Lord." The psalm begins with an urgent, desperate plea for God to hear his prayer and not hide His face from him in his distress, setting a tone of profound urgency and vulnerability, as seen in Psalms 102:1-2. Following this opening, the psalmist launches into a detailed, almost morbid, description of his physical and emotional decay, using vivid imagery of wasting away, burning bones, and groaning. This verse, describing a heart "smitten, and withered like grass," is nestled within this outpouring of personal suffering, immediately following descriptions of his bones burning like a hearth and his heart being struck down. It serves to underscore the depth of his internal anguish by showing its direct impact on his external, physical well-being, specifically his inability to eat, a fundamental act of self-preservation. The lament then shifts dramatically to a broader reflection on God's eternal nature and faithfulness, providing a stark contrast to the psalmist's fleeting suffering, as seen in Psalms 102:11-12. This structural shift offers a theological anchor amidst the profound personal distress.
Historical & Cultural Context
While the specific historical occasion for Psalms 102 is not explicitly stated, its themes of desolation, the yearning for Jerusalem's restoration, and the suffering of God's people (e.g., Psalms 102:13-17) strongly suggest a post-exilic or exilic setting, perhaps during the Babylonian captivity or the challenging period of return and rebuilding. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, physical ailments were often seen as manifestations of divine displeasure or as direct consequences of sin, though the psalmist here presents his suffering as an affliction from which he desperately seeks relief from God. The imagery of "withered like grass" is a common biblical motif reflecting human frailty and transience, particularly in the face of hardship or divine judgment, resonating deeply with agricultural societies where the life cycle of vegetation was a daily reality. The act of eating "bread" was not merely sustenance but a communal and foundational aspect of daily life, symbolizing well-being, stability, and even covenant fellowship. To "forget to eat my bread" therefore signifies an extreme state of distress where even the most basic and essential life-sustaining activities are abandoned due to overwhelming sorrow, indicating a complete breakdown of normal human function.
Key Themes
Psalms 102, and particularly Psalms 102:4, powerfully explores several core themes. First, it highlights the overwhelming nature of human suffering and despair, demonstrating how profound emotional and spiritual pain can consume an individual entirely, leading to a sense of utter devastation. The psalmist's heart is not merely sad but "smitten" and "withered," conveying a complete loss of vitality and hope. Second, the verse underscores the physical manifestation of emotional and spiritual distress. The psalmist's inability to eat illustrates the deep interconnectedness of the human psyche and body; intense internal agony can directly impact physical health and even basic survival instincts. This theme is echoed elsewhere in Scripture, such as in Proverbs 17:22, which notes the physical benefits of a joyful heart. Third, the simile "withered like grass" emphasizes the frailty and transience of human life in contrast to God's enduring nature. This motif is prevalent throughout the Old Testament, reminding humanity of its ephemeral existence before an eternal God, as seen in Isaiah 40:6-8 and Psalms 90:5-6. Finally, the psalm as a whole, despite its deep lament, ultimately points to the hope found in God's faithfulness and eternal nature, suggesting that even in the darkest valleys of human experience, there is a divine anchor and a promise of restoration for those who call upon Him.
Exposition and Analysis
Key Word Analysis
This primitive root means to strike (lightly or severely, literally or figuratively). In this context, applied to the heart, it conveys a sense of being profoundly struck down, afflicted, or wounded by an external force or overwhelming circumstances. It implies a sudden, devastating impact that has left the psalmist's inner core shattered and broken, as if by a severe blow.
This primitive root means to dry up (as water) or wither (as herbage); to be ashamed, confused, or disappointed. When applied to the heart, it powerfully depicts a complete loss of vitality, moisture, and life. Just as grass dries up under a scorching sun, the psalmist's heart has lost its vigor, hope, and emotional resilience, becoming desolate and barren. This imagery emphasizes a process of decay and decline, leading to a state of profound emptiness.
This primitive root means to mislay, i.e., to be oblivious of, from want of memory or attention. In this context, it signifies a profound neglect or abandonment of a basic function due to overwhelming preoccupation. The psalmist is not merely absent-minded; his distress is so consuming that the fundamental instinct for self-preservation, specifically eating, is overridden and ignored. This highlights the severity of his mental and emotional state, where even the most primal needs are eclipsed by his suffering.
Verse Breakdown
"My heart is smitten,"
This opening clause immediately establishes the internal nature of the psalmist's suffering. The "heart" (לֵב, lêb H3820) in Hebrew thought represents not just emotions but the totality of one's inner being—intellect, will, and affections. To be "smitten" implies a devastating blow, a deep wound inflicted upon his core self, suggesting a profound spiritual or emotional trauma that has left him utterly broken and incapacitated, unable to function normally.
"and withered like grass;"
This simile extends the description of the heart's condition, comparing its state to grass that has dried up and lost its life. Grass (עֵשֶׂב, ʻeseb H6212) is a common biblical metaphor for human transience and fragility. The "withered" state conveys a complete loss of vitality, freshness, and strength, indicating that the psalmist's inner being is depleted, barren, and on the verge of perishing, devoid of hope or vigor. This imagery underscores the rapid and irreversible decline he perceives in himself.
"so that I forget to eat my bread."
This final clause describes the tangible, physical consequence of his profound internal distress. The inability to eat "bread" (לֶחֶם, lechem H3899)—a staple of life and a symbol of basic sustenance—is a stark indicator of the extremity of his suffering. It's not a conscious decision to fast, but an overwhelming preoccupation with his anguish that has extinguished even the most fundamental instinct for survival. This detail makes the abstract emotional pain concrete and relatable, demonstrating how deeply his sorrow has impacted his physical existence, leading to a complete neglect of self-preservation.
Literary Devices
Psalms 102:4 employs several powerful literary devices to convey the depth of the psalmist's suffering. The primary device is Simile, evident in the phrase "withered like grass." This comparison vividly illustrates the rapid and complete decline of the psalmist's vitality, drawing on a common biblical image for human frailty and the fleeting nature of life. The image of grass drying up under the scorching sun immediately evokes a sense of decay and loss of life-giving moisture. Related to this is Metaphor, as the "heart" itself is implicitly portrayed as a living entity that can be "smitten" and "withered," giving a concrete, almost personified, sense to an abstract emotional state. Furthermore, the statement "so that I forget to eat my bread" functions as a form of Hyperbole or extreme exaggeration to emphasize the severity of his distress. While he might not literally forget how to eat, the phrase powerfully conveys that his anguish is so overwhelming that it has overridden even his most basic biological needs and instincts, making the act of eating seem utterly irrelevant or impossible. This dramatic portrayal intensifies the reader's understanding of his profound despair and the all-consuming nature of his affliction.
Theological and Thematic Connections
Psalms 102:4 offers a profound theological insight into the nature of human suffering and God's relationship to it. It validates the reality of debilitating grief and despair, affirming that such profound anguish can indeed consume one's entire being, affecting both soul and body. The psalmist's raw honesty in articulating this extreme state of physical and emotional desolation provides a template for authentic prayer, demonstrating that God is capable of receiving even the most desperate and broken expressions of human pain. The verse implicitly underscores the biblical understanding of humanity as a holistic being, where spiritual and emotional states profoundly impact physical well-being. While the psalmist's suffering is intense, the broader psalm ultimately pivots to God's enduring nature and faithfulness, suggesting that even in the deepest valleys of despair, there is a divine constant to whom one can appeal for mercy and restoration. This tension between human frailty and divine steadfastness is central to the psalm's message of hope.
Reflection and Application
Psalms 102:4 serves as a powerful validation of the human experience of profound suffering. It reminds us that it is not only permissible but often necessary to acknowledge and express the full depth of our pain, even when it feels utterly debilitating and all-consuming. The psalmist's raw honesty in admitting that his anguish has withered his heart and caused him to neglect even basic self-care offers immense comfort to those who have felt similarly overwhelmed by grief, anxiety, depression, or chronic illness. This verse encourages us to bring our whole, broken selves before God, trusting that He understands and empathizes with our deepest struggles, for He is a God who draws near to the brokenhearted. It challenges us to cultivate empathy for others who are suffering, recognizing that their internal battles may manifest in ways that are physically debilitating or outwardly inexplicable, requiring patient understanding and compassionate support. Ultimately, it calls us to remember the interconnectedness of our emotional, spiritual, and physical health, urging us to seek holistic healing and to lean into God's presence even when our strength and will to live seem to have withered away, finding in Him the source of true sustenance and renewal.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does "smitten" imply God's judgment, or simply affliction?
While the Hebrew word for "smitten" (נָכָה, nâkâh H5221) can indeed be used in contexts of divine judgment or punishment (e.g., God "smote" Egypt with plagues in Exodus 12:29), in Psalms 102:4, it primarily conveys the severe impact of the psalmist's overwhelming circumstances and the feeling of being struck down by profound distress. It reflects the psalmist's subjective experience of being deeply wounded and afflicted, rather than necessarily a direct theological statement about God's punitive action. The focus is on the debilitating effect of the suffering on his inner being, regardless of its ultimate source. The broader context of the psalm, which is a desperate plea for God's mercy and intervention and a lament over the desolation of Zion, suggests a cry from affliction and a yearning for restoration rather than an admission of specific judgment for personal sin.
Christ-Centered Fulfillment
Psalms 102:4, with its raw depiction of a heart smitten and withered by suffering, finds profound resonance and ultimate fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The psalmist's experience of being so consumed by anguish that he "forgets to eat his bread" foreshadows the ultimate suffering of the Son of God, who fully entered into human frailty and sorrow. Jesus, during His earthly ministry, experienced the depths of human grief, famously weeping at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35). More profoundly, in the Garden of Gethsemane, His soul was "overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" (Matthew 26:38), a suffering so intense that it caused Him to sweat drops of blood (Luke 22:44). On the cross, Jesus bore the full weight of humanity's sin and its resulting curse, becoming "smitten by God" and "afflicted" on our behalf, as prophesied in Isaiah 53:4-5. His physical body was literally withered and broken, and He cried out, "I thirst" (John 19:28), a stark echo of the psalmist's inability to sustain himself. Through His perfect suffering, death, and resurrection, Christ transforms the withered heart of humanity, offering not just empathy for our pain but true spiritual nourishment and eternal life. He is the Bread of Life (John 6:35) who, by enduring the ultimate "withering" on the cross, ensures that those who believe in Him will never truly perish or forget the sustenance of His grace, but will find their hearts revived and made whole in Him, experiencing abundant life through His sacrifice (John 10:10).