A prayer of an afflicted man. When he is faint and pours out his lament before the Lord.
| Verse | Observation | Interpretation | Application |
| 1Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry for help come to you. 2Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly. 3For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers. 4My heart is blighted and withered like grass; I forget to eat my food. 5Because of my loud groaning I am reduced to skin and bones. 6I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins. 7I lie awake; I have become like a bird alone on a roof. 8All day long my enemies taunt me; those who rail against me use my name as a curse. 9For I eat ashes as my food and mingle my drink with tears 10because of your great wrath, for you have taken me up and thrown me aside. 11My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass. | The psalmist is in distress, but the Lord does not seem to respond. He continues to say that he is only human with a limited lifespan, how he shows his sadness through not eating and how his enemies mock him. v. 8 is notable for me, saying "those who rail against me use my name as a curse." This practice, using a name as a curse, is widespread in my local community, and even I was a part of it. | It is not right to use a person's name as a curse. We have a short lifespan. | Stop mocking people by using their name as a curse, or as a synonym for a bad trait. |
| 12But you, O Lord, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations. 13You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her; the appointed time has come. 14For her stones are dear to your servants; her very dust moves them to pity. 15The nations will fear the name of the Lord, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory. 16For the Lord will rebuild Zion and appear in his glory. 17He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea. | The Lord is eternal unlike us humans. He will rebuild Zion. All the nations will revere God's glory. The Lord will "respond to the prayer of the destitute," though it seemed not (as seen in the earlier verses) | The Lord is eternal. He will rebuild Zion and all the nations will revere Him. He will help those who are in need and pray to Him. | Even though God does not seem to help us, be assured that He will if we only pray, in His own way and in His own pace, for He is different from us; He is eternal while we are only mortals. |
| 18Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord: 19“The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth, 20to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.” 21So the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem 22when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship the Lord. 23In the course of my lifea he broke my strength; he cut short my days. 24So I said: “Do not take me away, O my God, in the midst of my days; your years go on through all generations. 25In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 26They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. 27But you remain the same, and your years will never end. 28The children of your servants will live in your presence; their descendants will be established before you.” | Here is a prediction: that "the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion and His praise in Jerusalem when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship the Lord." Zion and Jerusalem has many meanings, so I don't understand what it means here. Again, the psalmist repeats that the Lord is eternal, but now describes the earth as a perishable object, just like as humans. This puts us in a grander scale, because the Earth is not something that will easily perish. | This is seemingly in contradiction with the earlier Psalms that says the Earth will endure (Psalms 93) (remember the word Kon, which could mean stable, enduring, not moving, etc.) Since the Word is not in contradiction with itself, the word Kon in Psalm 93:1 could now only mean "stable". I can't seem to understand the phrase "broke my strength" |
Feel free to correct me if there is anything wrong in my understanding of the Bible. I am not a Bible scholar or anything, I'm just studying the Word of God.
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