Chapter One Hundred Two

These psalms, as well as Psalms 18 and 19, 69 and 70, and others, are called paired, since while belonging to one author, they differ and have similarity of content, mutually complementing each other.

Psalm 102 belongs to David, as seen from the inscription in the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin Bibles, and speaks about Divine Providence in the life of man and in the moral world, while Psalm 103 speaks about providence in the physical world. Therefore, both psalms, distinguished by unity of content and manner of exposition, belong to one author, David, although his name is not placed over Ps 103 in the Hebrew Bible, but is present in the Vulgate and in the LXX.

When these psalms were written cannot be stated with certainty. One should assume that it was in a more peaceful, quiet time of his reign, when David could devote himself to contemplation of human life and the life of nature, which could have been in the last years of his life and reign.

Bless, my soul, the Lord, who cleanses your spiritual ailments and covers you with outward blessings (1–5). The Lord is merciful: He protects the wronged, does not anger forever, and does not reward us according to the full severity that we have deserved (6–10). His mercy to us is immeasurable: He, as a father, condescends to us, weak and helpless (11–16). His mercies are eternal to those who fear Him (17–18). Let all Angels, all creatures in all places of the earth, bless Him, the King of the whole world (19–22).

Psalm 102:1. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Psalm 102:2. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all His benefits. Psalm 102:3. He forgives all your iniquity; He heals all your diseases; Psalm 102:4. He redeems your life from the grave, He crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; Psalm 102:5. He satisfies your desire with good things; your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. David urges himself to worthy praise of the Lord. “And all that is within me” – my entire being. The benefits of God to man are great and diverse: He cleanses iniquity (sins) of man, heals him of spiritual diseases (“ailments”), thereby saving from temporal and eternal destruction (“from the grave”), rewards man with spiritual and material blessings, fulfills every good desire, and, as with the eagle, which according to ancient views underwent complete renewal every 10 years and became young, preserves and maintains in man spiritual vigor and physical strength. Probably, in this last expression David had in mind examples of the longevity of the patriarchs, distinguished by spiritual vigor and physical strength up to an advanced age.

Psalm 102:6. The Lord executes righteousness and judgment for all the oppressed. Psalm 102:7. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel. The Lord pours His blessings upon all people; to all the oppressed He gives protection (“righteousness and judgment”). The Law given by Him through Moses, where He indicated how the Hebrew should live and in agreement with what he should direct his will (“ways”), as well as the miracles accomplished at that time, are an expression of the love and care of God for man. By this Law He protected the weak from the self-will and unlimited arbitrariness of the strong, and by His miraculous help sustained and nourished attachment to Him.

Psalm 102:8. The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love: Psalm 102:9. He does not contend forever, nor does He hold His anger indefinitely. Psalm 102:10. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities: Psalm 102:11. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; Psalm 102:12. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us; Psalm 102:13. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. The Lord is gracious, patient, and compassionate. His wrath is never eternal in relation to a guilty person; on the contrary, the punishments He sends are always less than the offense that provoked them. As great is the distance between heaven and earth, so abundant are the blessings of God upon those who reverence Him, and as far is the East from the West, so far from God is the punishment of man for each of his sins, or – so deeply does God forgive and not reckon against man many of his shortcomings. Therefore, God’s relationship to man can be called the relationships of a father to his children.

Psalm 102:14. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. Psalm 102:15. As for the days of man, they are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. Psalm 102:16. When the wind passes over it, it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. Psalm 102:17. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting toward those who fear Him, Psalm 102:18. and His righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep His covenant and remember to do His commandments. Psalm 102:19. The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all. Man is weak and helpless by his very nature: he can be compared to a one-day flower, withering by evening. A slight breeze, wind (“When the wind passes over it”) – and he perishes. Man would quickly perish if God did not sustain him; His mercy to man is eternal and unchanging. Help from Him is unshakeable support, because He is the King of the whole world – King over heaven and over all that exists on earth.

Psalm 102:20. Bless the Lord, O His angels, mighty in strength, who perform His word, hearkening to the voice of His word; Psalm 102:21. Bless the Lord, all His hosts, who serve Him, doing His will; Psalm 102:22. Bless the Lord, all His works, in all places of His dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul! Such a King should be praised by the angels, more than man “mighty in strength” in listening and fulfilling His will; they better than man know God, since through them, as His nearest servants, He manifests His power in the world. “Mighty in strength,” “His hosts,” “who serve Him” – the Angels of God. It is possible that different names of them indicate different degrees and types of their service, divisions into several ranks, understanding of which was not foreign to the beliefs of the Hebrews. This King should be praised by the entire world, all creation. The depiction of God’s compassionate relationship toward man is distinguished here by extraordinary touching quality.