Psalm 102:11

11 My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.

Psalm 102:11 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 102:11

My days are like a shadow that declineth
Or, "that is stretched out" ^F19, which, though it may appear long, is soon at an end; as it does appear longer when the sun sets ^F20, and departs from the earth: he reckons his life not by months and years, but by days; and these he compares to a "shadow", which has no substance in it; his age being as nothing before the Lord, and has much darkness and obscurity in it; his days being days of darkness, affliction, and trouble, and quickly gone, as man's life is; there is no abiding; see ( 1 Chronicles 29:15 ) ( Job 14:2 ) . Pindar ^F21 calls man the dream of a shadow:

and I am withered like grass;
which in the morning is flourishing, is cut down at noon, and withered at evening: this is the case of all flesh, however beautiful and goodly it may look; it is weak, frail, and mortal; cannot stand before the force of afflictions, which quickly consume strength and beauty, and much less before the scythe of death; see ( Psalms 90:5 Psalms 90:6 ) ( Isaiah 40:6-8 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F19 (ywjn) "inclinata", Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator, Musculus, Cocceius; "extensa", Michaelis.
F20 "Et sol crescentes decedens duplicat umbras", Virgil. Bacol. Eclog. 2.
F21 Pyth. Ode 8.

Psalm 102:11 In-Context

9 For I eat ashes like bread, and mingle tears with my drink,

10 because of thy indignation and anger; for thou hast taken me up and thrown me away.

11 My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.

12 But thou, O LORD, art enthroned for ever; thy name endures to all generations.

13 Thou wilt arise and have pity on Zion; it is the time to favor her; the appointed time has come.