102:3-7 Several statements illustrate how the psalmist felt. He had lost many good days to suffering. His sorrow had made his bones ache; his emotional state was affecting his physical condition. He felt withered under the heat of his affliction. He had become so preoccupied that he would forget to eat. Consequently his stomach was growling and he was losing weight. He evidently felt all alone much like a lonely pelican in the wilderness. He felt as isolated as an owl. Furthermore he could not sleep.
102:8-9 His enemies had also ridiculed him continually even using him as an example of someone God had cursed. The ashes he had put on his head as a sign of his mourning had evidently fallen down on his food. He had eaten so many of them he could say he had consumed them like bread. Likewise his many tears had poured into his cup as he drank.
102:10-11 He felt his condition was the result of divine discipline. He believed his life was ending as the lengthening shadows signal the approaching end of a day.
