the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural absolute
foundation
יָסַ֑דְתָּya.Sad.ta
H3245
to set (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
earth
הָאָ֣רֶץha.'A.retz
H776
the earth (at large · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
heavens
שָׁמָֽיִםsha.Ma.yim
H8064
the sky (as aloft · noun, common masculine plural absolute
work
וּֽמַעֲשֵׂ֖הu.ma.'a.Seh
H4639
an action (good or bad) · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
hands
יָדֶ֣יךָya.Dei.kha
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders dual construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Exodus 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the…
Jeremiah 32:17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for the…
Hebrews 1:10-12 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
Hebrews 3:3-4 For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.
Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
Job 38:4-7 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
Psalms 96:5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 102:23–end
We may here observe,
I. The imminent danger that the Jewish church was in of being quite extirpated and cut off by the captivity in Babylon (Psa 102:23): He weakened my strength in the way. They were for many ages in the way to the performance of the great promise made to their fathers concerning the Messiah, longing as much for it as ever a traveller did to be at his journey's end. The legal institutions led them in the way; but when the ten tribes were lost in Assyria, and the two almost lost in Babylon, the strength of that nation was weakened, and, in all appearance, its day shortened; for they said, Our hope is lost; we are cut off for our parts, Eze 37:11. And then what becomes of the…
Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth,.... The lower part of the creation, the Lord's footstool, called the earth beneath: this has its foundation; though what it is cannot be well said, it cannot be searched out; it is sometimes said to be founded upon the waters, and yet so as not to be removed for ever, Jeremiah 31:37, this shows the wisdom of God, as a wise master builder, and the stability of the earth; and is a proof of the deity of Christ, to whom these words belong: this is said to be done "of old", or "at" or "in the beginning", as Jarchi and the Targum; and so in Hebrews 1:10, where they are applied to the Messiah, the Son of God; and this, as it proves the eternity of…
Psalm 102:23-28
23. He hath afflicted my strength in the way; and shortened my days. 24. I said, O my God! Cut me not off in the midst of my days: for [155] thy years are from generation to generation. 25. Thou hast aforetime founded the earth; and the heavens are the work of thy hands. 26. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: and all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: 27. But thou art the same, [156] and thy years shall not fail. [157] 28. The children of thy servants shall dwell, and their seed shall be established before thee.
23. He hath afflicted my strength in the way Some improperly restrict this complaint to th…
The Church Fathers
Hold most firmly and never doubt that the holy Trinity, the only true God, just as it is eternal, is likewise the only one by nature unchangeable. God indicates this when he says to his servant Moses, "I am which I am." Hence, it is said in the psalms, "In the beginning you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you endure."
There are many allusions to the last judgment in the Psalms, but for the most part only casual and slight. I cannot, however, omit to mention what is said there in express terms of the end of this world: "In the beginning hast Thou laid the foundations of the earth, O Lord; and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. They shall perish, but Thou shall endure; yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; and as a vesture Thou shall change them, and they shall be changed: but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail."
But this opinion of prophecy could not withstand the evidence, which the divine majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ also confirmed in the Gospel. For David said: In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, O Lord, and the works of your hands are the heavens. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, and like clothing you will change them, and they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end. The Lord approved so much in the Gospel that He said: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Christ Is God · As the Eternal God and Creator — As the Eternal God and Creator
Earth · CREATED BY GOD — CREATED BY GOD
Immortality · 2:11; — 2:11;
Power Of God, The · Exhibited in: Creation — Exhibited in: Creation
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
On the way (ב as in Psa 110:7) - not "by means of the way" (ב as in Psa 105:18), in connection with which one would expect of find some attributive minuter definition of the way - God hath bowed down his strength (cf. Deu 8:2); it was therefore a troublous, toilsome way which he has been led, together with his people. He has shortened his days, so that he only drags on wearily, and has only a short distance still before him before he is entirely overcome. The Chethb כחו (lxx ἰσχύος αὐτοῦ) may be understood of God's irresistible might, as in Job 23:6; Job 30:18, but in connection with it the designation of the object is felt to be wanting. The introductory אמר (cf. Job 10:2), which announ…
In contrast with the permanence of the Creator, the created order will wear out like a piece of clothing (see Isa 40:28). • The writer to the Hebrews describes this passage as having been addressed to Jesus, the Son (Heb 1:10-12).
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 102:25
Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth. Creation is no new work with God, and therefore to "create Jerusalem a praise in the earth" will not be difficult to him. Long ere the holy city was laid in ruins the Lord made a world out of nothing, and it will be no labour to him to raise the walls from their heaps and replace the stones in their courses. We can neither continue our own existence nor give being to others; but the Lord not only is, but he is the Maker of all things that are; hence, when our affairs are at the very lowest ebb we are not at all despairing, because the Almighty and…
