The Meaning of Psalms 102:19 Explained

Psalms 102:19

KJV: For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;

YLT: For He hath looked From the high place of His sanctuary. Jehovah from heaven unto earth looked attentively,

Darby: For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from the heavens hath Jehovah beheld the earth,

ASV: For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; From heaven did Jehovah behold the earth;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For he hath looked down  from the height  of his sanctuary;  from heaven  did the LORD  behold  the earth; 

What does Psalms 102:19 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 102:12-28 - The Time To Have Mercy Upon Zion
We must remember that the Holy Spirit appropriates the closing words of this psalm as addressed to our Lord. See Hebrews 1:10-12. This gives new point to these petitions. The psalmist's sorrows, described in the previous paragraph, had their source in the desolations of Zion rather than in personal afflictions; and when the soul feels such oppression, it is a sign that deliverance is near. Finney, the great evangelist, tells of a woman who came to her pastor under such concern for the perishing that she could neither eat nor sleep. She entreated him to appoint an inquirers' meeting, and though there had been no signs of a revival, it suddenly broke out. When Christians take pity on the stones and dust of the Church, the time has come for God to arise to her help.
Behold the unchanging Christ! Creation may wax old, the heavens and earth may be laid aside as an outworn garment, the old order may give place to new; but beneath all the changed Jesus Christ remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. How delightful are those immortal words, But thou, O Lord, shalt endure, and if He endures, His servants shall continue also, and their children after them. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 102

1  The prophet in his prayer makes a grievous complaint
12  He takes comfort in the eternity, and mercy of God
18  The mercies of God are to be recorded
23  He sustains his weakness by the unchangeableness of God

What do the individual words in Psalms 102:19 mean?

For He looked down from the height of His sanctuary Yahweh from heaven to the earth viewed
כִּֽי־ הִ֭שְׁקִיף מִמְּר֣וֹם קָדְשׁ֑וֹ יְ֝הוָ֗ה מִשָּׁמַ֤יִם ׀ אֶל־ אֶ֬רֶץ הִבִּֽיט

הִ֭שְׁקִיף  He  looked  down 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁקַף  
Sense: to overlook, look down or out, overhang, look out and down.
מִמְּר֣וֹם  from  the  height 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מָרֹום  
Sense: height.
קָדְשׁ֑וֹ  of  His  sanctuary 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: קֹדֶשׁ  
Sense: apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness.
יְ֝הוָ֗ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
מִשָּׁמַ֤יִם ׀  from  heaven 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַיִם  
Sense: heaven, heavens, sky.
אֶ֬רֶץ  the  earth 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
הִבִּֽיט  viewed 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָבַט  
Sense: to look, regard.