102:3 For my days are {c} consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth.
(c) These excessive kinds of speech show how much the affliction of the Church should wound the hearts of the godly.
102:3 An hearth - An hearth is heated or burnt by the coals which are laid upon it.
102:1-11 The whole word of God is of use to direct us in prayer; but here, is often elsewhere, the Holy Ghost has put words into our mouths. Here is a prayer put into the hands of the afflicted; let them present it to God. Even good men may be almost overwhelmed with afflictions. It is our duty and interest to pray; and it is comfort to an afflicted spirit to unburden itself, by a humble representation of its griefs. We must say, Blessed be the name of the Lord, who both gives and takes away. The psalmist looked upon himself as a dying man; My days are like a shadow.
