like a pelican. The afflicted one here compares his situation to that of three birds that inhabited the wilderness, and were considered of little worth in ancient Israel—the pelican, the little owl and the sparrow.

the time to favour her. When Messiah came to Zion, it was indeed the time anticipated by the prophets for God to favor her. When Zion rejected Messiah, however, a time of severe judgment ensued, when her most beautiful “stones” (Psalm 102:14) would be “thrown down” (Matthew 24:2). However, there is also a future time set by God when He will yet “choose Jerusalem again” (Zechariah 2:12).

shall be created. The people mentioned are the redeemed nation of Israel (note Psalm 102:16). The verb “create” always has God as the subject, either implicit or explicit, for only He can create. The instantaneous rebirth of the nation of God when they recognize their returning Messiah (Zechariah 12:10; Romans 11:26) will be altogether miraculous.

work of thy hands. Psalm 102:25-27 is quoted in Hebrews 1:10-12 and addressed to the Lord Jesus Christ as Creator of heaven and earth. This confirms that the earlier verses of the psalm are especially applicable to the humiliation and suffering of Christ (Psalm 102:1-11).

wax old like a garment. The aging of the earth and heaven is a relatively recent discovery of science, which is the universal principle of increasing entropy or decay. This remarkable fact—that every system of any sort or size tends to disintegrate with time—is now recognized as the Second Law of Thermodynamics, and has no known exception. It reflects God's primeval Curse on the creation because of sin (Genesis 3:15-17; Romans 8:20-22).

thou art the same. There is, of course, one exception to this law of decay. The God who imposed the law on His creation is not subject to the law Himself. Neither is His Word, for Jesus said: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).