The Meaning of Psalms 102:13 Explained

Psalms 102:13

KJV: Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.

YLT: Thou -- Thou risest -- Thou pitiest Zion, For the time to favour her, For the appointed time hath come.

Darby: Thou wilt rise up, thou wilt have mercy upon Zion: for it is the time to be gracious to her, for the set time is come.

ASV: Thou wilt arise, and have mercy upon Zion; For it is time to have pity upon her, Yea, the set time is come.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Thou shalt arise,  [and] have mercy  upon Zion:  for the time  to favour  her, yea, the set time,  is come. 

What does Psalms 102:13 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 102:13 mean?

You will arise [and] have mercy on Zion for the time to favor her Yes has come The set time
אַתָּ֣ה תָ֭קוּם תְּרַחֵ֣ם צִיּ֑וֹן כִּי־ עֵ֥ת לְ֝חֶֽנְנָ֗הּ כִּי־ בָ֥א מוֹעֵֽד

תָ֭קוּם  will  arise 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
תְּרַחֵ֣ם  [and]  have  mercy  on 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: רָחַם  
Sense: to love, love deeply, have mercy, be compassionate, have tender affection, have compassion.
צִיּ֑וֹן  Zion 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: צִיּׄון  
Sense: another name for Jerusalem especially in the prophetic books.
עֵ֥ת  the  time 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: עֵת  
Sense: time.
לְ֝חֶֽנְנָ֗הּ  to  favor  her 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person feminine singular
Root: חָנַן 
Sense: to be gracious, show favour, pity.
כִּי־  Yes 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
בָ֥א  has  come 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
מוֹעֵֽד  The  set  time 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֹועֵד  
Sense: appointed place, appointed time, meeting.