Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 103:14

Albert Barnes Commentary

Psalms 103:14

1798–1870
Presbyterian
Albert Barnes
Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes Commentary

Psalms 103:14

1798–1870
Presbyterian
SCRIPTURE

"For he knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust." — Psalms 103:14 (ASV)

For he knows our frame - Our formation; of what we are made; how we are made. That is, he knows that we are made of dust; that we are frail; that we are subject to decay; that we soon sink under a heavy load. This is given as a reason why he pities us - that we are so frail and feeble, and that we are so easily broken down by a pressure of trial.

He remembers that we are dust - Made of the earth. (Genesis 2:7; Genesis 3:19). In his dealings with us he does not forget of what frail materials he made us, and how little our frames can bear. He tempers his dealings to the weakness and frailty of our nature, and his compassion interposes when the weight of sorrows would crush us. Remembering, too, our weakness, he interposes by his power to sustain us, and to enable us to bear what our frame could not otherwise endure. Compare the notes at Isaiah 57:16.