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For He looked down from the heights of His sanctuary; the LORD gazed out from heaven to earth
Psalms 102:19 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB For he has looked down from the height of his sanctuary. From heaven, Yahweh saw the earth;
  • KJV For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;
  • NKJV For He looked down from the height of His sanctuary; From heaven the Lord viewed the earth,
  • NASB For He looked down from His holy height; From heaven the Lord looked upon the earth,
  • NLT Tell them the Lord looked down from his heavenly sanctuary. He looked down to earth from heaven

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The LORD looks down from His holy height, surveying the earth from heaven. The exalted God attends to human affairs.

Overview

God is pictured looking down from His sanctuary in heaven upon the earth below. Though transcendent, He is not detached but observes the plight of people. This combination of majesty and attentiveness assures the suffering that the high God sees their need.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Deut 26:15Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land You have given us as You swore to our fathers—a land flowing with milk and honey.”
  • Ps 14:2The LORD looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God.
  • 2 Chr 16:9For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, therefore, you will be at war.”
  • Heb 8:1–2The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,
  • 1 Kgs 8:39be heard by You from heaven, Your dwelling place. And may You forgive and act, and repay each man according to all his ways, since You know his heart—for You alone know the hearts of all men—
  • Job 22:12Is not God as high as the heavens? Look at the highest stars, how lofty they are!
  • Ps 33:13–14The LORD looks down from heaven; He sees all the sons of men.
  • Heb 9:23–24So it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
  • 1 Kgs 8:43then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You. Then all the peoples of the earth will know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and they will know that this house I have built is called by Your Name.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 102:19YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.

How Psalms 102:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.