October 20 - Psalm 102

October 20 - Psalm 102

What begins in tears ends in praise.

If you really tear into this Psalm, you will find that as the Psalmist focuses on himself, all he sees is devastation. He is crying for help, he is in distress.  He sees his life passing quickly and his body is withering up.  He doesn't eat well and groans out loud.  He doesn't sleep at night and during the day he is faced with all those things that upset him.  His food tastes like ash and tears flow into his drink.  All he can think is that the Lord is punishing him.

Then, in verse twelve, his perspective changes and he looks beyond himself to the Lord. Not only does the perspective of the Psalmist change, but the entire attitude in this Psalm begins to change.  The Psalmist sees the Lord eternally on His throne.  As soon as the perspective is off the individual and on the Lord, the entire world comes into focus.

Psalm 102:13-16 is about Zion (Jerusalem).  The Lord will have compassion on Zion, because He knows how important she is to Israel.  The Psalmist knows of the promise that has been made – that Jerusalem will be rebuilt and will be a symbol of the Lord’s righteousness to the rest of the world.  In verse seventeen, the prayers of the poor gain the Lord’s attention as well.

The Psalmist’s perspective gets even larger in verse eighteen as he says, “Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord.”  By looking at the Lord instead of his own problems, he not only sees all of the dimensions that surround him, but he looks out into the future.  Those who are yet to be born will praise the Lord.  The Lord hears the groan of the prisoners and will release the condemned.

It is difficult to look at our short lives and be comfortable with the fact that they will end.  We pray that we will continue to be healthy and live a long and happy life.  The Psalmist recognizes that the Lord is eternal. He laid the foundations of the earth and created the heavens.  All of these things, including humanity will pass away, but the Lord will still be the same.  He will be the same Lord that Adam knew, the same Lord that Joshua, David and Solomon knew; the same Lord that sent His Son to earth to become like us and transformed the life of Paul so the Gospel could spread throughout the world.  This is the same Lord the stood with Polycarp and Anselm, Martin Luther and Billy Graham.  This is the same Lord who will be there when our grandchildren and their grandchildren come to know Him.  He will always be the same and we can always live in His presence.

Our lives may be short, but we are the creation of an eternal God.