*This Advent season of 2023, my family will go through the Psalms. It is our hope that this Advent series will center around the themes of Longing, Deliverance and Hope. We will see the beauty of Christ and God’s sovereign plan in the birth and salvation of Christ. I invite you to join us this Christmas.
December 9, 2023
Much like the Israelites found themselves waiting and longing for the Messiah, Psalm 102 offers a glimpse of suffering and affliction. However, just like we experience the birth of Jesus in this awesome “But God” moment, we experience the faith of deliverance of the Psalmist.
Charles Spurgeon says this of Psalm 102: “The whole composition may be compared to a day which, opening with wind and rain, clears up at noon and is warm with the sun, continues fine, with intervening showers, and finally closes with a brilliant.”
Hear my prayer, O Lord;
let my cry come to you!
Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my distress!
Incline your ear to me;
answer me speedily in the day when I call!
For my days pass away like smoke,
and my bones burn like a furnace.
My heart is struck down like grass and has withered;
I forget to eat my bread.
Because of my loud groaning
my bones cling to my flesh.
I am like a desert owl of the wilderness,
like an owl of the waste places;
I lie awake;
I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.
All the day my enemies taunt me;
those who deride me use my name for a curse.
For I eat ashes like bread
and mingle tears with my drink,
because of your indignation and anger;
for you have taken me up and thrown me down.
My days are like an evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.
But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever;
you are remembered throughout all generations.
You will arise and have pity on Zion;
it is the time to favor her;
the appointed time has come.
For your servants hold her stones dear
and have pity on her dust.
Nations will fear the name of the Lord,
and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
For the Lord builds up Zion;
he appears in his glory;
he regards the prayer of the destitute
and does not despise their prayer.
Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:
that he looked down from his holy height;
from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
to hear the groans of the prisoners,
to set free those who were doomed to die,
that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord,
and in Jerusalem his praise,
when peoples gather together,
and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.
He has broken my strength in midcourse;
he has shortened my days.
“O my God,” I say, “take me not away
in the midst of my days—
you whose years endure
throughout all generations!”
Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you will remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
but you are the same, and your years have no end.
The children of your servants shall dwell secure;
their offspring shall be established before you.- Psalm 102
This Psalm is often taught multiple ways. One is the Psalmist crying out to God, whom He knows is his only deliverer. The other is that this Psalm is a prophecy of Christ.
“Already before the time of Christ there were those in Israel who understood Psalm 102 to be messianic,” David Wilcock says. It is said that one could read the entire Psalm as pointing to Christ.
We, however, can also feel what this Psalmist feels as he cries out to God. This Psalm can also be taken just as what we face every day.
Ligon Duncan explains, “ Have you known affliction? Deep and intense? A Darkness where there is no light at the end of the tunnel?” He goes on to ask if you are having trouble at work with a co-worker or estranged from family or friends. Duncan asks if maybe your health if failing or causing stress? All of these bring us into the mindset of this Psalmist.
But God…
There are so many attributes of God to meditate on in this scripture. God continues to show us His eternal Kingship, His compassion, His sovereignty, His power, His faithfulness, His immutability and His willingness to come down as a baby to die for us so that we may have all of these attributes!
How glorious is it that we have a God who loves us so much that he died for all of these hurts and afflictions. He sent His one and only son so that we can have eternal life and feel His power and faithfulness! Praise God for Christmas! Praise God for taking away ALL afflictions! May we be obedient to pray and seek His face much like the Psalmist.
Prayer
Father God, we praise you for your eternal reign! We praise you that you’re ALWAYS faithful and compassionate to our generation and the next! May we always praise your goodness! Thank you for your power and sovereignty! Thank you for your unchanging grace upon us! In Jesus Name, Amen!
