Studies in the Psalms - Psalm 102

Psalm 102 is both a penitential psalm and a Messianic psalm. Its author cries out to God in his distress and he bemoans his current situation. The application to us is clear; like the psalmist we must cry out to God in our sinful and destitute state.

Psalm 102:1-7

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.

This is a description of depression. A loss of hope. No appetite. A broken heart that keeps one awake at night.

Psalm 102:8-11
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.

Sometimes it seems we cannot catch a break. It can seem as if the whole world is against us. Not that all sickness is a direct result of our own sinfulness, but it would behoove us when we are in the position described in this psalm to look hard at our lives. It may be that unconfessed sin and an unrepentant heart has brought God’s discipline upon us.

Psalm 102:12-13
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.

No matter what has brought us to the cellar of depression, the answer lies in remembering Jesus and what He has done for us. We must look forward to the hope we have in His grace and mercy as we look back at the cross.

Psalm 102:16-17
For the LORD builds up Zion; he appears in his glory;  he regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer.

When we come to the Father cloaked in the Blood of Christ, he hears our prayers.

Psalm 102:18-22
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.

Jesus came to set us free from the chains of our sin. This is the Gospel.

Psalm 102:23-24
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!”

Our lives are in God’s hands.

Psalm 102:25-27
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.

This life is short and it may be hard, but God is eternal and He offers us an eternity with Him through faith in His Son.

Psalm 102:28
The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you.

If we are His, we are adopted into the very family of God. The answer to our current state of affairs, is to trust in Him. Like the psalmist, we must fall before Him in humility and brokenness and appeal to His great name in prayer. He will set us free.