Psalm 102
Prayer of the Afflicted, when he pours our his complaint before the Lord
As I read the beginning of this Psalm, I again see a very similar pattern to what we have seen in the first two Psalms the first two days. A cry to be heard. A cry to answer and to answer quickly. A need expressed. A situation that is difficult. But in this Psalm the author seems to be in especially dire circumstances. I see at first glance a psalm much like some of the others.
Spurgeon, on the other hand, sees not only a person in need. He sees not just a person born into a time of sorrow and enduring a time of suffering, but he sees a person “afflicted more for others than for himself, more for Zion and the house of the Lord, than for his own house.” He sees a man, a patriot, “moaning”, pained for his country.
Life is hard sometimes. Sometimes it is hard because of sin, but sometimes hard because it is just "life". We all have our own various problems. We all have our “enemies” that "fight" against us. They are not necessarily enemies because we consider them enemies but because they war against our life and soul. It seems that the person in this psalm has many of those, and petitions God concerning them. However, he also sees his country in a hard time and it bothers him.
We see that this person has a heart afflicted not just with his own difficulties but also with the difficulties of his nation. He has a heart afflicted with things that concern God. He knows that the current state of affairs is not what God has in mind. He know that God has a time and a plan for Zion, His kingdom. He wants for God to be feared and praised. We can get pretty self focused sometimes, and it is good to realize that there are others in the same place we are and perhaps we can help them. To understand there is a world of needs beyond ourselves. The author seems to realize this and it moves his prayer.
The writer reflects on God’s mercy, that His ear is attentive to those that need it most and that He will listen to their prayer. And as we read the verses 17-21 I can’t help but be reminded of what Jesus said in Luke 4:18-19. He read the prophecy of Isaiah saying that He had come to give good news to the poor, proclaim freedom to those imprisoned, to give sight back to those that couldn’t see, to free the oppressed and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. These gracious words were spoken at the beginning of Jesus’ years of ministry. They were words telling the people what He had come to do and what they could expect of Him. He comes to us in graciousness and proclaims a future of hope.
The author of this psalm realizes that there is more than this life. There is more to life than riches. There is more to be freed from than just prison. There is a darkness deeper than blindness. There is slavery that is more oppressive. We truly are in need of God’s favor. The things of this life are temporary and God will change them. He desires to change them. Our writer brings our attention to these things. Is our heart affected by the things that affect God’s heart? Do we have in view what God has in mind? His prayer is that he, and we, would place our hope in and seek the eternal.
Please pray for
1 People that come to the Sunday service would be challenged and taught by God's word
2 For a place for us to meet and provision needed to meet there
3 For wisdom in knowing how to best help and encourage others
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