“THE PETITION OF A TROUBLED SAINT” PSALM 102:1-28

In this great Messianic psalm, the psalmist is in deep distress and he is earnestly crying out to the Lord to extend relief.  Various circumstances of life can overwhelm us, and we do need the assurance from the Lord that relief is on the way!  During times of severe affliction, the psalmist found out in Psalm 116:1-5 that the Lord will deliver, for he says, “I love the LORD, because He hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because He hath inclined His ear unto me, therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live.  The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.  Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.  Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.”

Isn’t the Lord good and abundantly kind?  He has blessed us with many blessings and we need to praise His name!  He is good all of the time; He is good when we are healthy; He is good when we are frail and sick; He is good when it is arid outside; He is good when it is cold.  He is good all the time, and all the time He is good!  In the midst of his trouble, the psalmist implores the Lord to hear and answer his prayer as he cries out in verses 1-2: “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee.  Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily.”

In verses 3-7, the psalmist describes his anguishing condition, a condition that warrants God’s help.  He states in verse 8, “Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me.” The psalmist’s physical being was weak and he was mentally experiencing depression.   Because of the trouble that he was experiencing, the psalmist felt that his life was coming to a close, “My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass” (vv. 10-11).

However, in verses 12-13, he is assured that the Lord will answer his prayer for he knows – “But thou, O LORD, shall endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations” (v. 13).  His confidence in the Lord continues for the psalmist declared that the Lord will not forsake those who love Him; moreover, the psalmist was confident that the Lord will restore Zion (vv. 14-17).

In verses 18-22, the psalmist anticipates that future generations will praise the Lord as a result of hearing that God delivered His people.  God’s infinite name will be praised when there is a gathering in Zion.  From creation, the psalmist points out “Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands” (v. 25).  This Messianic psalm anticipates the arrival of the Millennium Kingdom when Jerusalem will be restored and the nations of the world will worship our great God, Jesus Christ as the psalmist concludes:   “But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.  The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee” (vv. 27-28).

May God Bless!