Psalm 102 is not just poetry, it’s prophecy. It very well describes what is going on in Israel today. This psalm was probably written at the time of Jerusalem’s destruction by Babylon on the 9th of Av, 586 BC. The Psalmist was overwhelmed with grief and distress, yet he knows that God is in control. It is a timeless prayer for Israel written for future generations and relevant for today especially. Let’s dig in…
Psalm 102
A prayer of one overwhelmed with trouble, pouring out problems before the Lord.
1 Lord, hear my prayer!
Listen to my plea!
2 Don’t turn away from me
in my time of distress.
Bend down to listen,
and answer me quickly when I call to you.
3 For my days disappear like smoke,
and my bones burn like red-hot coals.
4 My heart is sick, withered like grass,
and I have lost my appetite.
5 Because of my groaning,
I am reduced to skin and bones.
6 I am like an owl in the desert,
like a little owl in a far-off wilderness.
7 I lie awake,
lonely as a solitary bird on the roof.
8 My enemies taunt me day after day.
They mock and curse me.
9 I eat ashes for food.
My tears run down into my drink
10 because of your anger and wrath.
For you have picked me up and thrown me out.
11 My life passes as swiftly as the evening shadows.
I am withering away like grass.12 But you, O Lord, will sit on your throne forever.
Your fame will endure to every generation.
13 You will arise and have mercy on Jerusalem [Zion] —
and now is the time to pity her,
now is the time you promised to help.
14 For your people love every stone in her walls
and cherish even the dust in her streets.
15 Then the nations will tremble before the Lord.
The kings of the earth will tremble before his glory.
16 For the Lord will rebuild Jerusalem.
He will appear in his glory.
17 He will listen to the prayers of the destitute.
He will not reject their pleas.18 Let this be recorded for future generations,
so that a people not yet born will praise the Lord.
19 Tell them the Lord looked down
from his heavenly sanctuary.
He looked down to earth from heaven
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners,
to release those condemned to die.
21 And so the Lord’s fame will be celebrated in Zion,
his praises in Jerusalem,
22 when multitudes gather together
and kingdoms come to worship the Lord.23 He broke my strength in midlife,
Psalm 102 NLT
cutting short my days.
24 But I cried to him, “O my God, who lives forever,
don’t take my life while I am so young!
25 Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth
and made the heavens with your hands.
26 They will perish, but you remain forever;
they will wear out like old clothing.
You will change them like a garment
and discard them.
27 But you are always the same;
you will live forever.
28 The children of your people
will live in security.
Their children’s children
will thrive in your presence.”
Breakdown
Like many of the psalms, it opens with a desperate cry to God. In verses 1-11, the overwhelmed psalmist laments because of his current situation. However, in verse 12, his mood changes as he acknowledges that God still reigns. Pastor Sandy Adams elaborates…
God has set times for the Israel! Daniel 9 predicts the exact day Jesus would present Himself to the nation. On April 6, 32 AD, Messiah [Jesus] rode the donkey down the Mount of Olives to the cheers of the crowd. Daniel said that afterwards the Messiah would be “cut off” – or die a violent death. A final seven-year period of history will bring about the culmination of all God’s plans, and His salvation to Israel.
In Romans 11:25 God cuts Israel from the vine to graft in the Gentiles, but when the fullness of Gentiles comes in – the last Gentile gets saved – God will graft Israel in again! His timetable with Israel will start back up.
The first 11 verses of Psalm 102 describe the psalmist’s predicament. He’s cast out of his land, abandoned, punished, and tasted God’s wrath. This has been the experience of the Jew for the last 2000 years. When the leadership of Israel rejected their Messiah, God’s judgment followed.
In 70 AD, on the 9th of Av in the Hebrew Calendar, Rome sacked Jerusalem and scattered the Jews among the Gentiles – where they’ve lived until the 20th century. In our lifetime God brought back the Jews to their land. He’s reestablished Israel.
Verse 13 predicts “the set time” will come again. I believe God’s prophetic time clock restarted with the rebirth of the nation Israel [1948].
At the turn of the 20th century, when the Jews began to return to what was called “Palestine”, it was an unwanted and forsaken tract of land [verse 14]. There was nothing there but stones and dust. In fact, the British offered the Jews other parcels. At one time, 6000 square miles in British East Africa were on the table, but the Jews “took pleasure” in their ancient home of Judah and Samaria.
They desired the land of the Bible – the land God promised to their forefathers. Zionist leader, Theodor Herzl, said, “There is a land without a people. There is a people without a land. Give the land without a people to the people without a land.” Israelis take pleasure in their stones and dust.
Pastor Sandy Adams
Notice that the destruction of the first temple (Solomon’s Temple) by Babylon happened on the 9th of Av and the destruction of the second temple, built by first by Zerubbabel and finished later by King Herod, happened also on the 9th of Av in 70 AD. Just like the destruction of the first temple was prophesied by the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, Jesus predicted the destruction of the second temple in His Olivet Discourse found in Matthew 24, Luke 21, and Mark 13.
The New Jerusalem
In verse 13-16, the psalmist writes about a future Jerusalem. God promised His people that He would rebuild Jerusalem. Not the city that you can visit today, but a new and glorious one described in the Book of Revelaion:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.
8 “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Revelation 21:1-8 NLT
Soothing the Overwhelmed Soul
Psalm 102 ends with a fact and a promise. God is always the same and He lives forever. That’s a FACT. The final verse is the promise that Israel will live in security and thrive in His presence.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Hebrews 13:8 NLT
Watch Spoken Gospel’s Explanation…
How the Gospel is Reflected in Psalm 102
Jesus is the suffering man and king of Psalm 102. As a man, he experienced hunger, persecution, hardship and was well acquainted with suffering (Matthew 2:13-15; 4:1-2; 8:20; Isaiah 53:3). And as a descendant of Israel’s royal line, he was a king and the heir to Jerusalem’s throne (Matthew 1:17; Luke 2:4-5). Like the suffering king of Psalm 102, Jesus knew that resurrection could only come after death (Luke 24:7). So he willingly surrendered himself to his enemies who were out to destroy his body and reputation (Mark 14:56; 15:16-20). Jesus willingly let his life be cut short because he knew God could rebuild him and his kingdom on the other side of suffering. After three days in the tomb, Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus’ resurrection was more than a miraculous one-time event; it prefigures the resurrection of the whole world (1 Corinthians 15:20; Revelation 21:5). Because Jesus is also the God who made the entire world, his rising from death is a guarantee that his world and his people will be resurrected and rebuilt, too (Hebrews 1:10-11).
Everywhere we look today, we see that the world is not as God intends it to be. Depression, grief, and armies terrorize individuals and cities alike. No matter where we live, we see that the world needs to be rebuilt by Jesus’ resurrection power. But because of Jesus, our experience of suffering will never be God’s final action towards the people he loves—resurrection will be. So, like the psalmist, we too can cry out for God’s rescue and restoration, and we know that he will give it.
See for Yourself
I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to see the God who resurrects his people and his kingdom. And may you see Jesus as the one whose resurrection guarantees the resurrection and restoration of the entire world.
Spoken Gospel
Northern Israel Overwhelmed!
As I write this, there was a major attack by Hezbollah on a Druze village in Northern Israel which killed 11 children and wounded several others. CHILDREN! See details on Amir Tsarfati’s Telegram Channel.
Amir Tsarfati, was live with the Breaking News:
Isn’t it about time you let Him in?
