(A) The day of my distress: Life is fragile and fleeting (Ps 102:1-11)
The psalmist is in a situation where he feels deep distress (Ps 102:2). He’s making a pure cry to God. He asks God not to hide His face from him. In these 2 verses, we can hear the repetition of these 2 ideas. The Psalmist asks God to answer him speedily too, and we can see that he is probably undergoing some suffering here. This is a man that is desperate for God to listen to him.
Psalm opens on a note of bold urgency. He addresses God as, “LORD” and this is the covenantal, personal name of God that He gives to His people. It harks back to the Old Testament God—a holy creator God who makes His way to be with a sinful people. The imagery in the psalm paints a picture of being alone in distress:
Great physical pain in the form of loud groaning and crying out in extreme grief to the point of malnutrition (Ps 102:5).
A picture of utter desolation and loneliness in distress (Ps 102:6-7)
Lying awake and not being able to rest (Ps 102:7a)
In his weakness, unable to respond to the taunts of enemies, speaking of not just a physical but also psychological struggle (Ps 102:8)
Grieving such that ashes are his bread, and tears are his drink (Ps 102:9)
This is a vivid picture of what it looks like to be captured by despair and sorrow and it has a withering effect on one’s body.
What is the reason the psalmist gives for his distress? In Ps 102:10, the Psalmist refers to feelings of “indignation and anger” but there’s no suggestion of a specific sin to be condemned or forsaken. However, the Psalmist is clearly aware of his mortality and frailty.
Ps 102:3, 11 contain summary ideas that bookend this declaration of distress. In Ps 102:3 it says his days “pass away like smoke”, and in Ps 102:11 he compares his days to “an evening shadow”. His days contemplating unexplained sorrow help him think about his mortality. Often on social media we see the best moments of someone’s life, and we don’t see the stressful moments that go on behind the scenes. But the Bible doesn’t shy away from the realities of life in a fallen world. There is a time and place for expressing lament in such situations in godly ways, and there is a point to it. It shakes us out of a false sense of security in ourselves. Our days pass away quickly and they are soon gone. How do we live our days? How can we live in light of the fragility and fleeting nature of our lives?
(B) The appointed time for Zion: God’s unchanging purposes (Ps 102:12-22)
In Ps 102:12 the psalmist focuses on how God is eternal and is “remembered throughout all generations”. In Exo 3:15, notice how God revealed himself to Moses. He is the God who has been faithful to the forefathers of Israel, and initiated the covenant with them. The Psalm draws upon God as He has revealed Himself in the past to His people. He is this faithful God that will continue to uphold His end of the covenant.
The Psalmist goes on to declare something that will happen in future based on his knowledge of this God. His knowledge of the nature of God anchors his faith in what God will do. Zion has gone through some trouble and perhaps, God’s enemies have taken over it. What’s significant here is the idea of the “appointed time” (Ps 102:13). God is not reacting to situations but He sees before time and sets what He will do before that. He will bring things to pass in the right time. He knows when to act, and when He acts, it is the best time to do so!
God will show favour to his people at the appointed time and does it because He has pity on people mourning over their fallen city (Ps 102:14) and to display His glory (Ps 102:16). Ps 102:16 is the picture of the full restoration of Zion. There will be a time when this will take place! Though the Psalmist began with a personal cry, he moves on and takes heart in the city of God being restored and God’s people being in the presence of God. We see God continuing to work and continuing to be faithful to His people. The psalmist continues to take comfort in who his God has been through all generations, to cling to the truth of who his God is, knowing that his trials now are part of God’s future plan.
As the Psalmist walks through what he knows about God, he also sees how God doesn’t despise the prayer of the destitute (Ps 102:17). At this point, the psalmist’s circumstances hasn’t changed, but he finds comfort not in personal relief, but in seeing God at work at the larger scale. Knowing that God is enthroned forever shapes the way he thinks about Zion, and also about his circumstances! How does our theology and what we know about God serve as our comfort, and how does it shape our prayers?
In Ps 102:18-20, the psalmist goes on to address “a future generation” not yet born. The psalmist records these acts of God so that these future people can worship Him. This is a picture of the long-reach of God — He will be worshipped not just by the nations, but by the generations too. What was to be recorded for the generations to know, is God’s salvation of His people. God heard the cries of His people (Ps 102:19), for they were destined for death before the Lord intervened (Ps 102:20). He acted so that this people may declare in Zion the name of the LORD (Ps 102:21). This should inform how we see other people: God decides who are the ones who will praise Him, not us.
There is an unchanging, everlasting aspect to this God. He doesn’t change in His purposes. God always achieves what He sets out to do! We are flawed in our plans and seldom accomplish everything smoothly. But God is not like this! His eternal, unchanging plans are achieved throughout the generations!
What does this mean for us today? It draws out mind away from our own limited circumstances to consider what God is doing at a larger scale. Ps 102:15 gives us a hint, that the nations will fear the name of the LORD. We may be preoccupied with productivity in this period, but do we have a sense of what God will ultimately do in His unchanging nature? Are you excited by what God is doing eternally? Are you excited for the hope of being in God’s presence, in His city again?
(C ) Your years have no end: his sons and generations of his servants will be forever (Ps 102:23-28)
As we end the psalm, the psalmist speaks again of his reality in Ps 102:23-24. He reflects again on his mortality and how his life is short and limited. Even in the psalmist’s prayer, he’s contrasting the shortness of his life with the eternity of God: here we have another reflection on eternity. He compares God to the heavens and the earth: Creator vs creation (Ps 102:25-27). We often assume that the world will not crash and we just think that creation is this secure. We have grown to accept that it is a given. But Psalm 102 is telling us that what we assume is so secure and strong will perish. They will wear out like a garment and fall apart.
He goes on to contrast it with God. God remains and is enthroned forever (Ps 102:27-28). Creation to him, is like changing clothes. God however, will remain and be the same. He doesn’t merely just exist forever, but He does not change. God is immutable. God cannot increase, grow or improve. If He is changing, He is changing for the worse (i.e. better previously) or is improving (i.e. once wasn’t as good). This is what theologians refer to as the immutability of God. As we meditate on this, this relates to how the psalmist knows that he can call upon God and God will listen, just as He listened to the forefathers.
In Heb 1:1-12, God declares this Psalm in light of His Son! Jesus is the fulfilment of the verses in Ps 102. God had Christ in His plan to save Zion and the world from sin. This was no accident. He has given us Christ to be that continuation of His faithfulness to His people, to give us a way out of sin as we picture being in Zion with the glory of God. We were doomed to die in our sin, but God sent Christ to die on our behalf, and because of that, God fulfilled His purposes through Christ.
In Christ, we can believe that Ps 102:28 is true. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever and He provides a way for changeable, fickle creatures. As we face challenges, struggles and even unexplainable sorrow, we can come to Him and know that He will hear us. He will not think that we are nuisances as we call out to Him! If God is unchanging, He is a gracious, loving God but is also unchanging in His judgment on sin. Repent of your sin today!
If you are struggling to follow God with joy, be encouraged that your eternal joy with and in God cannot be taken away from you because of His unchanging nature. He is not going to change His mind and He is not reactive to events and circumstances. Draw near to Him in reverence, awe and thanksgiving. He is not like us. He is unchanging and everlasting.