Psalm 101 — 102
are not pleasant. The psalmist recorded his personal plight in a series of vivid pictures. With his days as flimsy and temporary as drifting smoke, and his frame burning with fever (31:10; 32:3; 42:10), he was like a man in a furnace. His heart was like the cut and withered grass (vv. 4, 9; 90:4–5; Job 19:20; Lam. 4:8), paining him so much that he forgot to eat. When he did eat, the food tasted like ashes and his drink like tears (v. 9; 42:3; 80:5; Lam. 3:16). Therefore, he became a living skeleton that could only groan because of his wretched situation (v. 5). He compared himself to the unclean birds (Lev. 11:17–18) that lived solitary lives amid the ruins of the city. He was awake all night, a lonely man, like a sparrow bereft of his mate and chirping his lament on the roof. The enemy officers showed no sympathy but used his name in their curses (v. 8). It was as though God's hand picked him up and threw him on the trash heap, like a piece of discarded junk (v. 10; 51:11; 71:9; 147;17; Isa. 22:17–18). Like the evening shadows as the sun goes down, his life kept changing, but his days had no substance. Then the darkness fell, and the long, hard night lay before him. (See Deut. 28:66–67.)
discipline Amnon and Absalom for their sins (2 Sam. 13—15). He had problems with his generals Joab and Abishai, and his trusted counselor Ahithophel betrayed him. But David reigned for forty years, during which time he expanded the borders of the kingdom, defeated Israel's enemies, gathered the wealth used to build the temple, wrote the psalms, and established the dynasty that eventually brought Jesus Christ into the world. Like us, he had his weaknesses and failings, but over all, he sought to honor the Lord and be a good leader. Jerusalem is known as "the city of David" and Jesus as "the Son of David." Could any compliment be higher than that?
PSALM 102
This is both a penitential psalm (see 6) and a messianic psalm (vv. 25–27 = Heb. 1:10–12). The anonymous author probably wrote it long after the destruction of Jerusalem (vv. 8, 14, 16), about the time he thought Jeremiah's prophecy of the seventy-year captivity was about to be fulfilled (v. 13; Jer. 25:11–12; 29:10; see Dan. 9:2). According to the title, the psalmist was afflicted and faint (61:2; 77:3; 142:3; 143:4) and burdened to present his complaint ("lament," niv) to the Lord. He was groaning in distress (vv. 2, 5) and weeping over the ruins of Jerusalem (v. 9). His opening prayer in verses 1–2 draws from a number of other psalms, giving us an example of what it means to pray the Word of God. (See 18:16; 27:9; 31:2; 37:20; 59:16; 69:17; 88:2.) As believers face and deal with the painful crises that come to us, if we are to overcome and glorify God, we must keep three assurances before us.
One of the first steps toward personal peace and victory is to accept the fact that there will be changes in life, and how we respond will determine what these changes do to us and for us. The psalmist responded by turning to the Lord for help.
The Unchanged Covenant of God (vv. 12–22) "But thou, O Lord" marked a change in the psalmist's outlook as he turned from himself and his problems to behold by faith the Lord enthroned in heaven (see 93:2; 97:2; 99:1; 113:5; Lam. 5:19). The throne of David was gone and would not be claimed until the Son of David came to earth (Luke 1:30–33), but the throne of God in heaven was secure. Judah and Jerusalem were experiencing shame, but God's "memorial name" of great renown would not change. One day the nations would respect that name (v. 15) and praise that name in a new Jerusalem (v. 21). From generation to generation, His people had known and revered that name and the Lord had not failed them, but they failed the Lord. He had made a wonderful covenant with His people (Lev. 25—26; Deut. 28—30) and had not changed it. If His people obeyed His law, He would bless them, but if they disobeyed and turned to idols, He would chasten them. Either way, He would show His love and faithfulness.
The Changing Circumstances of Life (vv. 1–11) The longer we live, the more evidence we see that things will change. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus wrote, "There is nothing permanent except change," a statement that John F. Kennedy paraphrased as, "Everything changes but change itself." There are the normal changes of life, from birth to maturity to death, but there are also providential changes that God sends for our good and His glory. Many Jewish leaders in the days of Jeremiah the prophet thought that God would never allow Judah to be captured and Jerusalem and the temple destroyed (Jer. 7), but the Babylonian army did all three. They also took prisoners to Babylon and left only the poorest of the people to care for the land. Because of their rebellion against the law of God, Israel was left without a king, priesthood, temple, or sacrifice. Instead of the Lord's face shining upon them with blessing (Num. 6:25), His face was turned away from them in judgment (27:9; 59:17; Gen. 43:3, 5; Deut. 31:17–18). Whether we are suffering because of our sins, or because we stand up for the Lord, or simply because we need to be better equipped for service, these changes
The writer was confident that God would arise and rescue Zion, for it was time for His promises to be fulfilled (Jer. 25:11–12; 29:10). Even more, the Lord loved Zion more than the Jewish people did, and they revered her very dust and stones! (See 46:4; 48; 69:35–36; 87:1–5; 132:13; 137.) Even more, the restoration of Zion means the glory of the Lord (vv. 15–16, 21–22), and this involves the salvation of the Gentile nations. When the Jewish exiles were released from captivity in Babylon and allowed to return to