Thursday, March 6, 2014

Psalm 102:1-28


... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen.  Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.  Amen.  Glory to You, our God, Glory to You.

O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things, Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).

Psalm 102:1-28[1]

A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and pours out his complaint before the Lord.

Hear my prayer, Lord.  Let my cry come to You.  Hide not Your face from me in the day I am in trouble.  Incline Your ear to me.  In the day I call, answer me speedily: for my days are consumed like smoke.  My bones are burned as a hearth.  My heart is stricken, and withered like grass: so that I forget to eat my bread.  By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones cling to my skin.  I am like a pelican in the wilderness.  I am like an owl in the desert.  I watch, and am as a sparrow alone on the housetop.

My enemies reproach me all the day.  Those who are mad against me are sworn against me: for I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping, because of Your indignation and Your fury: for You have lifted me up, and cast me down.  My days [are] like a shadow that declines.  I am withered like grass.

But You, Lord, shall endure forever.  Your remembrance [is] to all generations.  You shall arise!  Have mercy on Zion: for the time to favor her, yes, the set time is come: for Your servants take pleasure in her stones, and favor its dust.

So the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord.  All the kings of the earth [shall fear] Your Glory.  When the Lord shall build up Zion, He shall appear in His Glory.  He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.

This shall be written for the generation to come.  The people who shall be created shall praise the Lord: for, He has looked down from the height of His sanctuary.  From heaven the Lord beheld the earth: to hear the groaning of the prisoner; to release those who are appointed to death; to declare the name of the Lord in Zion, and His praise in Jerusalem; when the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.

He weakened my strength in the way.  He shortened my days.  I said, “O my God, take me not away in the middle of my days.”  Your years [are] throughout all generations.  Of old have You laid the foundation of the earth.  The heavens [are] the work of Your hands.  They shall perish.  You shall endure.  Yes, all of them shall wax old like a garment.  As a vesture, You shall change them.  They shall be changed.  But, You [are] the same.  Your years shall have no end.  The children of Your servants shall continue.  Their seed shall be established before You.

________

If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share all of them.



[1] From time to time all of us feel afflicted, perhaps we are overcome by grief; or by a fatal illness, so that we only have day to live; perhaps waves of pain overwhelm us.  However, none of us has ever suffered like this.  Psalm 102 is prophetic of the life, death, resurrection, enthronement, and return of Jesus.
The psalmist expresses his extreme pain in the most graphic terms: his bone burned, his heart stricken, withered, he cannot eat, he is emaciated.  A pelican is a water bird, stranded in the wilderness, he is dying.  Owls hunt in the fields and woods, he is dying in the desert.  The sparrow finds grains, insects, and worms in the rich grass and soil, alone on the barren housetop, he is dying.  His days are death.
His food is also death.  He faces the persecution of the multitude.  Even God lifts him up and casts him down.  Is this Jesus?  Is this Palm or Willow Sunday followed by Friday?  Is this praying, even drops of blood (Luke 22:44)?
The Father is eternal.  The time is come.  Are these the stones and dust of the wailing wall?  The time is come.  Even so, Come, Lord Jesus.  Come in all your blazing Glory.  Light up the sky from east to west (Matthew 24:27).  Come, Lord Jesus.
Appear in Your Glory, Lord Jesus.  Bring down heavenly Zion to earth (Revelation 21).  Save the destitute.
The great and eternal Year of Jubilee has come (Luke 4:18-21).
He was a young man, roughly 37.  The Father shortened His days, even though He is eternal and created the universe.  He prays, “Let this cup pass from Me (Matthew 26:39).”  The universe which You created will age and be changed, but You will raise and conquer death by death, and the seed of Your people will be established.

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