PSALMS LESSON 100

     We will begin this lesson by giving the 102nd Psalm in metre.

                   THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE

                             Chapter 102

Verse 1  "Lord, hear my pray'r, and let my cry Have speedy access unto
         thee; In day of my calamity O hide not thou thy face from
         me."
Verse 2  "Give ear to me; what time I call, To answer me make haste:
         For, as a hearth, my bones are burnt, My days, like smoke, do
         waste."
Verse 3  "My heart is smitten, and like grass When withered by the
         scorching heat, My days in weariness I pass, And I forget my
         bread to eat."
Verse 4  "By reason of my grief within, and voice of my unceasing
         groans, My flesh is all consumed, my skin, All parched, doth
         cleave unto my bones."
Verse 5  "The pelican of wilderness, The owl in desert, I do match;
         and, sparrow-like, companionless, Upon the house-top I do
         watch."
Verse 6  "I all day long am made a scorn, reproached by my malicious
         foes; The madmen are against me sworn, The men against me
         that arose.
Verse 7  "For ashes I, in sorrow deep, Have eaten as my daily bread;
         And of the tears which I did weep I with my drink a mixture
         made."
Verse 8  "Thy indignation unappeased, And thy fierce wrath have caused
         this pain, Because, O Lord, thou hast me raised, And then
         hast cast me down again."
Verse 9  "My days of life with haste decline: They like the shadows
         swiftly pass; And I in deepest sorrow pine, And wither like
         the fading grass."
Verse 10 "But thou, O Lord, shalt still endure, From change and all
         mutation free, And to all generations sure Shall thy
         remembrance ever be."
Verse 11 "Thou shalt arise, and mercy yet Thou to mount Zion shalt
         extend: Now is the time for favor set, That thou to her
         shouldst mercy send."
Verse 12 "Thy saints take pleasure in her stones, Her very dust to
         them is dear. All heathen lands and kingly thrones On earth
         thy glorious name shall fear."
Verse 13 "The Lord in glory shall appear, When Zion he again repairs.
         He shall regard and lend his ear To all the needy's humble
         pray'rs:"
Verse 14 "Th' afflicted's pray'r he will not scorn. This ever shall be
         on record: And generations unborn Shall praise and magnify
         the Lord."
Verse 15 "He from his holy place looked down, The earth he viewed from
         heaven high, To hear the pris'ner's mourning groan, And free
         them that are doomed to die;
Verse 16 "That Zion, and Jerus'lem too, His name and praise may well
         record; When people and the kingdoms do Assemble all to
         praise the Lord."
Verse 17 "My strength he weakened in the way, My days of life he short
         hath made. My God, O take me not away In mid-time of my days,
         I said."
Verse 18 "Thy years through all the ages last, And thou of old, O
         Lord, hast laid The earth's foundation firm and fast; Thy
         mighty; hands the heav'ns have made."
Verse 19 "Thou shalt remain, they perish shall, They all like garments
         shall decay; Thou shalt as vestures change them all, they
         shall be changed, and pass away."
Verse 20 "But from all changes thou art free; Thy endless years do
         last for aye. Thy servants, and their seed who be,
         Established shall before thee stay."

     We will now begin the verse by verse study of the 102nd Psalm.
Psalms 102:1 "{A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and
poureth out his complaint before the LORD.} Hear my prayer, O LORD,
and let my cry come unto thee."

     The penman is not certain in this chapter of Psalms. This could
have been penned any time when great troubles came upon Jerusalem and
its people. It was, possibly, about the time of the captivity. LORD,
here, is Jehovah. It is such a shame that most prayers do not occur,
until their is great affliction. Certainly when we are faced with
great trials and tribulations in our life, we then turn to the LORD in
sincere prayer to get us out of the problems we are facing at the
moment. The penman here is not only praying earnestly, but also
begging the LORD to listen and answer this prayer.

     Psalms 102:2 "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."

     This is so much like what happened with the Hebrew children on
their way to the promised land. They would sin, and God would allow
terrible suffering to come. Then they would repent and ask God for His
help. God would forgive them and restore them, and then they would
drift into sin again. This has been the story of man from the
foundation of the world. Not only does the penman here want an answer
to his prayer, but he wants a speedy answer.

     Psalms 102:3 "For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones
are burned as an hearth."

     He is in such heavy grief, that it seems his days are like a puff
of smoke. They are here, and then they are suddenly gone. This bitter
grief that he is feeling is making him sick in his body. He says, even
his bones are aching from the grief.

     Psalms 102:4 "My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so
that I forget to eat my bread."

     This is speaking of a broken heart that feels as if it has
withered and died like the grass does when it is cut. This person has
no desire to prolong the agony and desires no food to eat. This is a
fast from food, not unto the Lord, but just no desire to eat.
Sometimes this happens with grief experienced at the loss of a loved
one.

     Psalms 102:5 "By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones
cleave to my skin."

     If a person ceases to eat, the fat on the body is burned up and
they become very thin. This would be the case here, where the bone is
up next to the skin. A common way to say this would be {they are skin
and bones}.

     Psalms 102:6 "I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an
owl of the desert."

     A pelican in the wilderness would symbolize the destitute
condition of this penman. A pelican feeds off fish in the water, and
would be the next thing to dead, if they were living in the
wilderness. An owl is a very ominous bird. They are creatures of the
night. Their hooting is so mournful that it reminds you of a death
call. The owl usually is thought of as dwelling in a desolate place.
The psalmist is saying, he feels as if he has been deserted.

     Psalms 102:7 "I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house
top."

     It is as if he feels that he is the only one who cares whether
there is a homeland at all, or not. The lonely sparrow on the housetop
is watching and waiting for an opportunity to build a nest. The
psalmist is saying, he, too, is watching and waiting for the
opportunity to build a home again in his land.

     Psalms 102:8 "Mine enemies reproach me all the day; [and] they
that are mad against me are sworn against me."

     Those enemies that have taken away his way of life, it seems are
not content to just have won, they are taunting him asking him, where
his God is now? It seems these evil enemies of this man have even
sworn to destroy him completely. Again. he has not left his native
land, but is waiting for the opportunity to live there. His enemies
are telling him, day and night, that will never be.

     Psalms 102:9 "For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my
drink with weeping,"

     It was a very high form of grief to wear sackcloth and pour ashes
upon their head. This is what he has been doing, here. In fact, he has
done this so much that the ashes have gotten in to the little food he
does eat. He has weeped so much, that his tears are in the water he
drinks.

     Psalms 102:10 "Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for
thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down."

     This does not have to be some king or ruler to pen this. All
Hebrews had been God's chosen people, and in a way, had been elevated
up above others around them. He may have been cast down of God, but if
God did cast him down, he deserved it. God's wrath is reserved for the
children of disobedience. Ephesians 5:6 "Let no man deceive you with
vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon
the children of disobedience."

     Psalms 102:11 "My days [are] like a shadow that declineth; and I
am withered like grass."

     This is actually the fate of all men who are not in right
standing with God. Everyone, good and bad, begin to die the day they
are born. The only important difference in one man over another, is
what happens to them after this brief life here on the earth. Those
who trust in Jesus as their Saviour and Lord, inherit eternal life.

     Psalms 102:12 "But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever; and thy
remembrance unto all generations."

     The psalmist, here, is going to the source of help. He is saying,
even though my time on the earth is very short, You are from
everlasting to everlasting. The psalmist is aware that he will soon be
forgotten, when his life on this earth is done, but God will never be
forgotten. Every generation has its opportunity to accept or reject
the salvation offered through Jesus Christ our Lord. All know of God,
in every generation. Their choice is to believe unto eternal life, or
not believe and wind up in hell.

     Psalms 102:13 "Thou shalt arise, [and] have mercy upon Zion: for
the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come."

     We have spoken of Zion, and all that it means, in all of these
lessons. Zion, the mountain in Jerusalem, certainly will be totally
restored as the holy city of God. Some would say that this very thing
has already happened when the Jews got control of Jerusalem again.
Looking at the standpoint of the church, we would say that it has not
yet been restored to the greatness that it once had. There may still
be a falling away, before we get desperate enough to ask God to
intervene and restore its greatness. There is a time when even this
will happen.  I believe the time is very near. Our cry should be for
mercy, and not justice.

     Psalms 102:14 "For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and
favour the dust thereof."

     Just the wailing wall remains of the old temple in Jerusalem. It
is strange, in view of this Scripture that the wall is large stones.
The Jewish people, and many Christians from around the world, go to
the wall of stones and pray today.

     We will continue the verse by verse study in the next lesson.
                             Questions 100

1.  Who wrote the 102nd Psalm?
2.  What type of prayer does verse 1 say this is?
3.  What type of answer does the penman want to his prayer?
4.  For my days are consumed as _______.
5.  What does {my bones are burned as an hearth} mean?
6.  His heart is withered like ______.
7.  What is he saying, {my bones cleave unto my skin}?
8.  What does a pelican in the wilderness symbolize?
9.  What type of bird is the owl?
10. What does he mean by comparing himself to a sparrow upon the
    housetop?
11. What are his enemies doing to him all day long?
12. How serious are their threats?
13. What does his statement, {I have eaten ashes like bread} mean?
14. What caused his drink to be mingled with weeping?
15. Whose wrath is he speaking of in verse 10?
16. Quote Ephesians chapter 5 verse 6.
17. God had lifted him, up and ______ __ ______.
18. When do you begin to die?
19. What is the difference in godly men and worldly men?
20. The remembrance of God is unto all ____________.
21. Zion will be restored to be the ______ ____ of God.
22. The cry of the Christian should be for _______, not ____________.
23. Where does the author believe the stones, spoken of in verse 14,
    are?