The introduction to Psalm 102 reads like this: ’A Prayer of the afflicted when he is weak and pours out his complaint before the LORD’.

Now read carefully how the Psalmist who is going through all kinds of afflictions - physical weakness, frustration, terrifying loneliness, mental weariness - pours out all his sorrows before the Lord …

1. The momentariness of life

‘For my days have ended in smoke,And my bones have been scorched like a hearth.’ [Psalm 102:3]

‘My days are like a lengthened shadow,And I wither away like grass’. [Psalm 103:11]

He has broken my strength in the way;He has shortened my days’. [Psalm 102:23]

2. The brokenness of the heart

‘My heart has been struck like grass and has withered,Indeed, I forget to eat my bread.Because of the loudness of my groaning.My bones cling to my flesh’. [Psalm 102: 4-5]

‘I lie awake,I have become like a solitary bird on a housetop’. [Psalm 102:7]

3. The troubles of various kinds, as in a valley of tears

‘Hear my prayer, LORD!And let my cry for help come to You’. [Psalm 102:1]

‘For I have eaten ashes like bread,And mixed my drink with weeping.Because of Your indignation and Your wrath;For You have lifted me up and thrown me away’. [Psalm 102:9-10]

‘The pelican of the wilderness’, ‘the owl of the ruins’, ‘a solitary bird on a housetop’ … if you think that these words explain the condition you have been going through since the last several months, then this is your Psalm.

A ‘loud cry’, a ‘scorched and dry heart’, the ‘loudness of groaning’, the ‘days that end in smoke’, the ‘forgetting to eat bread’ … do you think that these words describe your condition in life?

Well then, be comforted. There is a God who will never leave us nor forsake us, the One who knows us, the One who was tested in all trials like ours, Jesus the Christ, the One who is merciful and gracious towards us!

Read aloud the words that gave strength to the Psalmist.

‘In time of old You founded the earth,And the heavens are the work of Your hands.Even they will perish, but You endure;All of them will wear out like a garment;Like clothing You will change them and they will pass away.But You are the same,And Your years will not come to an end’. [Psalm 102: 25 – 27]

The Almighty One, the unchanging One, the Creator of all things, the Lord of all, He is my strength. 

‘This will be written for the generation to come,That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD’. [Psalm 102: 18]

But You, LORD, remain forever,And Your name remains to all generations’. [Psalm 102: 12]

'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever’. [Hebrews 13:8]

So, let us lay down all our burdens and pour out our heart to the Lord who knows everything and sees everything. May the Lord bless you!

THE ALMIGHTY ONE, THE UNCHANGING ONE, THE CREATOR OF ALL THINGS, THE LORD OF ALL, HE IS MY STRENGTH.